Lacklustre England struggle to get in gear before Rooney crowns his century of caps with 44th international goal
IT ENDED as it started: as a celebration. At times, it might have seemed like a lacklustre party full of curmudgeons and killjoys refusing to enter into the spirit. But eventually the guests did get into the swing of things and produce an evening of lukewarm revelry, even if they had to be prodded into action.
Wayne Rooney had led England out on the occasion on his 100th cap with his children, Kai and Klay, alongside him. And Sir Bobby Charlton handed him a special cap embroidered with gold thread to mark the day.
Yet, once the formalities were over, it was as though no one quite knew just what kind of an occasion this should be. It required a degree of swagger and joy, yet it began as a dour and forgettable affair.
The gatecrashers didn’t help matters: Slovenia were well organised, effective and, at times, brutal. They disrupted the running order when they took the lead, but at least it sparked England into action.
Rooney himself was forced to take the initiative, winning and converting a penalty before Danny Welbeck’s two goals put the game out of reach. It ensured that England’s steady march to Euro 2016 continues unimpeded and that Rooney could recall some happy memories from his 100th match.
The pitch looked an utter mess; scarred by NFL markings. But that deficiency could not explain England’s lethargic first-half performance as they allowed the game to be played at a pace which suited Slovenia more.
They settled for the law of the sideways pass. Possession is all well and good, but means little without intent.
There were occasional flurries of quality. A pass here, a run there; they always ended with a woeful finish or a poor final ball.
Perhaps the best first-half moment came on 21 minutes when Jack Wilshere picked out Welbeck with a raking, lofted pass from deep. His Arsenal team-mate chested the ball down perfectly for Rooney, but he shot wildly high and wide.
Some credit must be given to Slovenia. Srecko Katanec is a coach of considerable repute, having guided his nation to major tournaments in 2000 and 2002. He had a clear game plan and his players did not waver in the opening 45 minutes.
They were no innocents abroad; Ales Mertelj crunched into Adam Lallana early on; Bostjan Cesar gave the Liverpool player a sly elbow in the face, before proffering sincere apologies. A red card would not have been amiss. England’s willingness to collude with Slovenian needs was depressing. They could not summon up any intensity.
Only once did Raheem Sterling demonstrate quick feet in the box but that was soon snuffed out by the redoubtable Cesar and Branko Ilic. Then Lallana drove towards the penalty area, tumbling hopefully when he ran into a wall of opposition.
Slovenia’s most worrisome moment came when Jasmin Kurtic attempted an unnecessary and inaccurate backpass which had goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, of Inter Milan, scrambling to push the ball wide. At least it gave the crowd something about which to be excited.
In games like this there is always that sense of foreboding at Wembley; the feeling that a onepaced, uninspired England performance might get even worse as the opposition gather confidence. So it proved on 57 minutes. Andraz Kirm sent in a superb free-kick, curling inwards with pace into football’s own corridor of uncertainty, where the keeper dare not come to collect and the defenders fear to head.
Jordan Henderson at least rose to make impact but unfortunately he ended up arching a flicked header over Joe Hart, to score. A striker would not have been more proud of the finish.
Slovenia, though, were undone by their own stupidity. Having secured the lead, they retained it for little more than a minute.
Rooney appeared to come over all David Beckham, suddenly trying to take on Slovenia on his own. He burst into the box causing consternation, though he was heading nowhere dangerous. Cesar panicked, clipped his legs and fouled him. It was so idiotic and unnecessary it was laughable.
A penalty awarded, Wembley chanted for their 100-cap man and he did not disappoint: blasting the spot-kick into the corner to the right of Handanovic, who got a strong hand to it. In scoring, Rooney moved on to 44 England goals, level with Jimmy Greaves.
England were a good deal more comfortable on 66 minutes when Sterling burst down the right to feed Lallana, who with a clever turn engineered space for a cross which was deflected by Cesar towards Handanovic, forcing him to clear unsatisfactorily.
The ball was eventually headed out to Welbeck who, despite falling backwards, did enough to direct the ball through a crowded penalty area to make it 2-1.
The game finally slipped away from Slovenia on 74 minutes, when Sterling and Welbeck exchanged passes with the Arsenal man left to take a touch and drive a clean finish past Handanovic for 3-1, his fifth goal for England in four games. ENGLAND: Hart, Clyne, Cahill, Jagielka (Smalling 89), Gibbs, Wilshere, Henderson, Lallana (Milner 80), Sterling (Oxlade-Chamberlain 85), Rooney, Welbeck. Subs not used: Foster, Chambers, Barkley, Walcott, Downing, Berahino, Lambert, Forster. Scorers: Rooney 59pen, Welbeck 66, 72. Booked: Clyne, Jagielka, Gibbs, Sterling. SLOVENIA: Handanoic, Brecko, Ilic, Cesar, Struna, Mertelj, Kurtic (Rotman 75), Birsa (Lazarevic 63), Kampl, Kirm (Ljubijankic 78), Novakovic. Subs not used: Filipovic, Stevanovic, Pecnik, Belec, Andjelkovic, Oblak, Maroh, Milec, Samardzic. Scorer: Henderson 57og. Booked: Cesar REFEREE: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal)