30/03/05
England win -
Categories: England win despite missed opportunities
England continued their winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan in Newcastle. Owen, Rooney, Beckham, and Lampard all missed first half chances on goal, Lampard coming the closest with a shot off the goal post. So at the half, the game remained a scoreless draw, a result Azerbaijan would have taken in a second. But England finally broke through in the second half. Steven Gerrard netted the first goal, scoring from a Wayne Rooney cross. Gerrard's volley was hammered into the ground and then bounced off the underside of the crossbar into the goal.
Frank Lampard set up the second goal with a precise long pass from the other side of the center line. Lampard's pass found David Beckham streaking past the defense in a perfectly timed run to stay onside. Beckham chested the ball down, collected it in stride, and fired it just past the keeper inside the left post of the goal. England could have easily scored four or five more, but Owen continued to miss chances and the Azerbaijan keeper continued to make impressive saves.
In a bizarre post-match interview, the Azerbaijan coach harshly criticized Michael Owen. After reading pre-match comments from Owen that were perhaps translated incorrectly, Carlos Alberto mistakenly thought Owen had bragged that he would score 5 goals against Azerbaijan. After he went scoreless for the game, Alberto called him a "midget" and suggested that he was an insignificant footballer who should clean Beckham's boots. Owen's teammates and coaches insisted he made no such claim before the match.
Although England did not win as impressively as Poland's 8-0 victory over Azerbaijan, they remain in first place in their qualifying group. And their midfield looks to be one of the best in the world. Wayne Rooney was touted as England's best goal-scoring threat, but all four starting midfielders scored in the two qualifying games this week. Other countries should be warned. The quartet of Lampard, Beckham, Gerrard, and Cole might just be the key to England's World Cup triumph.
The English Premier League resumes this weekend as the national team players return to their professional clubs.
