Friday September 7, 2012 1st Round: Group H Finished Stadionul Zimbru

Moldova 0 - 5 England

  • Lampard 3’ (pen.), 29’
  • Defoe 32’
  • Milner 74’
  • Baines 83’

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  1. Lampard: I never wanted to retire

    Lampard: I never wanted to retire

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  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Moldova
    • England
    • 90+2' All over! A 5-0 win for England in Moldova. A job well done by Roy Hodgson's side. Thanks for joining us.
    • 89' We are into two minutes of time added on.
    • 88' England look like they are going to declare on five for the night. Keeping the ball again with some ease.
    • 87' Terry has taken a dull one obviously earlier in the game. Walcott is thwarted as he embarked on a long run from the halfway line.
    • 86' Terry has decided to call it a night and England are now down to 10 men for these final few minutes.
    • 85' A 5-0 win is a job well done for England. There will obviously be harder nights than this, but this has been a professional job by Roy Hodgson's side.
    • 84' England trying to construct a move from the back. Remaining patient in their passing. Walcott finishes off the latest move with a shot straight into the arms of Namasco.
    • 83' Massive deflection, but might as well take it while they are on offer. Belgium leads Wales 2-0 elsewhere tonight for what it is worth.
    • 82' GOAL! Baines sees a free-kick deflect off Gatcan before nestling in the net. So fortunate for England, but they all count.
    • 81' Welbeck felled by Golovatenco as he made a dash into the home half. Free-kick chance for England from 25 yards.
    • 80' Ten minutes left. England forced to defend another corner by Patras before a shot is collected by Hart from the Patras shot. All very tame.
    • 79' Moldova have won a corner here. Going to be swept in by Patras, but Lampard does the necessary clearing up work.
    • 78' Johnson collects out wide, but just overdoes the first touch which forces him to race into a late challenge on Gatcan. Second touch almost like a tackle there.
    • 77' England have conceded just nine goals in their last 13 matches, keeping eight clean sheets. Would expect this to be number 14.
    • 76' England assistant coach Gary Neville has been spotted on the touchline making a few hand signals. He could probably still do a job in this type of match.
    • 75' Eugen Sidorenco has replaced Igor Picusciac for Moldova. Let the good times roll.
    • 74' Johh Terry down on the deck needing a bit of treatment which is the cue for Moldova to send on another new face.
    • 73' Moldova chasing shadows in their own home area. Not the sort of goal you like to concede, but has been symbolic of the evening.
    • 72' GOAL! But England add the fourth as Milner drives home the fourth after clever play between Walcott and Welbeck in the home box.
    • 71' You get the feeling a Moldova goal would send this crowd into some sort of bedlam.
    • 70' Golovatenco lucky to avoid conceding a penalty after he clearly handled a Johnson pass in his own box. Not that it is going to make much difference to the outcome.
    • 69' Moldova visit Poland on Tuesday night in their second match of the section. Isn't going to get any easier for them there.
    • 68' Gatcan piles into a late challenge on Terry in mid-air. Carrick takes the free-kick, but opt to retain possession.
    • 67' And so England shuffle their pack again as Danny Welbeck is introduced to replace Defoe.
    • 66' Lampard enjoying tonight much more than last week when he was being taken to the cleaners by Atletico Madrid in the European Super Cup.
    • 65' Lampard picks out Cleverley with a lovely ball across the face of goal, but Cleverley knocks the shot wide of goal. Best move of the half by England.
    • 64' Armas out to meet the ball again. This time Johnson's cross is nudged out for a corner to England.
    • 63' Armas manages to clear the danger from Milner's driven ball across the face of goal.
    • 62' England with six shots on goal in this match compared to one by the home side.
    • 61' England will fly home in a hearty mood before the Ukraine visit Wembley on Tuesday evening. That should be a bit tougher than this.
    • 60' Moldova managing to string three or four passes together, but most of it is done inside their own half. No need for England to chase this.
    • 59' Moldova trying to hit on the break without too much success after Lescott sees a shot charged down inside the home area.
    • 58' Lampard's last brace for England was versus Croatia in 2009; the first was a penalty and the second was a header set up by Glen Johnson.
    • 57' Oxlade-Chamberlain sees his number come up as he departs to be replaced by Theo Walcott.
    • 56' Milner trying to exert himself out wide. Nudged off the ball by Armas before Moldova clear the corner.
    • 55' Gatcan drives a shot at goal. No real pace. Not the most impressive of defending by England, but Lescott finally gets the ball clear from inside the box.
    • 54' Moldova not playing two banks of four. More a flat back eight. But they are on the move here.
    • 53' England trying to work neat little angles and tricks around the box. Moldova living on scraps and struggling to get forward with any real authority.
