[Report originally from www.thefa.com] Frank Lampard's penalty gave England three vital World Cup points as the Three Lions secured a narrow victory over Austria. Lampard struck after 25 minutes and England held on to win, even though captain David Beckham was sent off in the second-half for two bookable offences. Beckham’s departure led to a nervy finale and inevitably upset the rhythm of an England team desperate to restore national pride following defeat in Northern Ireland. But Sven’s men battled to the last to make sure their World Cup dream stayed alive. Head Coach Eriksson had to make some bold decisions in the build-up to this match and in the end he was rewarded for his bravery. He dropped Rio Ferdinand in favour of Sol Campbell, gave Peter Crouch his chance up front in the absence of suspended Wayne Rooney and also handed Lampard the opportunity to take over penalty kicks, following a suggestion from Beckham. All three decisions reaped dividends with Campbell solid, Crouch impressive - and Lampard hitting the winner. Crouch, making his home debut, had a particularly encouraging game and was involved in most of England’s better moments. The match had a cagey start with Austria looking well organised in midfield and determined to press England high up the pitch. But all eyes were on the Crouch-Owen partnership and the pair looked well attuned, not least when Crouch sent a perfect through-ball into the path of his partner - who was only stopped by a superb tackle from defender Paul Scharner. Another fine touch from Crouch sent Gerrard away in the 23rd minute, and the midfielder’s superb ball found Owen to the right of goal. The Newcastle striker hit his effort first time but Macho was able to dive full-length to keep it out and, agonisingly, neither Crouch or Beckham could reach the rebound. Austria clearly didn’t learn from that incident because a minute later Crouch’s fine downward header found Owen with his back to goal - and he was man-handled by a back-pedalling Scharner. Referee Luis Medina Cantalejo of Spain awarded a penalty, which Lampard fired home in nerveless fashion, low to the keeper’s right. It was a goal the home crowd had been desperate for, and England should have had another, perhaps more blatant, penalty 18 minutes later when Owen beat Andreas Dober to a ball in the box and was scythed to the floor. But this time referee Canalejo turned a blind eye. If it sounds like one-way traffic then that would be unfair on Austria. In fact the visitors looked well organised, strong in midfield and capable of causing problems on the break. Paul Robinson had to be alert to tip a long-range Markus Kiesenebner effort over the bar with two hands, and the same player sent another effort narrowly off-target. There was so much pressure on England going into this match that it was never going to be easy, but Crouch eased the burden. In fact, he had three chances, one a header from a Gerrard cross that was saved in the first half, then an effort blocked from a Beckham pass and finally a diving header from a Becks free-kick after the break that was kept out by Macho. Things got nervy for the Three Lions, however, when Terry miss-directed a header from a long ball and Austrian striker Roland Linz hit a lob that beat Robinson and came back off the bar after 58 minutes. Then, to add to the tension, Beckham was sent off for two bookable offences, both on Andreas Ibertsberger, in the space of two minutes. The second in particular, after 59 minutes, seemed harsh as his trip on the Austrian star looked unintentional. But the sending-off means England’s Captain will now miss the match against Poland on Wednesday. Sven’s response was to tighten the England defence by bringing on Ledley King for Joe Cole, Ferdinand for Campbell and, later, Kieran Richardson for Owen. His players responded, too, with Lampard sending over a dipping free-kick that had to be tipped over the bar with 18 minutes to go. Then the Chelsea midfielder hit another effort from almost 40 yards - and again saw it turned away for a corner. There’s no doubt that Lamps was the hero, and he almost made it 2-0 in injury time with a left-foot shot that was superbly saved. But in the end, everyone inside Old Trafford was happy with 1-0 - and we can almost start dreaming about Germany next year. edited by Guest (17/02/2006) |