Owen 51
Baird 54 (og)
Lampard 62
The first half was a frustrating one for the England side, with good efforts from Lampard, Joe Cole and Rooney well saved by Maik Taylor. England kept posession well, had many chances and looked lively, but Ireland showed strength in their defending, and the 6000 travelling fans played their part in keeping the spirit of the team up.
With no changes made at half time, the same England squad managed to create better chances in the opening few minutes of the second half. Joe Cole proved to Sven why he should be a regular starter in the 47th minute, when h curved the ball past Taylor to put England into a well deserved lead. From then on, the goals just kept on coming! Michael Owen seemed to overcome his confidence lapse and smoothly guided the ball past the 'keeper with the outside of his right foot, and made it 2-0. Wayne Rooney showed good skill and determination to create the third for England when his cross aimed at Owen met the head of Ireland defender Chris Baird, who steered it into the back of his own net.
Lampard's shot from the edge of the penalty area was deflected off Murdoch's head to seal this win for a strong England team. Although Poland play Azerbaijan this evening, England will still top the table with 13 points. This convincing win will have pleased Sven Goren Erikson on his 50th game in charge, and the team should go into the next game against Azerbaijan at St. James' Park on Wednesday night, full of confidence.
Player Comments:
Paul Robinson: Had very little work to do. Made one simple stop.
Gary Neville: Showed poor control on occasions, but linked well with Beckham.
Ashley Cole: No sign that he has been unsettled by the FA charges against him. Had good ideas, a cool head and was commited to the cause.
John Terry: Defended soundly as well as lookin lively going forward. Organised the defence well, especially during set pieces.
Rio Ferdinand:Solid and calm defending as always. Made his presence felt wihout conceeding set pieces.
Steven Gerrard: Was second best to Lampard in the centre of midfield, and was fairly quiet. However, he won balls well and showed goos passing quality.
Frank Lampard: Shone on the pitch today. Earned the fourth goal for England, and had many other chances to score himself. Determined throughout the match.
David Beckham: Unfortunate to have a good free kick saved in the first half. Took other set pieces well, but still lacking scoring abilty and pace at times.
Joe Cole: MAN OF THE MATCH. He shone throughout creating chances for his team mates, and scoring a skilled goal himself. Only his third start for England, but should begin more regularly after this.
Wayne Rooney: Looked lively at times. Was unlucky not to score himself after hitting the bar, but set up the third goal.
Michael Owen: Scored a good opening to goal to liven up the rest of the team. When he was in posession, looked dangerous. Lacked confidence at times.
SUBS-Owen Hargreaves (71): Passed the ball well and made his presence felt.
Kieron Dyer (71): Was very lively on the right hand side of the pitch. Could have been enough to earn place in starting line up on Wednesday night.
Jermaine Defoe (80): Given no chances to show his ability, and his lack of height caused a few problems. Looked determined.
(Unused Subs- David James, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Emile Heskey.)