    • 52' England also have San Marino in this group. Not sure what the scoreline will be there. Moldova against San Marino should be a cracking match though.
    • 51' Oxlade-Chamberlain picks out the run of Milner, who hoists a high hopeful ball into the middle. Namasco forced to watch that like a hawk before plucking it out of the air.
    • 50' Johnson harshly penalised for a late challenge on Dedov. Wasn't too much in that. England regroup and look to get back on the attack.
    • 49' Also a change for Moldova for what it is worth as Alexandru Dedov takes over from Alexandr Suvorov.
    • 48' Nice play by Johnson rampaging down a flank. He picks out Cleverley, but the volley is scooped over the bar. England continue where they left off in the first period.
    • 47' Michael Carrick has replaced Steven Gerrard for England. Chance for him to impress.
    • 46' We are off and running in the second period of this match.
    • 45' And there goes the whistle. England with a 3-0 lead at the break. On easy street. They think it's Moldova? It Chisinau. More goals coming in the second period.
    • 44' Not going to be much time added to this half. Has raced by with England utterly dominant.
    • 43' Kovalchuk with a decent cross from the short corner. Met by Armas, but his header is narrowly wide of the target. England almost pay the price for switching off.
    • 42' Hart off his line from a Moldova free-kick. Never really got the proper contact on the punch as it flies behind for a corner.
    • 41' Milner sets up Cleverley in the box. Tried to lift the ball into the path of a companion, but it goes over the bar with Baines coming in at the back post.
    • 40' Gerrard looking none too amused with that. Strikers tend to become greedy for goals in these sorts of situations. If England can pick a final pass, they will score more.
    • 39' Oxlade-Chamberlain showing some neat skill out wide before Defoe slams another shot wide of the goal.
    • 38' They say there are no easy games. I disagree. This is as easy as you could expect it for England. Nice surface to to get their passing game going.
    • 37' Chance again for Defoe, but he slams the shot at goal and it rebounds back off him via a blue shirt for a goalkick to Moldova.
    • 36' Alexandru Epureanm heads towards goal from Suvorov's ball into the box, but wide of goal. Never really threatening to test Joe Hart.
    • 35' All of the England players looking to get involved here. So much space for the white shirts to run into.
    • 34' The England fans entertain themselves by singing 'God Save The Queen'. Or God help Moldova. Whatever you think if you are watching this mismatch.
    • 33' This has the feel of an FA Cup match and the look of it with this ground, but sadly Moldova are going to be nothing but cannon fodder.
    • 32' Golovatenco knocks the ball out of play after being teased by James Milner. England continue to keep the ball with some ease.
    • 31' Lampard is surely going to be chasing a hat-trick here. Goodness knows what this might end up. Moldova really need to sober up. Feeling some heat.
    • 30' GOAL! Defoe nets the third goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain's pass. Low and hard finish. Awful goalkeeping from Namasco. Should have kept that out.
    • 29' Cleverley drives a shot wide from 25 yards with the home goalkeeper looking none too clever. Surely more goals in this for England.
    • 28' Moldova were looking a bit brighter so that is a great time to add the second of the night.
    • 27' GOAL! England move two ahead as Lampard rises to nod home the header from Johnson's cross. Two for Lamps now. All going to script for England.
    • 26' Johnson smashes a shot at goal at the other end, but Namasco goes down low to make the stop. Needed the help of his goalkeeper to clear the danger.
    • 25' Hart forced to dive seconds later to keep out a shot by Patras. Good spell this for Moldova. Growing in confidence.
    • 24' Gatcan drives a shot at goal, but just wide of the target. Terry doing well to get a touch on that ball to knock it wide.
    • 23' The previous two meetings between Moldova and England were for the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign. In September 1996 England won 0-3 in Moldova and then beat them 4-0 at home in September 1997.
    • 22' Gerrard with a thumping strike at goal, but just flies over the crossbar from Lampard's lay-off. Was real venom on that, but not the desired direction.
    • 21' Epureanu brings down Baines on the edge of his box, and England have a free-kick opportunity here.
    • 20' Lampard trying to dink a little ball through the middle with Milner on the move, but it ends up landing safely with Namasco in the home goal.
    • 19' Terry forced to head the ball clear from Covalciuc's cross. Slowly, but surely Moldova starting to find their feet perhaps after a groggy start.
    • 18' At least Moldova have had a go at goal. Locals looking a bit more pleased after that attempt.
    • 17' Patras decides to try his luck from 35 yards out. Ball dips just over the bar. Hart was scrambling, but the ball was never on target.
    • 16' Johnson with a ball across the face of goal. Defoe almost on the end of that before Bulgaru clears the danger from his own box.
