Howard Wilkinson ushered in a bright new era at Under-21 level as England's young stars provided a glimpse into the future with an emphatic 6-1 win over Georgia at a sparse Riverside Stadium.

After England's dismal failure in the European Championships in Slovakia during the summer, coach Wilkinson needed a victory going into the forthcoming round of qualification matches for the next tournament.

Defeats against Italy and the hosts just three months ago had given Wilkinson a distinctly unimpressive record of three losses from his seven games in charge.

And with the first of those qualifying games against Germany five weeks away, Wilkinson can have cause for optimism as his group of youngsters did him proud.

This was only Joe Cole's second cap, but such is the talent the 18-year-old possesses, he is destined for a rapid rise to the senior squad like Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand and now Alan Smith, before him.

Cole was the provider for the first three goals as England ran riot towards the end of the first half after being given an initial scare when the visitors conjured up an equaliser.

The 18th minute opener saw Cole swing in a corner for Spurs defender Luke Youngto meet with a downward header. England were slowly beginning to gather pace and Georgia grabbed what proved to be an early consolation as Klimenti Tsitaishvili netted.

But the goal was just a blip for England as Cole soon set up namesake Ashley and Everton's Francis Jeffers in the 37th and 44th minutes for a 3-1 lead.

The goal of the night then followed just moments later as David Dunn ran at the Georgia defence before unleashing a delightful 15-yard right-foot curler beyond Lomaia.

Manchester United's Jonathan Greening also curled home just after the hour beyond sub keeper Mirza Merlani, and then with the last kick of the match, Watford's Tommy Smith wrapped up the romp after being set up by Middlesbrough's Andy Campbell