England ease past Estonia

On a very good day for England’s sporting nation, the football team kept their end of the bargain with an easy 3-0 victory at home to Estonia. 3-0 has suddenly become a talismanic score-line with England’s footballers in European Championship qualifiers. Five games in a row have finished 3-0 in favour of England, but more importantly Steve McClaren, for so long the beleaguered manager of the England team, seems to have found the formula to win over an expectant nation and a hungry press pack.

England wasted little time getting into the groove. Shaun Wright Phillips scored his third goal for England with a shot through the legs of the Estonian goalkeeper Mart Poom. With only eleven minutes on the clock, the Wembley crowd took a huge breath and drew in the scent of a slaughter. Wayne Rooney had attempted to lob Poom from distance, but had found the roof of the net. Rooney corrected matters in the 32nd minute as he easily converted Joe Cole’s cross from the right with a left foot shot that ran along the ground and past Poom.

Perhaps Estonia could tell it wasn’t to be their day when Taavi Rahn headed an Ashley Cole cross past Poom and into the net for 3-0. Indeed with the half time score sat neatly at 3-0 all the talk was of how the second half would pan out. With a tough trip to Moscow very much on McClaren’s mind, it would be interesting to see what kind of approach he would adopt. The mention of slaughters and thrashings seemed to become irrelevant with the game now seemingly won. Resting players might be the logical action for the England manager to take.

Michael Owen could well have been rested, purely because of his recent injury problems. With all sides keen to dismiss any talk of disagreement between club and country, Owen stayed firmly on the pitch until late in the second half. Owen was understandably trying to get the slaughter going again. Ten more goals and Bobby Charlton’s record would be his. In truth there were no real chances in the second half. Joe Cole looked threatening and Owen was hampered by the offside game of the Estonians, but the whole performance gave cause for the England fans to metaphorically put their feet up.

Thoughts now turn to the plastic pitch in Russia. The bare facts are that an England win would guarantee Steve McClaren’s men a place in next summer’s finals in Austria and Switzerland. Elsewhere a certain Jonny Wilkinson was furthering his cause for a knighthood with a late penalty and drop goal to send England’s rugby team past France and into the rugby World Cup final. All in all, a very satisfying weekend for England’s sportsmen. (I won’t mention England’s defeat to Sri Lanka in the fifth One-Day International, but cut them some slack. After all they have already won the series!)

By Stuart Croucher