Young edges England closer to their goal

SOCCER EURO 2012 QUALIFYING GROUP G: England1 Wales 0:ENGLAND MET a side who were supposed to be far removed from them, yet these teams could have been locked together. The Wales substitute Robert Earnshaw missed the target entirely when he ought to have equalised from close range in the 76th minute after a free-kick had been knocked back to him by Darcy Blake.

England’s goal from Ashley Young was therefore the winner that keeps the side on track to edge out Montenegro in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

England were placid for much of the first half but probably understood that superior ability would tell sooner or later. It did so in the 35th minute when Stewart Downing went past Joe Ledley on the right and cut the ball back for Young to score with a low shot at the near post.

Wales arrived with nothing to play for and a great deal to enjoy. Gary Speed’s team were generally the brighter side before the interval. Indeed it was as well for the hosts then that Craig Bellamy was suspended.

England were relatively subdued and that was odd when the need for full points was marked if Montenegro’s prospects of winning the group were not to be revived. Capello obviously did not suppose that gambles had to be taken. Theo Walcott was not even on the bench. Scott Parker was demoted to the bench, with Tottenham Hotspur’s new signing a booking away from missing the game in Skopje. Following the win over Bulgaria, James Milner and Frank Lampard came into the starting XI.

Capello would surely have used the interval to remind his men that the one-goal advantage was too small a lead to be trusted. Yet there was no cause for Wales to quake and it was England who looked alarmed when a move ended with the right back, Chris Smalling, conceding a corner. The home crowd jeered when Gareth Bale twisted and battled before using space he had made to fire high but there would have been a trace of relief in the derision since the potential danger was clear.

England seemed to respond and in the 61st minute Gareth Barry set up Lampard for an attempt that went over the bar. The Chelsea midfielder would have wished to reassert himself before his replacement by Parker a dozen minutes later, but Wales would not behave as if they were members of his retinue. When England next had an opening, centre half Gary Cahill wheeled and lofted the ball over.

Capello was in no hurry to turn to his substitutes, perhaps indicating forwards such as Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll do not convince him. The manager might also have reckoned there was too little of the adroitness that had led to the England goal. It would have been clear to Capello, as well, Wales were showing a fixture with historic overtones can still be a genuine contest.

Guardian Service

ENGLAND:Hart; Smalling, Terry,Cahill, Cole, Milner, Lampard (Parker 73), Barry, Downing (Johnson 79), Young, Rooney (Carroll 89). Subs Not Used: Stockdale, Jagielka, Lescott, Defoe. Booked: Milner.

WALES:Hennessey; Gunter, Williams, Blake, Taylor, Bale, Crofts, Collison (King 85), Ramsey, Ledley, Morison (Earnshaw 68). Subs Not Used: Myhill, Danny Collins, James Collins, Allen, Robson-Kanu.

Referee:Robert Schorgenhofer (Austria).