Steven Gerrard and David Beckham struck as England remained on course to qualify for next summer’s World Cup finals with a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan at St James’ Park on Wednesday.
But the win could not disguise a disappointing night for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side, who insisted on making heavy work of defeating the group-six minnows.
It took 50 minutes for midfielder Gerrard to break the deadlock against a side who had leaked eight goals four days earlier before Beckham beat the off-side trap to seal victory 11 minutes later.
Azerbaijan arrived on the back of a crushing defeat by Poland and without a goal in their previous eight internationals.
To add to the worries of coach Carlos Alberto, his side faced a side supposedly in buoyant mood after their comprehensive 4-0 defeat of Northern Ireland.
That result, together with Azerbaijan’s incredible demise four days earlier, had led many observers to predict an avalanche of England goals, yet Eriksson’s side found themselves jeered off by their own supporters at half-time after a goalless opening period.
Azerbaijan were twice saved by the woodwork, while goalkeeper Dmitry Kramarenko made a string of smart saves but that failed to disguise a lacklustre first-half performance by the hosts.
For all their possession, England lacked a cutting edge and might even have fallen behind in the eighth minute when Azerbaijan captain Gurban Gurbanov pounced on an uncharacteristic error by John Terry before firing inches wide of the post.
Real Madrid striker Michael Owen went into the qualifier knowing that if he found the net he would move level with Alan Shearer in fourth place on the list of all-time England scorers.
Yet he was guilty of spurning his country’s best chances before the break when he headed against the post from point-blank range in the 19th minute before missing the target from eight yards with another header.
Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, who also hit the post from 30 yards, wasted good opportunities before both were denied by Dynamo Moscow’s Kramarenko, who went some way to regaining his pride after his nightmare in Poland.
Azerbaijan continued to frustrate but they needed a quality finish for their spirited defence to crumble finally five minutes after the interval.
Gerrard gave Kramarenko no chance with a trademark finish from 18 yards after Owen beat two defenders before delivering an excellent cross for his former Liverpool teammate to finish.
It proved a crushing blow for the visitors who had fought so hard to keep out their opponents. Suddenly Azerbaijan heads dropped and in the 61st minute, Beckham kept his composure to double the lead after Lampard’s long ball forward beat the off-side trap.
England refused to sit back and created several more openings but their finishing once again left much to be desired.
Rooney was unfortunate with a powerful 25-yard volley that Kramarenko turned away for the save of the match, but the Manchester United striker ought to have found the target in the 69th minute instead of heading against the post. — Sapa-AFP