Daily Mail

PEARCE HIT BY ROBBEN SHOW

Manager suffers a reality check after England fightback

- MATT LAWTON

ONE taste of England management might even be enough for Stuart Pearce after this. In the brief time after his side pulled level with Holland he would have been the proudest Englishman on the planet; every inch the alpha male with that rather unusual gunslinger stance he chose to adopt in the technical area.

His young side, he no doubt thought, had shown the kind of resilience for which he was renowned as a player, with Ashley Young scoring a brilliant goal that arrived as a consequenc­e of a brilliant pass from Phil Jones.

But then came the reality check. Then came a wonderful winning strike from Arjen Robben and another demonstrat­ion of why one side reached the last World Cup final and why the other has never looked more unlikely to make such an impact at a major tournament.

Let’s be honest. The Dutch beat England with ease last night. They strolled through the first half, accelerate­d through the gears for three second-half minutes to score two goals, eased off again and as a result conceded two and then struck for a third time, just to prove a point.

They toyed with England as much as they tormented them, making them look exactly what they were; an experiment­al side missing the class of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere and John Terry.

Gerrard? He was on the pitch until injury forced him off after 33 minutes but he looked tired after 120 minutes of Carling Cup final action and his exit undermined Pearce’s plans.

There were some positives that Fabio Capello’s permanent successor, be it that chap watching at home down in Dorset or perhaps even someone sitting in Barcelona or Madrid, might have noted with encouragem­ent. Adam Johnson and Daniel Sturridge were dangerous at times on the flanks, Danny Welbeck did not seem overawed by the role of centre forward and Scott Parker proved himself a fine England captain. In the first half, in particular, he certainly led by example, executing superb tackles and making courageous blocks.

But three months after seeing Capello complete an unbeaten 2011 with back-to-back victories over Spain and Sweden, England appear to have taken a significan­t step back, one that only increases the pressure on the Football Associatio­n to step up that search for a permanent replacemen­t before the European Championsh­ip and that opening encounter with France. The same France who won in Germany last night.

Here at Wembley, England met a Holland team who treated the opening 45 minutes like a training exercise. But when Robben decided to run riot in the 57th minute, bursting from deep inside the Dutch half and into a huge empty space that should have been occupied by the England midfield, the hosts were suddenly in trouble. With time to pick his spot, the former Chelsea winger completed his surging run with a terrific left-foot shot that proved impossible for Joe Hart to stop.

That Holland’s second goal came so soon afterwards was a crushing blow for Pearce, KlaasJan Huntelaar rising above Chris Smalling to meet a Dirk Kuyt cross with a marvellous header. There was a nasty clash of heads between the Dutch striker and the England centre half, with the end result the departure of both players from the field.

Until that double whammy, England had looked relatively comfortabl­e, even if Micah Richards struggled to cope with Robben.

Pearce patrolled his technical area in much the same way he did the left flank when he was a player; with intent, and with the sense that it belonged to him. Parker took much the same approach. It was his midfield and he was quick to impress that upon Robin van Persie when the Holland striker dared run from deep. Parker gave chase before taking the ball clean off his toes, much to the delight of a Wembley crowd pleased to see their new captain make an early impression.

England started reasonably well, securing a succession of corners that in one case concluded with a decent header from Gary Cahill that flew inches over the bar.

Parker then bravely blocked a shot from Wesley Sneijder having been the first player to sense the danger. But there were times when England were static and devoid of ideas, the loss of Gerrard to injury disrupting Pearce’s plans and completing a miserable night for a player who would have expected to receive the captain’s armband from Pearce ahead of Parker.

It did, however, mean an opportunit­y arrived for Sturridge earlier than expected and, while he was guilty of a glaring miss in the 73rd minute, he also forced a fine save from Maarten Stekelenbu­rg and attacked down England’s right with real purpose. It also saw Young deployed in a more central role, from where he scored his fine goal.

Pearce made most of his changes

after the break, with Fraizer Campbell earning his first cap and James Milner replacing Gareth Barry in a central role alongside Parker.

But first came the Holland goals and then, when the Dutch clearly felt their work was done, the English fightback. Cahill took his 85thminute goal beautifull­y, the centre half arriving in the striker’s position to receive an excellent ball from Leighton Baines before turning inside Joris Mathijsen and beating Stekelenbu­rg with aplomb.

Young’s goal, scored in stoppage time, was even more impressive. A neat build-up involving Stewart Downing, Parker and Theo Walcott ended with a pass from Jones that Young crowned with a super finish, as he lifted the ball over the advancing Holland goalkeeper.

But then came the brutal, brilliant response from Robben, the Dutchman collecting a flick from Mark van Bommel before cutting inside and beating Hart with a tremendous curling left-foot shot that took a slight deflection off Cahill.

Time for England to move on, and fast.

m.lawton@dailymail.co.uk

 ?? BPI/KEVIN QUIGLEY ?? The last word: Robben curls the winner past the England defence, after Cahill (below) scored his side’s first
BPI/KEVIN QUIGLEY The last word: Robben curls the winner past the England defence, after Cahill (below) scored his side’s first
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