    • 15' A full house inside this ground for this match which shows the attraction of England in this part of the world.
    • 14' Oxlade-Chamberlain going at his markers with real pace. Cleverley sees the ball scrambled clear as he tried to combine with Gerrard.
    • 13' Namasoo called into action again to repel a volley by Oxlade-Chamberlain. Really solid stop. Moldova hemmed in.
    • 12' England have now been awarded 100 penalties in their history – scoring 69 and seeing 31 saved or missed. Frank Lampard has scored eight of these – more than any other England player.
    • 11' Chance for Defoe, but a fine diving stop by Namasco before Moldova clear the danger. England continue their decent early work.
    • 10' Just to confirm that Bulgaru has been booked for his handball. Could easily have been a red card as he was the last man back.
    • 9' Defoe slips the ball just wide of goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross. So slick moving forward. England should be two ahead there. A real high tempo from the visiting side.
    • 8' Moldova have won only one of their last 12 matches, a 4-0 home win vs San Marino, on 6 Sep 2011.
    • 7' This could be a long night for the home side unless they get out of their half. Toiling to get any forward momentum at the moment. England have plenty of options.
    • 6' England continue on the offensive. They win a corner. Cleared by Moldova. The ball ends up back with Gerrard, but he lifts the cross straight out of play.
    • 5' Johnson has been booked for a late challenge on Covalciuc. England see out the free-kick without too much fuss, but Johnson could have done without the booking.
    • 4' GOAL! Lampard sticks the ball low to the keeper's right. No chance for Namasco in the home goal. Dream start for England.
    • 3' PENALTY TO ENGLAND! Cleverley's shot deemed to be blocked by the hand of Bulgaru. Bit harsh, but the Dutch referee says penalty.
    • 2' England on the move right away here. Looking very hungry on the ball with Oxlade-Chamberlain looking to get on the ball out wide. Pressing the home side back.
    • 1' We are off and running here.
    • 19.40 England and Moldova are out on the park here. England led out by Chelsea captain John Terry for this one. Moldova singing their national anthem with some gusto out there.
    • 19.35 Moldova have won only two of their 38 World Cup qualifying matches. Their goal difference in these matches is 19-75. England have qualified for all World Cups since missing out of the 1994 USA World Cup, the last World Cup to be played in the Americas.
    • 19.30 Ion Testemitanu (Moldova assistant): "Rooney not playing is very, very big for us - we are very lucky. Andy Carroll not playing is also good news. We have a chance now. Anyone can win on any day. We are realistic and understand who England are and will be careful from the first minute to the 90th. England are always very good - there are no secrets. I saw how they played at Euro 2012 and was impressed. We are a young team and a young country, with a population of only four million."
    • 19.25 Roy Hodgson: "I know that outside of our little group who are preparing for the game there will be a lot of thought that Moldova are not very special, not very strong, but we certainly don’t go into the game with that thought at all. We go into the game knowing they had a draw and a narrow defeat against Holland in the last qualifying campaign."
    • 19.20 Roy Hodgson: "There are a lot of factors when you go to a place like Moldova. What’s the stadium going to be like? What’s the atmosphere going to be like? What’s the pitch going to be like? How good are these players? And we have to relate that to the players we choose and make sure they go into the game with the best possible preparation."
    • 19.15 Here is Early Doors on what we can expect from England this evening. They think it's Moldova? It Chisinau. Surely an England win is on the cards. England expects as Roy’s apprenticeship ends
    • 19.10 Moldova suffer from a lack of star players and no member of their squad has scored more than two international goals. The majority of the squad play in either Moldova or Russia, and defender Petru Racu is currently a free agent following a spell in Denmark with Hjorring. Striker Igor Picusceac has started the past three games and is expected to lead the Moldova attack.
    • 19.05 England are depleted in attack with both Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll missing due to injury. Jermain Defoe is expected to start as a lone striker. Ashley Cole's fitness problems mean Leighton Baines will make a first competitive start while Ashley Young and Adam Johnson are also unavailable on the wings. Roy Hodgson is expected to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation that beat Italy in August with Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard starting in a deep role.
    • 19.00 England team for this evening: Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Baines; Milner, Gerrard, Lampard, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cleverley; Defoe
    • 18.55 Good evening and welcome to LIVE coverage of England's opening World Cup qualifying match against Moldova in Group H. Doesn't seem to have been so long since the Euros finished, but we are back on the emotional treadmill this evening.

