IT’S SMASH AND DRAB
Late goal flurry can’t disguise lack of guile in England’s sterile line-up
IT WAS all too painful and familiar.
And England should be grateful the month of August is finally over because Harry Kane was once again the saviour on a night of tedium. The travelling England fans let the players know exactly what they thought with boos, ironic cheers and chants to remind everyone we are not very good. Malta are supposed to be the Group F whipping boys, but it was England who were made to look sub-standard. Thank Gawd for Kane. He has not scored in August for the last three seasons, but as soon as the page turns on the calendar the goals flow.
Sure enough, Kane blasted home in the 53rd minute to edge England closer to World Cup qualification. His tap-in at the end made it four.
In between, Ryan Bertrand, with his first international goal, and Danny Welbeck made the score look respectable.
But it is little wonder why England are so poor in tournaments because they make hard work of what should be easy qualifiers.
Sadly, the honeymoon is over for Gareth Southgate and despite a 4-0 win, the promise of a new
dawn is ebbing away. It began brightly for England. Kyle Walker’s fourth-minute pass sent Dele Alli down the right, his cross picked out Kane, whose powerful header was brilliantly saved by keeper Andrew Hogg.
There were half chances for Alli and Raheem Sterling, while Phil Jones put the ball in the net, but it was disallowed for a foul. Then the game slowly and painfully became dull.
It was as if England were reduced to Malta’s level. Malta’s minnows are 190th in FIFA’s world rankings with players from Ebbsfleet and Luton.
But England’s Premier League millionaires struggled to find a way through. Alli could not get on the ball, Kane was getting no service and Jake Livermore’s passing again raised the question whether he is international class.
When Alli tried to lift the ball over Malta’s defence, England fans began to boo when the ball went out of play. It was painful. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain provided a moment of inspiration just before the break, turning in the box then firing a low shot which Hogg saved easily.
It prompted ironic cheers from the away fans, who booed off their team at half-time. England’s 17-game unbeaten run in qualifiers dates back to 2009 and looks impressive. But so many of those games have been against second-rate opposition.
Southgate brought on Marcus Rashford for Sterling at half-time, the Manchester City wide-man allowing his head to drop after missing an early chance.
Maybe the wake-up call finally arrived when the unthinkable nearly happened – Malta came within a whisker of scoring.
Andre Schembri showed lovely skill, turned then fired a 25-yard shot just inches wide. It probably stopped Joe Hart from nodding off and he would have got nowhere near it.
But if there is a man for an England crisis then it is Kane. Alli showed a rare touch of class, turning in the box then laid it off to Kane.
The striker smashed a low shot into the net to finally break the deadlock after 53 minutes. It brought ironic cheers rather than celebrations.
Three goals in the final six minutes papered over the cracks. Bertrand’s long-range shot in the 85th minute somehow beat Hogg. Substitute Welbeck showed his pace to volley in England’s third and in added-time Kane scored his second from close-range.