England, Wales, Ireland win World Cup qualifiers, Scots lose

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Sunday, 07 September 2008

MANAGING ENGLAND: Fabio Capello (pictured) must have been concerned at his teams lack of goal-scoring opportunities against Andorra. (AFP)

Supersub Joe Cole rescued England as his double secured a 2-0 victory over Andorra in their opening World Cup qualifier while Ireland and Wales both won their matches and Scotland suffered defeat against Macedonia on Saturday.

The England winger's match-winning effort merely papered over the cracks of another lacklustre display from Fabio Capello's side.

England laboured through a woeful first half at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona before Cole came on to score two well-taken goals in the space of seven minutes.

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There was never any real doubt the visitors would leave Spain with three points, but the way they struggled to break down Andorra's motley collection of part-timers will be a major concern for Capello ahead of the crucial clash against Croatia in Zagreb.

Even Steve McClaren's England scored three against Andorra in match widely perceived as the nadir of his reign and Capello can expect to suffer the backlash if Croatia win on Wednesday.

"People think that this should be an easy game but they got 10 men behind the ball and made it difficult on a very sticky pitch," said Cole.

"I was told by the coach to make something happen because the game needed a little spark and we got the job done.

"No we have to move on and face Croatia. The two games are different animals, you can't compare them."

Capello couldn't claim to be surprised that Andorra opted for a purely defensive gameplan, so England's lack of guile in the final third was a damning indictment of their preparation.

The Italian gave Theo Walcott his first start in place of David Beckham as he tried to give England an injection of pace.

Glen Johnson came in at right-back ahead of Wes Brown, while Joleon Lescott replaced injured centre-back Rio Ferdinand and Jermain Defoe partnered Wayne Rooney up front.

Andorra included an insurance salesman and a painter in their side, but the players of the tiny principality, 186th in FIFA's world rankings, had rattled England during their last meeting in March 2007.

A far more convincing performance was essential to provide a confidence boost before the Croatia game but England couldn't deliver.

There was early optimism as that extra speed down the flanks almost paid dividends in the first minute when Walcott surged clear and crossed towards Defoe, only for Koldo to smother the loose ball.

Walcott threatened again two minutes later when he ran onto Rooney's pass and chipped his shot over from a tight angle.

With Andorra content to defend with as many as nine players whenever England crossed the halfway line, it was essential Capello's side maintained a high tempo.

But they too often let the game drift and lacked the wit to deliver the killer pass that would unlock Andorra's massed defence.

Walcott's flick gave Rooney a golden opportunity in the 17th minute, but the Manchester United star's tentative finish was in keeping with his poor goal-scoring record for England.

Although Frank Lampard flashed a powerful low strike just wide moments later, the first signs of discontent from the England fans were heard as passes went astray with alarming regularity.

Gareth Barry scuffed a close-range effort wide before half-time and, for the second time in 18 months against the Andorrans, England trudged off to a chorus of disapproval.

They hadn't forced Koldo to make a proper save in 45 minutes and Capello was quick to show his anger by sending his players out early for the start of the second half. More significantly he put on Emile Heskey for Defoe and Cole for Stewart Downing.

It had taken McClaren's England 54 minutes to score against Andorra. At least Capello avoided the ignominy of breaking that record as Cole struck in the 48th minute.

Lampard floated in a free-kick that deflected off Lescott to Cole and the substitute lashed his volley past Koldo.

Cole had given England the dynamism they lacked in the first half and he scored again in the 55th minute.

Rooney provided the assist with a perfect pass and Cole ran through to clip his shot into the net.

Cole thought he had a hat-trick when he turned in Johnson's shot but the effort was ruled out for offside.

After that England returned to their disjointed former selves and the match petered out. Croatia are unlikely to be quaking.

Republic of Ireland beat Georgia 2-1 in their opening World Cup Group Eight match in Mainz to give Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni a winning start in his first competitive match.

Kevin Doyle headed the Republic ahead on 13 minutes in the game which was played on neutral territory following the bloody conflict which erupted in Georgia last month.

A mistake by goalkeeper Giorgi Loria gifted the second goal to Glenn Whelan on 70 minutes before Levan Kenia gave Georgia a late consolation.
It wasn't the most convincing win by Ireland who are in the same group as defending champions Italy and they were fortunate to see Alexander Iashvili miss an easy chance to score for Georgia just before half-time.

Teenage striker Samuel Vokes came off the bench to score a late winner as Wales beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in their opening World Cup qualifier at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The 18-year-old Wolves player found the net in the 81st minute to give John Toshack's side a winning start to their campaign in Group Four, a section likely to be dominated by Germany.

Just 15,000 fans watched the game inside the 75,000-capacity stadium and they endured a miserable afternoon which was summed up by Jason Koumas's penalty miss against an Azerbaijan side who had Fabio Luis Ramim sent off.

Vokes scored when he swept Gareth Bale's corner past Azerbaijan goalkeeper Kamran Agaev from close-range.

"I am satisfied with the result and the performance. Azerbaijan have improved considerably over the past two years and they provided a very serious test for us," said Toshack.

"We dominated the match and heads could easily have dropped after the penalty was missed. But we kept going, refused to let it bother us for long, and fully deserved the winner. We were easily the better team."

Scotland crashed to a 1-0 defeat in their opening World Cup Group Nine qualifying game against Macedonia here on Saturday where temperatures hit a sizzling 35 degrees.

The Scotland players suffered in sweltering conditions in Skopje and fell behind quickly to a Ilco Naumoski goal in the fifth minute.

The Scots improved in the second-half but could not find their way past a stubborn Macedonian defence and are still looking for their first win under George Burley.

Macedonia took the lead with their first effort of the game in the fifth minute following a controversial free-kick won by Goran Maznov after he appeared to go down easily following a challenge from Stephen McManus.

Macedonian captain Goce Sedloski hit the free-kick from 25 yards out with power and pace which goalkeeper Craig Gordon did well to turn onto the post but Naumoski reacted quickest to knock the rebound into the net.

Scotland defender Gary Caldwell was in the thick of the action and did well to head clear a Goran Pandev cross after the forward had superbly brought the ball down in the box in the 23rd minute.

A minute later the Lazio player then connected perfectly with a volley from the edge of the box which smashed into the chest of Caldwell.

In the 30th minute James McFadden had Scotland's first real chance when he cut in from the right side of the box but he delayed too much and his effort was eventually blocked by a defender.

The Scots grew in confidence and Barry Robson was next to have an attempt from 25 yards in the 35th minute but his effort was weak and easily saved by Petar Milosevski.

Caldwell saved his team from falling further behind with a brilliant last ditch tackle on Maznov in the 38th minute just as the striker was going to pull the trigger as he raced in on goal.

Scotland started the second-half brightly and won a succession of corners in the first five minutes.

Scott Brown came close to an equaliser in the 51st minute. The Celtic midfielder drove from the half-way line and his pass to Darren Fletcher was deflected back into his path but his effort from the edge of the box was well saved by Milosevski.

Scotland thought they had a penalty in the 52nd minute when Robson appeared to be brought down but the referee waved away their appeals.

Only a stunning save by Gordon stopped Macedonia increasing their lead in the 56th minute.

Scotland should have had a penalty in the 71st minute when the Macedonian keeper swept McFadden's feet from under him as he attempted to take the ball round him but the referee again ignored the Scottish players' appeals.

Scotland pushed for an equaliser with substitute Shaun Maloney coming closest in the final minute with a drive from the edge of the box but the Macedonians held on for the win.

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