  • Summary

    • 82' GOAL! Baines sees a free-kick deflect off Gatcan before nestling in the net. So fortunate for England, but they all count.
    • 72' GOAL! But England add the fourth as Milner drives home the fourth after clever play between Walcott and Welbeck in the home box.
    • 70' Golovatenco lucky to avoid conceding a penalty after he clearly handled a Johnson pass in his own box. Not that it is going to make much difference to the outcome.
    • 65' Lampard picks out Cleverley with a lovely ball across the face of goal, but Cleverley knocks the shot wide of goal. Best move of the half by England.
    • 48' Nice play by Johnson rampaging down a flank. He picks out Cleverley, but the volley is scooped over the bar. England continue where they left off in the first period.
    • 43' Kovalchuk with a decent cross from the short corner. Met by Armas, but his header is narrowly wide of the target. England almost pay the price for switching off.
    • 30' GOAL! Defoe nets the third goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain's pass. Low and hard finish. Awful goalkeeping from Namasco. Should have kept that out.
    • 29' Cleverley drives a shot wide from 25 yards with the home goalkeeper looking none too clever. Surely more goals in this for England.
    • 27' GOAL! England move two ahead as Lampard rises to nod home the header from Johnson's cross. Two for Lamps now. All going to script for England.
    • 26' Johnson smashes a shot at goal at the other end, but Namasco goes down low to make the stop. Needed the help of his goalkeeper to clear the danger.
    • 24' Gatcan drives a shot at goal, but just wide of the target. Terry doing well to get a touch on that ball to knock it wide.
    • 22' Gerrard with a thumping strike at goal, but just flies over the crossbar from Lampard's lay-off. Was real venom on that, but not the desired direction.
    • 17' Patras decides to try his luck from 35 yards out. Ball dips just over the bar. Hart was scrambling, but the ball was never on target.
    • 13' Namasoo called into action again to repel a volley by Oxlade-Chamberlain. Really solid stop. Moldova hemmed in.
    • 11' Chance for Defoe, but a fine diving stop by Namasco before Moldova clear the danger. England continue their decent early work.
    • 9' Defoe slips the ball just wide of goal from Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross. So slick moving forward. England should be two ahead there. A real high tempo from the visiting side.
    • 4' GOAL! Lampard sticks the ball low to the keeper's right. No chance for Namasco in the home goal. Dream start for England.
    • 3' PENALTY TO ENGLAND! Cleverley's shot deemed to be blocked by the hand of Bulgaru. Bit harsh, but the Dutch referee says penalty.
    • 19.00 England team for this evening: Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Baines; Milner, Gerrard, Lampard, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cleverley; Defoe

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Moldova

    Manager: Ion Caras

  • England

    Manager: Roy Hodgson

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      4.9 -
      Defenders
      4.7 -
      5.2 -
      Yellow Card 4.8 -
      5.3 -
      Midfielders
      5.1 -
      Substitution Out45′ 4.9 -
      5.3 -
      5.2 -
      4.9 -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out76′ 4.7 -
      Subs
      Substitution In85′ 3.2 -
      Substitution In45′ 3.8 -
      Substitution In76′ Substitution Out85′ 3 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.1 -
      Defenders
      Yellow Card 5.9 -
      Goal 6.2 -
      5.1 -
      5.4 -
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out45′ 6.1 -
      5.9 -
      Goal 5.6 -
      Goals ×2 6.8 -
      Substitution Out58′ 7 -
      Strikers
      Goal Substitution Out68′ 6.7 -
      Subs
      Substitution In45′ 5.3 -
      Substitution In58′ 6.5 -
      Substitution In68′ 5.8 -

Comment 57 - 77 of 77

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  1. People have misunderstood what Gerrard said in a post­ match BBC interview due to a technical fault. Gerrard­ did not say that England will win the World Cup, What­ he said was that England have won the world Cup. Way­ back in the last century.

