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Classy England crush Northern Ireland
England stormed to a 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Northern Ireland at Old Trafford as the Group Six leaders unleashed a second-half goal blitz.
Joe Cole, who produced a superb performance in his first competitive start, got things moving with a 47th minute strike. Michael Owen added the second five minutes later, an own goal by Northern Ireland defender Chris Baird after great work by Wayne Rooney made it 3-0 and Frank Lampard turned victory into a rout after 62 minutes. Victory ensured England stay top of the group and also provided an ideal way for manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to celebrate his 50th game in charge. England have 13 points from five games, four clear of Poland, who play Azerbaijan later on Saturday. Austria, 2-0 winners in Wales, are third on eight. England were made to wait for their victory over a side who have plummeted in the world rankings to 111th but whose keeper Maik Taylor was in inspired form in the first half. However, the gulf in class between the likes of Rooney, who had a hand in two of the goals, and a side drawn mainly from clubs outside the Premier League eventually made itself felt. The winning margin could easily have been much wider and will clearly have Eriksson's men looking forward to Wednesday's qualifier against Azerbaijan at Newcastle. England began well, with Cole rising to the occasion with a series of darting runs from left midfield. Northern Ireland defended in numbers but Lawrie Sanchez's men were fortunate not to be two or three goals behind midway through the half. Owen was put clean through by Lampard for a shot which Taylor smothered and Rooney was twice denied with a header which hit a post and a fierce drive that was palmed away for a corner. NERVES SETTLED Other England efforts simply cannoned off players of both sides in an over-populated final third as the hosts pushed forward relentlessly. Any England nerves were settled just after the re-start when a poor clearance went straight to Cole just outside the penalty area and he drilled a low shot past Taylor and into the right-hand corner. Lampard set up the second two minutes later, working a one-two with Rooney and allowing the ball to run for Owen to flick in. The third was all down to Rooney after he brilliantly surged past Tony Capaldi and Colin Murdock from a seemingly impossible position by the right touchline and sent a low cross that flew in off Baird. Lampard added the fourth as his shot took a deflection off the head of Murdock and sent Taylor the wrong way. Lampard followed up a few minutes later with a drive against the bar but England then eased off to cruise to a comfortable victory. Asked about his pep-talk at halftime, Eriksson told reporters: "I just told them to go on playing as they were in the first half -- when the ball just didn't want to go in and Maik Taylor made some good saves. "We were lucky to score early in the first half and not only once but three times, and then life became difficult for Northern Ireland... I think we were in total control for the 90 minutes." Eriksson said Beckham (back) and Steven Gerrard (ankle) had minor problems but should be fit for Wednesday. Sanchez said his team were still feeling the after-effects of a previous nightmare run of form. "Because we went two-and-a-half years without scoring a goal in a competitive match and hadn't won for 15-odd games, when we did concede a goal, the team used to think it was over," he told reporters. "And that has carried on. Despite the fact that we are now scoring goals. "It's like a boxer. We were winded at 1-0, but certainly weren't out. Yet the body language of the players was 'here we go again, the game's over, we've lost because we're not going to score two goals'. It's a mentality I have to change."
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