England U21 boss Stuart Pearce refused to blame Leroy Lita after the Reading striker's penalty miss against Czech Republic in yesterday's 0-0 draw.

Pearce, no stranger to penalty misery, has had his players practising spot-kicks since the end of the domestic season and they warmed up for the finals in Holland with a shoot-out against Slovakia.

Lita scored on that occasion at Carrow Road but flashed his effort wide at Arnhem's Gelredome, with England having to settle for a goalless draw.

"We don't look at Leroy and think any worse of him," said Pearce. "It's part and parcel of the game.

"One thing is for sure, he has the confidence to take one and in the next game he'll probably have the confidence to do it again.

"You do everything to the n'th degree, that includes practising penalties, so I know full well we've done everything we can and we have a no-excuse environment."

David Nugent missed England's best chance before the penalty was awarded with three minutes remaining after Roman Hubnik had handled.

Kieran Richardson also headed wide from point-blank range before being substituted and heading straight down the tunnel for treatment on a back problem.

Pearce continued: "We had opportunities before the penalty to seal the game, so we're disappointed, we can play a lot better than that.

"For 90 minutes the game was there to be won but we weren't good enough on the day. It might be a bit tougher in the next game and we have to make sure we play better."

Pearce's three opening matches at tournaments as an England player ended in draws, and they went on to reach the latter stages twice.

On an unwatered pitch, Czech Republic almost snatched victory when Daniel Pudil hit the woodwork with a free-kick.

Pearce added: "They did their homework, put a man around Tom Huddlestone and stopped his passing range, we didn't get on the front foot enough and the game fizzled out."