Disappointing England stumble to Andorra win
Saturday, 06 Sep 2008 21:32
Joe Cole showed why he should start for England
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole came of the subs bench to score twice and rescue England as they beat Andorra 2-0 this evening.
England were in total control in the first-half but were unable to break down the group minnows and were booed off the pitch by their own fans at half time – just like they were when they played against the same opponents at the same ground in 2007.
Cole, who was surprisingly left out of the team in favour of Stewart Downing and Theo Walcott, came on at half-time and made an instant impact volleying in after 49 minutes. The midfielder added another goal six minutes later thanks to good play from Wayne Rooney.
England got off to a positive start as
Arsenal youngster Walcott gave them impetuous on the right-wing. The 19-year-old created a good chance for Rooney in the first couple of minutes, but the striker was unable to connect properly with Walcott's cross into the box.
Walcott was again the provider for Rooney, but this time the
Manchester United striker could only lift his shot just over the bar.
England then lost their way as they started to thump high and hopeless balls into the box which the likes of Jermain Defoe and Rooney unable to do anything with them.
The England fans booed their own players off at half-time and Fabio Capello heard those jeers and brought on Cole and Emile Heskey for the second-half.
Cole looked to add the energy England lacked up-front and he made the best possible contribution as he smashed home a volley, which was laid onto him by Jolean Lescott.
A moment of brilliance from Rooney then created a second goal for Cole. The striker gave a beautiful reverse ball right into the patch of Cole who slid the ball past Koldo in the Andorra goal to all but secure the points for England.
England barely broke a sweat from there on in as they conserved their energy for the daunting trip to Zagreb to face Croatia on Wednesday night.