    From ERIC, on Sat 8 Sep 19:30

  2. it seems like the ox is ahead of walcott already! he­ works much more and looks more dangerous aswell,­ already!

    From Daniel, on Sat 8 Sep 17:13

  3. I checked all Group tables and I just can't ­ believe how lucky England is. San Marino, Moldova !! ­ ....If they do not qualify easily winning all the­ matches then that would be really worrying....

    From riff, on Sat 8 Sep 9:54

  4. avoid manchester united players from england team. then­ england will win every times. united players are­ playing for their club only. eg. rooney, wellback

    From Alfa, on Sat 8 Sep 8:21

  5. two more player deserve call up from ROY MICAH RICHARDS­ best english right-back and PETER CROUCH 10 times­ better than CARROL. glad to hear than ADAM JOHNSON is­ in english team after escaped manchini's jail on­ the city's bentch. RICHARDS CROUCH

    From Kostala, on Sat 8 Sep 6:31

  6. It's MOLDOVA that we've beaten, not Brazil. A­ country the size of Peckham with a population of about­ 42. England remain where they were (about 12th in the­ world) and will not be winning any tournaments for AT­ LEAST the next decade, and perhaps not even for many­ years after that. But if you want to get excited about­ beating this team of off-duty shepherds and goatherds -­ go nuts.

    From Damon, on Sat 8 Sep 4:16

  7. Where you from Allan (83)? I don't see anyone getting­ excited, personally i'm not excited at all about­ beating moldova 5-0 i expected it. You sound like­ you've got a chip on your shoulder mate, don't see any­ reason to slag off england so much unless you're­ jealous or something, cos to be honest if whatever team­ you support were better than england there'd be no need­ to shout about how #$%$ england are you would just let­ your team say it.

    From Paul F, on Sat 8 Sep 1:32

  8. typical england getting all excited after beating the­ dog and duck, when will u lot ever learn your nothing­ better than bog standard average who couldn't win a­ bloody raffle, world cup your having a laugh 3rd in the­ world thats got to be a joke mind u that includes­ friendlys no one apart from england take them seriously­ the first half decent team that u play will hump u as­ usual.

    From ALLAN, on Fri 7 Sep 23:18

  9. 66 ireland won tonight they played like #$%$ but still­ won

    From Damien, on Fri 7 Sep 22:42

  10. Sarah keep shouting back got a room of laughter here

    From Nathim, on Fri 7 Sep 22:40

  11. haha sorry u missed the spelling joke. Made my evening.

    From Nathim, on Fri 7 Sep 22:35

  12. Pizza, a few bottles of beer and England won. Nice­ night.

    From no-one-is-no-one, on Fri 7 Sep 22:25

  13. I respect your intellegent responce Sarah-Jane

    From Nathim, on Fri 7 Sep 22:15

  14. @Sarah-jane Heres my anti Lampard rant 25 goals over 8­ yrs . 20 of which scored against Croatia,­ Iceland, Austria, Wales, Noorthern Ireland, Jamaica,­ Greece, Solvakia, Kazetstan, Austria & Moldova. ­ 3 tournament finals 2 goals says it all, Keep talking­ him up for Brazil.

    From Nathim, on Fri 7 Sep 22:08

  15. Useless Welbeck !!

    From Antares H, on Fri 7 Sep 22:03
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ENGLANDS #$%$

    From Dimitar, on Fri 7 Sep 21:49
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Well done but Gerrard and Wellbeck is fekin useless

    From M J R, on Fri 7 Sep 21:48

  18. just who the hell needs Rooney

    From Tony B, on Fri 7 Sep 21:46

  19. Another fine outing for the West Ham Academy: Lampard,­ Carrick, Defoe, Johnstone. Just need Joe Cole back in­ the picture and, of course, the Ferdinand Brothers. You­ need at least three Hammers to win a world cup. COYI!

    From JONATHAN, on Fri 7 Sep 21:45

  20. Seem to recall someone making comments about having­ Defoe as the only recognised striker in the week. That­ and Hodgson was wrong to not replace players that were­ ruled out. That's some knowledge you've got­ there chaps. Well done.

    From Simmo160, on Fri 7 Sep 21:42
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