KANE’S PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Harry puts his August drought behind him (but it doesn’t all go his way)
Cometh September, cometh the man. the clock ticked into the ninth month of the calendar year and harry Kane’s scoring form returned. It is truly puzzling this barren spell August seems to cast on him. then again, it does help to play malta.
Whatever the scoreline might suggest, england made dreadfully hard work of such limited opposition, but there was a feeling of inevitability about Kane’s influence. he scored the goal that broke the deadlock and the fourth of the night in injury time, even if a significant number of travelling fans had left the ground by then.
It was all in alignment for him. the date, the stars, and a team that is making up the numbers in england’s World Cup qualifying group. the visit to malta is not so much a contest, more a task to be ticked off. Get the three points, get on the plane, get home. england did that, eventually — but it was hardly inspiring stuff.
that three goals were scored in an eight-minute spell between the 85th minute and the third minute of injury time tells its own tale.
So does the fact that Gareth Southgate was sufficiently rattled by what he had seen in the first half to withdraw Raheem Sterling for marcus Rashford at the break. england’s manager cannot escape his share of the blame, though.
Part of the problem was that Southgate began with a horribly conservative set-up, a back four shielded by two defensive midfielders. Shielding from what, who knows? malta’s only chances were all from range, punctuated by an occasional hopeful long ball over the top.
Joe hart did not actually make a save. Why six of england’s outfield players had to be either backs or guards, then, only Southgate knows.
It is not as if Jordan henderson and Jake Livermore have the creative smarts to rise above this belt and braces approach, either. Neither has great distribution skills, meaning the game becomes onepaced and haphazard in central midfield.
the worry for Southgate and england, however, is that they are not really keeping out a player of great wit and artistry. the high hopes the country had for Jack Wilshere have evaporated now. Adam Lallana is injured. So is Ross Barkley, but he couldn’t get a Premier League game at everton even if he wasn’t. Nathaniel Chalobah cannot yet shoulder such responsibility and is not an expansive passer anyway.
Where have the midfielders gone? It appears Southgate may have to fashion one if england are to progress. Could John Stones or harry maguire step forward to be a defensive presence with an eye for a pass? Could Sterling or Dele Alli fall back and play with the game in front of them, without affecting the forward dynamic?
It seems strange to talk of feeling disheartened after a 4-0 away win, but we’ve all seen this film before and we know how it ends.
england last lost a qualifier in 2009, and even that was a dead rubber in Ukraine having already won the group, but tournament football is different. there was nothing here to suggest england can be serious contenders in Russia next summer.
that one of malta’s defenders, Samuel magri, can be found at ebbsfleet United most weeks goes to show the level england were up against, and puts the scoreline and some of the more mediocre individual performances into perspective.
In the distance, beyond the South end of the ta’ Qali National Stadium there was a firework display, so at least most of the ground had something to watch during the sluggish exchanges. It wasn’t much of a firework display, but then it didn’t have to be. It was even less of a match.
england’s travelling fans are the most fervent, the most enthusiastic, the most forgiving. they flew all the way to Brazil in 2014, got knocked out in two matches and still clapped the team off having drawn a dead game with Costa Rica 0-0.
But the first 45 minutes here were too much. When referee Artur Dias of Portugal blew the whistle, there were loud boos followed by a chorus of that old favourite, What The Flaming Hell Was That? (or words to that effect.)
It was a fair question. england had all the possession and all the chances, but only a header from Kane had forced a save of worth from goalkeeper Andrew hogg.
In total, england amassed five noteworthy first-half chances, and one of them was an attempted clearance by defender Andrei Agius that he skewed just wide of his own goal.
Indeed, from the 11th minute to the 53rd when Kane finally opened the scoring, england did not carve out an opportunity, bar the Agius error. It was dreadful stuff, ponderous and lacking in ideas, lifted only by the odd individual who showed attacking ambition, such as Alex oxlade-Chamberlain.oxlade Chamberlain Yes Yes, it always felt like a matter of time before england would score, but that is the nature of these matches.
malta are not as bad as the likes of San marino or Gibraltar, but they are still there to be beaten. Scotland put five past them here a year ago, the Czech Republic scored six in a friendly. even Jordan beat them 2-0.
the best malta can hope for is to keep it tight, as they have done on england’s two previous visits, losing by an odd goal. Yet once Kane put england in front it always seemed possible that the game could run away from the hosts: as it proved.
the first goal, fittingly, was a highlight. Alli did very well to keep the ball in his orbit and wait until the pass to Kane opened up. When it did, he slipped him in on the left, and his tottenham team-mate gave hogg no chance.
By the time 80 minutes came around, even the normally loyal away end was beginning to empty. A steady trickle of england fans decided the chance of a cold pint on a warm mediterranean evening was more fun than watching this to its conclusion.
Yet those leaving early missed the alternate fireworks — england’s late flourish, three goals in an eight-minute spell, an explosive conclusion indeed.
the second came from substitute Ryan Bertrand, picking the ball up in space on the left and finishing smartly.
then, as the game crept into injury time, Kane lobbed the ball forward to be pounced on by substitute Danny Welbeck, beating hogg as the goalkeeper advanced to clear.
Finally, Kane added his second of the night, from a lovely pass by Rashford. england’s striker was clearly making up for lost time, his run energetic and hungry when malta were as good as absent. Like acorns and conkers, in Kane’s world, this was a sign autumn was coming at last. For england it was job done and time to go home.