Gerrard happy Rooney scored away again

07 September 2010 22:16
Steven Gerrard, the England captain, was delighted to see Wayne Rooney get back on the scoresheet for his country against Switzerland in Basle - but warned his teammates they had been too sloppy. Rooney scored 10 minutes into the match, and while his performance was not as effective as against Bulgaria on Friday he was still key for England. "That's great for Wayne, a lot of talk in the build-up was about Wayne so it was nice for him to get the early goal and I'm sure that has helped his performance," said Gerrard. "He was terrific again, like he was on Friday, and he'll be great for us throughout the qualification." England's performance was once more assured, although there was a point in the second-half when the Swiss threatened to draw level. Adam Johnson's goal to put England two goals ahead was followed by a red card to the Swiss right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner. That ended much of the Swiss resistance, despite Xherdan Shaqir pullng one back with a shot from distance. " The first-half performance was perfect, we did everything the manager asked of us and got the game plan spot on," added Gerrard. "We got a bit lazy in the second-half, the passing wasn't quick enough and they came into the game, but it was never really in doubt. People talk about how good they are defensively but we just tore them apart. "It's going to take another two years to prove to our supporters and everyone else in the world that England are back, two good results do not make us a good team. What makes a good team is qualifying easy from the group and proving it in a big tournament."

Source: FOOTYMAD