No Belarus blushes for upbeat Eriksson
An upbeat Sven-Goran Eriksson put a positive spin on an embarrassing start to England’s World Cup countdown after an experimental ‘B’ side went down to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of ten-man Belarus.
“It is always disappointing to lose a football game but it was not that important,” Eriksson said after a match that was marred by an injury to Robert Green which has ruled the Norwich goalkeeper out of his squad for Germany.
“The important thing is to win against Paraguay (in England’s opening World Cup match). It was much more positive than negative.”
A late goal by substitute Sergei Kornilenko gave the former Soviet republic their win after Vitaly Kutuzov had cancelled out Jermaine Jenas’s first-half header for an England line-up that had a core of established first-choice players.
The significance of the result was arguably outweighed by good performances from man-of-the-match Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing as well as a confident entry to the international stage from Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott.
Eriksson also took heart from the fact that Ashley Cole and Michael Owen had come safely through, respectively, 90-minute and one-hour workouts after injury-plagued seasons with their clubs.
Top of Eriksson’s list of objectives for the evening had been to accelerate Owen’s recovery of his cutting edge, the striker having played just 29 minutes of competitive football for Newcastle this year.
Worryingly for England fans, that stat was soon showing its significance. Put into a fifth-minute one-on-one with Yury Zhevnov, Owen was unable to find the kind of finish on which he has established his reputation, the goalkeeper comfortably blocking a shot that had neither guile nor venom.
Eriksson appeared confident however that Owen’s edge would return with his fitness.
“The important thing was he played an hour, he seems very fit and he didn’t feel anything after the game,” the Swede stressed.
It was Michael Carrick’s astute pass that put Owen in behind the Belarus defence for his early chance but it was his Tottenham team-mate Lennon who appeared most intent on catching the eye.
Twice inside the opening quarter of an hour, the uncapped winger generated scoring opportunities after leaving his marker, Aleksandr Yurevich, for dead.
“He showed why he is in the squad,” Eriksson said, although he made it clear he is not seriously contemplating using Lennon as a starter in a berth reserved for David Beckham.
After the otherwise solid Peter Crouch had volleyed the best of several early chances over the bar, England took the lead in the 34th minute from a free-kick close to the left touchline.
Downing’s whipped delivery was met by Owen with a header that rattled against the under-side of the bar and Jenas, following up, nodded it past the goalkeeper.
Kutuzov, who had hit the post with a near post flick just before half-time, equalised in bizarre fashion five minutes after the restart.
As he ran up to take a goalkick, Green, who had replaced David James at the break, slipped and deposited the ball at the feet of Kutuzov, injuring his groin badly in the process.
Unmoved to Green’s plight, the Belarus forward sidefooted the ball into the opposite corner of the net.
The sight of the Norwich goalkeeper being stretchered off had a subduing effect on both players and crowd but the tempo rose again with the introduction of Walcott half an hour from the end.
The 17-year-old showed why he is so highly-rated by gathering a clearance from the Belarus defence and testing the goalkeeper with a fierce half-volley from fully 30 yards.
“He’s the youngest man in the squad and he showed he is ready,” said Eriksson, who was happy to see vindication of the judgement that led him to promote Walcott from the Arsenal reserves to his World Cup squad.
“My only concern was that he could be nervous but he showed he can handle this situation.”
Belarus were reduced to ten men for the final quarter of an hour after centreback Sergei Omelyanchuk was sent off for two bookable fouls in quick succession on the livewire Lennon.
But the numerical disadvantage did not prevent Kornilenko from finding sufficient space in the box to win the match with a low shot across Green’s replacement Scott Carson.
Source:Worldcup
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