[Report originally from www.thefa.com] England began their Group 6 campaign with two goals, one point and a couple of things to think about. Having taken a two-goal lead, the last thing that Sven would have wanted or expected would have been a draw but that is what we got after an inspired fight-back by Austria. England, starting with Wayne Bridge and Ashley Cole down the left, withstood some early pressure from the hosts before establishing their superiority, mainly thanks to influential pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the middle of midfield. England were working the ball well and finding good space down the flanks and when Gary Neville got to the by-line for the first time, his cross caused such confusion in the Austrian ranks that Alex Manninger leapt on a pass-back from Stranzl, handling it. From the ensuing free-kick from inside the area, everyone was expecting Beckham to let-fly. Instead, he clipped it to Lampard who was completely free a yard out. A man with his scoring touch isn’t going to miss from there. He tucked it home for his fifth goal in seven games for England. The statistics speak for themselves. Lampard soon turned provider, lofting the ball over the top for the sprightly Owen to scamper after. The striker’s shot was blocked by Manninger’s hands from a position that television replays showed was outside the box. England’s poor luck with penalties continues. We had no idea then how much valuable a second goal at that stage would have been. Still, when Steven Gerrard arced a superb strike into the top corner from the edge of the area with 25 minutes to go, it looked as though everything was on course for Sven’s men to head to Katowice with three points under their belts. Then a three-minute burst turned the game on its head. Kollman’s super curling free-kick brought Austria back to life before Ivanschitz’s skidding drive slid under David James. Thee Ernst-Happel Stadium erupted. England’s elation swiftly turned to deflation. Sven called for Defoe and the Tottenham man almost made himself a hero but, having been put through by Owen, his low shot struck the post and bounced wide. England continued to push but the Austrians, with the tide of the game on their side, refused to give up their point. They celebrated the final whistle like a victory. There is a long way to go in this qualification campaign and the good news for England is that we have the chance to put things right on Wednesday. We bounced back in style after the 2-2 draw against Macedonia at the beginning of the road to Euro 2004. Sven will be looking for the same reaction this time. Asked earlier in the week what ‘success’ would be from these two games, skipper David Beckham said that four points would probably be enough but that we wanted six. Those points on offer in Poland now look even more valuable. edited by Guest (17/02/2006) |