England 2 - 1 Poland

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Wednesday Oct 12 2005 07:45

England ensured they topped World Cup qualifying Group Six with a 2-1 win against Poland at Old Trafford, Frank Lampard netting a late winner for Sven-Goran Eriksson's side.

Eriksson brought in Shaun Wright-Phillips for the suspended David Beckham and Ledley King started in place of the injured Steven Gerrard, while Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney were restored to the staring line-up.

Four minutes in Polish keeper Artur Boruc had to tip over a Lampard free-kick from deep on the left flank, with England having much the better of the game.

After 24 minutes Joe Cole's ball in from the right channel was headed goalwards by Lampard, but Boruc got down to save comfortably.

A quality turn from Wayne Rooney on the half-hour saw him leave two defenders for dead before shooting narrowly over from distance.

Two minutes before the interval England took the lead, as Cole's shot following a corner was touched home from close range by Michael Owen.

However, Poland drew level on the stroke of half-time as Kamil Kosowski got clear on the right and delivered a cross for Tomasz Frankowski to lash in a volley at the far post.

Frankowski had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes after replacing the injured Maciej Zurawski.

The second half got underway at a much more sedate pace, before Rooney flicked an effort over from close range following a corner which was headed on by Ferdinand.

Just past the hour mark, Cole put the ball in the net after good work by Rooney, but the offside flag was already up.

Soon after Boruc palmed away an Owen header from a teasing Cole delivery, before Wright-Phillips was replaced by Peter Crouch.

Ten minutes from time England crafted a winning goal as a swift counter-attack ended with Owen finding Lampard, who steered an excellent right-foot volley beyond Boruc from 12 yards out.

  • 90
    Full-time: England 2-1 Poland.
  • 90
    Two minutes of added time to be played.
  • 87
    Alan Smith comes on for the tiring Cole.
  • 85
    Cole gets away from two defenders, but fires his shot straight at Boruc at the near post.
  • 84
    Owen trots off and Jermaine Jenas takes his place.
  • 82
    England will top Group Six if they can hold on to their lead.
  • 80
    England 2-1 Poland, a swift England break ends with Owen finding LAMPARD, who steers an excellent volley beyond Boruc from 12 yards out.
  • 80
    Sobolewski comes off and Arek Radomski takes his place.
  • 77
    Owen gets in on the left but his shot is parried by Boruc.
  • 76
    England's play has become a little predictable as they continue to look for the head of Crouch.
  • 73
    Radoslaw Sobolewski is the second man to go in the book
  • 72
    It's been sterile stuff since the restart, neither side has really pushed on.
  • 67
    Wright-Phillips is replaced by Peter Crouch.
  • 65
    Boruc palms away an Owen header from a teasing Cole delivery, he really should have buried it.
  • 63
    Cole puts the ball in the net after good work by Rooney, but the offside flag is up.
  • 61
    Marcin Baszczyznski gets booked for a foul on Cole.
  • 57
    Wright-Phillips makes good ground down the right, but is eventually crowded out.
  • 53
    Rooney flicks an effort over from close range following a corner which was headed on by Ferdinand.
  • 50
    A quiet opening to the second half, with the Old Trafford crowd hushed for once.
  • 46
    England have got the second half underway.
  • 46
    Poland replace Ebe Smolarek with Jacek Krzynowek
  • 45
    Half-time: England 1-1 Poland.
  • 45
    England 1-1 Poland, Kamil Kosowski gets the ball across from the right and FRANKOWSKI lashes in a volley at the far post.
  • 43
    England 1-0 Poland, Cole's shot following a corner is touched home from close range by Michael OWEN.
  • 42
    Poland have stood firm in defence, but have offered little in the England half.
  • 39
    Zurawski is forced off with a hamstring strain, Tomasz Frankowski comes on.
  • 34
    It's been all England so far, with home keeper Paul Robinson a mere spectator.
  • 31
    Cole shoots just over from the edge of the area.
  • 29
    A quality turn from Rooney sees him leave two defenders for dead before shooting narrowly over from distance.
  • 28
    A cagey spell of play, with Poland content to sit back and soak up the pressure.
  • 24
    Cole's ball in from the right channel is headed goalwards by Lampard, but Boruc gets down to save comfortably.
  • 21
    Wright-Phillips finds Rooney clear in the area, but the offside flag is up.
  • 19
    King fires an effort over from 25 yards after collecting a loose ball out of defence.
  • 17
    A rare Polish attack in repelled by a strong challenge by John Terry.
  • 13
    No signs of a breakthrough yet, but England are clearly on top.
  • 9
    Wright-Phillips is the latest England player to threaten, Poland are pinned in their own half.
  • 7
    Joe Cole has looked lively so far, but his latest cross is too close to Boruc.
  • 4
    Boruc has to tip over a Frank Lampard free-kick from deep on the left flank.
  • 2
    A fluent start from England and a free-kick 25 yards out, which Rooney curls wide of target.
  • 1
    Poland get the game underway.
  • 0
    It's 7:45pm on Wednesday, October 12th, the match has kicked off.
  • 0
    Poland field Celtic's Artur Boruc and Maciej Zurawski and Spurs striker Grzegorz Rasiak.
  • 0
    Sven-Goran Eriksson brought in Shaun Wright-Phillips for the suspended David Beckham and Ledley King started in place of Steven Gerrard, while Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney were restored to the staring line-up.

Statistics

England
Shots on target 10
Shots off target 7
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 11
Offsides 5
Corners 8

Poland
Shots on target 3
Shots off target 4
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 18
Offsides 0
Corners 0

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