Winning start for Allardyce
But England’s lack of finishing power means that Big Sam has some work to do if he’s going to please the angry fans
SOMETIMES you need a little bit of luck. Just ask Sam Allardyce. The new England manager was moments away from drawing his first match when Adam Lallana scored a dramatic 95th-minute goal to beat 10-man Slovakia 1-0 in their World Cup qualifying opener on Sunday.
Allardyce not only had Lallana to thank but also a “lucky coin” he was given by a fan prior to the match.
“A father of a son in a wheelchair came to the hotel this morning and asked if it was okay to have a picture with his son,” Allardyce said.
“When we finished he said: ‘Let me give you a lucky coin’.
“I had it with me in my pocket, we won, so it’ll stay with me.
“I’m not really superstitious but I’m going to keep it. It’s got us a last-minute winner.”
England dominated possession but struggled to break down the Slovakia defence.
But their fortunes turned in the second half when Martin Skrtel was sent off for stamping on Harry Kane’s ankle.
That naturally gave the visitors a boost as Lallana hit the post and Theo Walcott had a goal disallowed for offside, with the English protesting the ball had come to the winger off a defender.
Lallana then saved their blushes by scoring his first international goal with virtually the final kick of the game.
The Liverpool midfielder was relived to finally score in his 27th appearance for England.
“I put pressure on myself to score goals and I knew it was only a matter of time,” Lallana said. “Sometimes you just have to stick with it until the last minute and thankfully we got that goal.”
England’s attack laboured with captain Wayne Rooney, who became the country’s most-capped outfield player with 116, once again deployed in midfielder as he was during Euro 2016.
Allardyce had suggested England’s record goal scorer would be used in the No 10 role like he does at Manchester United, but he played much deeper.
“Today Wayne played wherever he wanted to,” the manager said.
“This is the most decorated outfield player in England.
“I think that he holds a lot more experience at international football than me as an international manager.”
Rooney said he confident in his role.
“A lot of people thought I was going to play higher, but I think it suits me in this team for the way we play,” he said.
“So I’ve no problems playing there. I thought I contrib- uted to the game.”
While it’s still early days with Allardyce in charge, the new boss is definitely glad to get that first win out of the way.
“It was a huge relief for me, I’ll tell you that now,” he said. “You’ve got to beat 10 men when it comes around.
“I think that, finally in the end, we got the ball in the back of the net which was richly deserved based on us dominating the game.”
England’s next game will be Allardyce’s first at home when they welcome Malta on October 8.