England 1 Wales 0
Ashley Young 35
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This game could have been a draw.
Could easily have been their fifth Wembley draw of 2011.
But England won and now need only one point to qualify.
Wales played 4-5-1 but didn\’t sit back in the first half. They pressed England fiercely, kept hustling them, and the absence of Parker and Walcott did England no favours, although it has to be said that Wales were far more aggressive and organised than Bulgaria were last Friday night.
John Terry looked as he looks for Chelsea : uncertain and vulnerable. He will get taken apart next summer by Ozil, Gotze, Cassano and any forward who is a bit zippy.
Bolton centreback Gary Cahill cruised around looking much more capable than Terry.
In the first 34 minutes we saw Lampard playing for Lampard, trying to make runs into the box. I thought Lamps put sand in England\’s petrol tank. He was one of the reasons Rooney was anonymous.
Then, suuddenly, Stewart Downing pulled back a killer cross with his right foot. The ball was going just behind Ashley Young, who hopped backwards and smashed a shot low inside the post. Good agility, canny space-finding, correct body shape with his head down, excellent shooting technique.
That Ashley Young goal turned the match upside down.
Rocked by the goal and wanting to avoid a second before half-time, Wales fell back into their rear third and stopped doing all the things they\’d been doing to disrupt England\’s rhythm, so England were now able play with fluency, brighter movement, everyone suddenly wanting the ball, making runs, looking more promising. When a team scores, it\’s always more confident.
Second half, England started with a high tempo but got caught out by a fine crossfield ball from Aaron Ramsey, who put Gareth Bale clean through and onside. But the linesman gave him offside. Wales didn\’t have another chance until 76 when sub Rob Earnshaw stabbed over the bar from three yards.
Nothing much was happening, it was fairly dull stuff, although Gareth Barry had made a good covering tackle on Ramsey in the box.
One of the most forgettable England games.
A mostly pedestrian second half performance was not improved by the arrival of the subs.
However, Capello sees his job as qualification and he’s one point from doing that. A win is a win is a win.
You couldn’t blame Welsh fans among the 77,000 crowd for singing,”Fourth in the world?You’re having a laugh!”
Yes, Lampard is a good pro and a good tourist.
If nothing else, he’s a safe pair of hands. He’s too experienced to ever be wholly bad. And in trying to score the goal that would have sealed the game, he was doing the right thing.
But he’s 33 and has always been too obvious, too limited, too methodical, a player with almost no disguise in his game. When he was scoring 20 goals a season, fine. But these days Lampard only scores penalties.
Last night he stifled Rooney and England can’t perform if Rooney is cramped.
Since Euro 2004, when Rooney exploded onto the world stage as a teenager in a tournament where Lampard scored goals, I’ve always had a nagging feeling that Lampard and Rooney are incompatible. I have never seen any rapport between them.
Yes, I know I’ve had plenty of chances in the last seven years to mention that.
For me, Wayne needs to be unihibited, needs to be surrounded by players who play with him and for him, as Nani, Welbeck and Anderson do at United. Players who read him, make runs, give him options, give him another half a yard. If Rooney has that, he can create, score, excite, lift crowds, make people happy.
But, of course, it wasn’t just Lamps who made Roo look average.
My verdict on the game was: Wales and Lampard make Rooney look average. And : Ashley Young doesn’t need Lampard and Rooney doesn’t suit him.
Congratulations to Ashley Cole for his 91st cap. All starts.
91 starts as England’s left back.
Wow!!!!
Finest player Arsenal has produced for decades.
Yes, Ashley Cole struggled against the bigger, younger, more powerful Gareth Bale, so this wasn\’t one of his best England games by a long way.But he is still a helluva player.