SPORTS> Soccer
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SPORTS> Soccer
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Rooney doubles as England sees off Belarus
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-16 12:54 MINSK - Another Wayne Rooney double fired England to a 3-1 win over Belarus as Fabio Capello's squad made it four wins out of four on the road to South Africa 2010.
Steven Gerrard's 11th-minute long-range strike had given the visitors a perfect start before Capello's men were pegged back by Pavel Sitko's deserved equaliser. But two superbly-taken strikes by Rooney settled the contest after the break and England, 4-1 winners in Croatia last month, will enjoy their winter break from competitive internationals in the knowledge that they are firmly in command of group six. Rooney, who also hit the net twice in the 5-1 win over Kazakhstan on Saturday, has now scored five goals in his last three international outings, helping England to their best-ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign. From the outset, Rooney was at the centre of England's best work. After having complained bitterly that he had been impeded as he stretched to reach Theo Walcott's dangerous third-minute cross, the Manchester United forward was soon clipping the ball over a defender's head before teeing up Gerrard to open the scoring. Cutting in from the left, the Liverpool midfielder's shot was placed rather than driven and it slipped pleasingly past the left-hand glove of Yury Zhaunou on its way to the bottom corner of the net. It was exactly the start required by both Gerrard, who had admitted before the match that his place in Capello's starting XI was on the line, and England, but the initiative was quickly surrendered. Dmitry Molosh, who had tested David James with an early freekick, caused greater problems with another long range strike that the England goalkeeper needed two attempts to gather. Belarus's impressive left-back then set up Sitko for an edge-of-the-area drive that James deflected away. The home side's pressure finally paid off in the 28th minute after a move that began with Zhaunou rolling the ball out of his own area. |
