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English taken to limit
Victory over minnow not easy
Fri, June 16, 2006
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NUREMBURG -- If the waiting is indeed the hardest part, England sure knows how to put its fans through a trial.
Where to begin?
The tedious, tabloid-fuelled Wayne Rooney watch?
The 83 minutes yesterday, each one becoming more desperate, before England finally scored on its way to a narrow 2-0 World Cup victory over tiny (but not timid) Trinidad and Tobago.
Now that the English players are used to waiting -- did we mention the 40 years since that lone World Cup title? -- next on the list is when will they show the form that will make them contenders the deeper this tournament goes.
"We haven't seen the best of us yet, but at the same time we know there's better in us, too," England captain David Beckham said. "We just have to show that."
England and its supporters got what they wanted yesterday in a double dose -- another victory and the long-awaited return of super striker Rooney.
The two were not necessarily unrelated, either, as Rooney's substitution an hour into the match gave England the emotional boost it needed to shake the cloak of desperation.
Manager Sven Goran Eriksson felt relief to see his star return, given the daily grilling he has received on the topic and the lack of finishing touch that was so evident yesterday.
"For various reasons it was very important," Eriksson said. "I'm relieved the saga of Rooney is over. It has been talked about every day. Really, all of us in the camp have been fed up. Now it's over and that's very good."
Still, the suspect effort yesterday will do little to lower England's odds among favourites as this World Cup continues its journey toward Berlin and the July 9 final.
It did, however, guarantee that with a 2-0 record, England will be one of two Group B teams to move through to the second round.
The restlessness of the England crowd yesterday took the Rooney watch from the tabloids right into the Frankenstadion. The mood was much different than for the England opener this past Saturday in Frankfurt, a tenseness set to explode among the rougher-around-the-edges fans.
Police told one group of Trinidad supporters that they hoped England won, for fear one of the smaller host cities would take the brunt of it otherwise.
The angst wasn't eased when Peter Crouch and Frank Lampard each missed a mittful of scoring chances in the first half.
It didn't take long for the Rooney chants to echo around the compact stadium, especially since Eriksson had made it clear his star was fit for action.
So when Rooney went behind the goal to stretch in the first half, the crowd rose in anticipation.
The fans cheered louder when he returned to the bench and when he took off his substitute's bib during the early stages of the second half, they went crazy.
"First of all, I am happy that he is match fit," Eriksson said of Rooney. "Of course, he can't come out and be the best man on the pitch because he hasn't played in a long, long time."
Rooney hustled and showed no ill effects of the broken foot he sustained playing for Manchester United in late April.
But the substitution that arguably had a more direct impact was Aaron Lennon, in for Jamie Carragher, at midfield.
Lennon added energy and was a catalyst to the English attack. It was his feed to Beckham that set up a perfect cross to Crouch, who finally got his head in the game -- and on the ball -- for England's first score.
Steven Gerrard added the clincher in injury time when he buried a left-footed strike from 20 yards out.
"They were good substitutions and we responded to them," Beckham said.
"Sometimes you need that."
And a little bit more.
There's no denying that if England is going to move on when the elimination action begins, it will need a healthy dose of a healthy Rooney.
"The World Cup needs a player like Wayne," Beckham said. "You want to see the best players perform at the best competitions, and we have that now."
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