STERLING SLAMS THE RACISTS
England players subjected to Montenegro monkey chants so...
England manager gareth Southgate condemned the Montenegrin racists who subjected his black players to constant abuse during an emphatic win and promised to report it to UEFa.
a night that should have belonged to the brilliance of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Raheem Sterling was wretchedly overshadowed. The pair starred in a comprehensive win with goals by Ross Barkley (2), Michael Keane, Harry Kane and Sterling, but from early on in the Euro 2020 qualifier, it was apparent that bigots had targeted the two wingers and left-back danny Rose.
Southgate said: ‘We’ll definitely deal with it in the right way. We’ve got to make sure we support our players.’
Hudson- Odoi, fearless on his first England start, had a lighter thrown at him during the second half. Sterling pulled his ears in a defiant gesture to the crowd after he had scored the goal that completed the group a rout.
Sterling later tweeted: ‘Best way to silence the haters (and yeah I mean racists)#2019 #getsomeeducation.’
The most vivid flashpoint came in
IT was only a month after Kevin Keegan marked the final game at the old wembley by resigning in a toilet that Callum Hudson- Odoi arrived on this planet, but last night he played a significant role in a victory that was impressive for so many reasons.
Yes, it provided another exciting glimpse of England’s future under Gareth southgate. But it was all the more commendable because they performed like this here against the backdrop of the racist abuse their black players had to endure.
Vile chants could be heard throughout the match, with Raheem sterling mocking the most vociferous section of the crowd by pulling his ears to make himself look like a monkey after scoring the fifth goal.
For a young man such as Hudson-Odoi, an introduction to international football should not be like this. Certainly not in 2019. But boy, how the kid responded, excelling even after having to contend with what proved a difficult first half-hour against a combative Montenegro defence.
His breakthrough came in the 39th minute of this Euro 2020 qualifying encounter, a teenager with less than two hours of Premier League experience but selected ahead of Jadon sancho, beating two Montenegro defenders before providing what was a precious assist. what style, what courage, what glorious defiance. southgate’s side had levelled the scores some eight minutes earlier after conceding an unexpected Montenegro goal.
But it was the sight of the youngest competitive starter since wayne Rooney skipping past adam Marusic and Filip stoikovic that ignited this contest for England.
Hudson- Odoi’s run concluded with a shot from the edge of the Montenegro box and while it appeared to be heading a little wide of its target, Ross Barkley timed his run perfectly to meet the ball and score England’s second goal.
Chelsea manager Maurizio sarri might now need to reconsider his view on Hudson-Odoi, but southgate must have felt hugely satisfied and not just because his young side had shown great character in recovering from the initial setback of Marko Vesovic’s 17th-minute opener.
Hudson-Odoi and sterling were not having much joy on their respective flanks but ordering them to change places was a game-changer, a move that liberated both wingers and completely unsettled their hosts. It led to three more England goals, sterling battling his way into the box before producing the cross that invited Barkley to double England’s lead just before the hour, before the man of the moment then burst down the right flank again to present Harry Kane with an easy finish.
sterling netted the fifth, providing him with the opportunity to fire a message back to the Balkan bigots who brought further shame on their country. England may not have produced football that quite boasted the fluency and flair of that five-goal demolition of the Czech Republic. But southgate predicted this would be a different examination of England’s qualities and should be delighted with the outcome.
They still had more than 70 per cent of the ball, and in the end secured a convincing victory that already puts them in control of their qualification pool.
Declan Rice was also making his first competitive start, and in the absence of Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier, at least until Henderson came on in the second half for Dele alli, he delivered a composed, mature display in central midfield. Positionally, he was excellent.
Barkley continues to grow in stature, building on his contributions against spain and Croatia, not to mention his fine performance from the bench last Friday, with further evidence of his longrecognised ability.
Here he was the provider of England’s first goal as well as the scorer of two more.
England had been dominant prior to Montenegro’s goal, which
came as the consequence of some weak defending, first by HudsonOdoi and then Michael Keane. Hudson- Odoi lost out in the initial aerial contest with Zarko Tomasevic and Keane then failed to clear the danger, his header falling to Vesovic, who sent a delightful curling shot beyond the reach of a diving Jordan Pickford.
Party time in Podgorica lasted only 13 minutes, howe v e r, Ke a n e making amends for his earlier mistake by rising above the otherwise excellent Stefan Savic to meet a Barkley free-kick with a thumping header.
England were now back on terms but their manager was concerned by an imbalance on the flanks and made the vital change, leading to the Barkley goal that meant his side were 2-1 ahead at the break.
In the second half, England were comfortably the better side, with Barkley doubling their lead before Kane added the finishing touch. now on the pitch for alli, it was Henderson who marked his 50th cap with a super pass to send Sterling clear, and the two senior England forwards combined to extend England’s lead. It was Kane’s 17th goal in 20 appearances for Southgate, and another pass from Henderson then invited Sterling to add another goal to his recent tally. There were moments when the circumstances got the better of England. Henderson became embroiled in a brief altercation, while danny Rose caught an opponent with a particularly heavy challenge. He got his own chorus of monkey chants for that one. But when subjected to such abuse, such flare-ups are understandable. England deserve praise, not to mention respect.