England youngsters thrill fans at Shrewsbury Town's Greenhous Meadow

A near-capacity crowd of 9,264 people were at Shrewsbury Town's Greenhous Meadow stadium as the England Under-21s side, managed by former Aston Villa defender Gareth Southgate, took on the minnows of San Marino.

The likes of Arsenal's Carl Jenkinson, Liverpool's Raheem Sterling and Blackpool's Tom Ince were among the players entertaining the fans for the UEFA European U21 Championship qualifier, which England won by a record 9-0 scoreline.

Supporters said it was fantastic to have the high-profile match taking place in Shropshire.

And they praised Shrewsbury Town for a pricing policy that allowed adults in for £10 and children for just £5. The game had a family-friendly atmosphere as people rushed to the ground from work and school to make it in time for kick-off.

Danielle Draycott, 30, from Myddle in north Shropshire, was at the game with her grandfather Bryan Draycott, 78.

They are both Shrewsbury Town season ticket holders and said they were pleased to see a near sell-out crowd at the match.

Miss Draycott said: "It is one of the best Under-21 squads we have seen for a long time. It is great for the club to have got the game and great for the children to have the early kick-off."

Mr Draycott added: "It is fantastic. With Shrewsbury, we are getting 5,500 to 6,000 crowds so to see this place full is wonderful. Hopefully, it will encourage those coming tonight to see the Town."

Alison Wright travelled with her stepfather Clive Spurr, son Dylan Wright, 10, and her son's friend Daniel Hirons, nine, from Lichfield for the game.

She said it was the group's first visit to the Greenhous Meadow and they had decided to support the England Under-21s partly on the basis of the cheap prices.

Also at the match were mother and daughter Christine Paddock, 67, from Coleham, and Tina Paddock, 41, from Sundorne. The pair said they had enjoyed the chance to see some of England's rising stars. Tina added: "The tickets are really good prices. They have got a lot of people in."

David Smith took his nine-year-old son Rowan Smith-Hunt to the match.

Mr Smith said: "I'm really, really pleased it has come to Shrewsbury."

His son Rowan added he was happy the early kick-off time meant he would be able to watch the senior England side's friendly against Germany later in the evening.

Shrewsbury Town manager Graham Turner said before the game that it was brilliant to have the high-profile match played in Shropshire.

He said: "It's fantastic to have this sort of interest in a game here. It's testimony to the interest in football in the area and, in particular, the opportunity to see some of England's bright stars of the future."

England Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate said he was impressed with both the turnout and the facilities at Shrewsbury. He said: "It's a fantastic venue. It's been great to see such enthusiasm towards hosting us and to get virtually the full house that we did, and hopefully we've repaid that by the style of the performance.

"For any player, when you go to a ground and it's close to full and the supporters are as behind the team as the crowd here were, that gives them a lift. You get a higher level of performance when you get an attendance like that. We've been delighted to be here and we're very grateful for everybody's help. We've been looked after really well."