Bobby Zamora was given 19 minutes to impress and help England under-21s keep European Championship hopes alive last night.
He did his bit as David Platt's side scored a flattering 2-0 win over the Slovak Republic at the Stadium of Light.
The Albion striker, coming off the bench for Shola Ameobi, was fouled by Marcel Svrcek, earning the Slovak defender his second yellow card and subsequent dismissal on 78 minutes.
Five minutes later, Phil Jagielka hit the second goal after being teed up by skipper Gareth Barry.
It was an uninspiring contest in front of just 11,223 fans.
Only Jermaine Pennant displayed genuine guile and craft for the home side.
His low curling cross into the heart of the area span off the left thigh of Peter Dolezaj for the own goal which put England ahead on 40 minutes.
They had earlier been indebted to Rhys Evans for denying Slovakia the lead inside two minutes after Robert Jez's shot ricocheted off Jagielka.
Pennant felt he had done enough to keep himself in line for future matches.
He said: "I've got man-of-the-match so I felt I played well but it was a good team performance.
"It has been a long season for all the players so tiredness did come in."
England still have key matches against Portugal and Turkey.
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