Euro 2008 qual. - England Beck with a bang with Estonia win
Eurosport - Wed, 06 Jun 22:41:00 2007
Euro 2008 qual. - David Beckham proved the catalyst as England got their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign back on track with a 3-0 victory over Estonia in Tallinn, and gave their beleaguered coach a much-needed boost.
Joe Cole set the ball rolling on 37 minutes as a simple long-throw routine came good. Wayne Bridge hurled the ball in from the left, Peter Crouch rose well above Enver Jaager to flick the ball on, and Cole showed excellent technique to hold off Dmitri Kruglov, chest the ball over his left shoulder and swivel in time to fire a half-volley in off the far post.
In the second half, Beckham arrowed a perfectly-weighted long ball over the top of the Estonian defence for Crouch, who headed firmly beyond Mart Poom to effectively put the result beyond doubt.
Michael Owen then grabbed England's third of the night - and his first since returning from injury - volleying home a Beckham cross after being left alone in the centre of the area.
The Three Lions remain fourth in Group E, though move to within three points of leaders Croatia.
Steve McClaren had promised his side would set out to attack in his pre-match press conference, and so it proved, as England took control of the midfield early on, and moved the ball wide to Cole and Beckham on the flanks early on.
Many would have been backing the former England captain to seal his competitive return with a goal when Owen drew a foul from Ragnar Klavan on the edge of the area, though Beckham fizzed the free-kick just over the bar.
It seemed moments later as if Beckham would be forced from the field as he struggled with a twisted left ankle, though he forced himself to play on, and remained at the heart of the majority of England's attacking play.
His inswinging free-kick caused chaos in the Estonia box in the 29th minute and almost led to England's first goal as Poom could only parry the ball to Owen. The Newcastle front man seized onto the loose ball, though took a touch too many before shooting, and allowed a challenge to come in.
The travelling England hordes, who were in far more positive mood than was the case at Wembley on Friday, would not have much longer to wait for the opening goal though, and the technique Cole displayed in bringing down Crouch's flick-on made it a strike to savour.
Despite their clear superiority in the first half, a misjudgement in the England defence almost let Estonia in just before the break, and 'keeper Paul Robinson was forced to come rushing from his line to clear from the feet of Vladimir Voskoboinikov.
A rather pedestrian start to the second half was brought to life, with Beckham again the source of England's inspiration. He dropped a long ball straight into the path of Crouch's intelligent run behind the defence, and the big striker kept his composure to nod past the hapless Poom.
Seven minutes later England had their third. Beckham was again allowed far too much space to pick out the untracked run of Owen into the box, and he cushioned a volley beyond Poom and into the bottom right-hand corner from close range.
Perhaps the loudest cheer of the night was reserved for the former England captain when he was replaced by Kieran Dyer with 20 minutes to go.
In the absence of the injured Aaron Lennon, Dyer gave a useful reminder of his searing pace and the threat that comes with it. Twice he raced around his marker and into the area, though was let-down on the first occasion by a poor cut-back, and then over-ran the ball slightly on the second, allowing Poom to clear.
The one negative point of the night for England came when Crouch slid in needlessly on Joel Lindpere in the closing stages, and picked up a yellow card that rules him out of the clash with Israel in September.
Estonia saved their best moment of the game for the final minute, as a cross into the area ran through to Tarmo Kink, who rifled a low shot past Robinson, only to see captain John Terry recover to make a superb block on the line.
- MICK FITZGERALD -
