Dawson unmoved by injury

England Under 21 stopper Craig Dawson was delighted to play through the pain barrier to help his country to a 2-1 win in Norway.

Stopper delighted to keep on playing

England Under 21 stopper Craig Dawson was delighted to play through the pain barrier to help his country to a 2-1 win in Norway. Dawson played more than half of the 2-1 Group Eight win in Norway with a Terry Butcher-style bandage after a clash of heads left him bloodied and needing seven stitches. Dawson was forced off the field for almost 10 minutes in Drammen after earlier heading England ahead, but he returned to action. "My head's a bit sore, but the result was worth it," the 21-year-old said. "I had seven stitches. I went up for the header and I think I caught his boot on the way down, and it split quite easy. "It's my first war wound for England. It was bleeding quite heavily. "I was always going to come back on, definitely. The doc just wanted to stitch it up and get me back on the field. "It was a great performance from the lads and a great result in the end. "It's been a great start to the campaign and we have just got to keep on going and keep pushing forward." Head coach Stuart Pearce - who was in the senior England side 22 years ago when Butcher famously played on against Sweden despite bleeding profusely - added: "He's got great courage, he's a man, is Dawson. The rest of the boys love him to bits."