Theo Walcott scored on his return to St Mary's as England Under-21s put on a second-half masterclass to beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0.Walcott left Southampton for Arsenal so was given a warm welcome by a packed St Mary's on Tuesday night.

And after a frustrating first half for both him and Stuart Pearce's troops, he put the icing on the cake with a stunning right-footed curler from 16 yards to make it 3-0 on 78 minutes.

Under-21 veteran James Milner, grabbing his 35th cap for the young guns, was the architecht of the victory, though, as he set up the opener in Stephen O'Halloran's own goal on 60 minutes before steering home a superb 20-yard skidding drive eight minutes later.

The first half had been a drab affair played in wet conditions, with the first chance coming on 33 when Darren Randolph palmed away a Milner effort.

O'Halloran's unlucky own goal, which deflected in from a Milner cross, opened the game up though, and both Walcott and Aaron Lennon thrived as the Republic pushed forward in search of an equaliser.

Milner bagged his fifth goal for the Under-21s on 68 minutes after Fabrice Muamba set him up nicely - and he then turned provider 10 minutes later, surging forward before releasing Walcott, who curled home a clinical finish.

The scoreline was hard on the Republic youngsters, for whom striker Andy Keogh spurned several good chances, firing straight at Joe Hart on two occasions after the break.

But the victory moved Pearce's troops on to 19 points from seven games and virtually assured them of a play-off place for the 2009 European Championships in Sweden.

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