ENGLAND skipper John Terry saluted the performance of Fabio Capello's fringe players after heading a late winner against Germany in the Olympic Stadium.
The Chelsea defender blamed himself – and exonerated goalkeeper Scott Carson – for gifting Germany's Patrick Helmes an equaliser early in the second half. But Terry, one of only three first choice players in the side, made amends by heading home a S
tewart Downing free-kick with just six minutes remaining.
And he believes the players who won in Berlin have given Capello a headache for when the World Cup qualifiers resume next year.
Terry said: "The youngsters can be proud of themselves. I thought Gabby (Gabriel Agbonlahor) did fantastically well and let's hope he keeps that form going for Aston Villa and England.
"I think these youngsters, who have done so well in Germany, have given the manager a difficult problem for the future when he comes to picking his side. It is also a great way for us to finish the year, top of our World Cup qualifying group and then winning in Germany. We started the year quite slowly but we have now got our confidence back and have also got the fans back on our side.
"This was a good performance and it would have been an injustice had we ended up drawing the game. The conditions with the swirling wind made it difficult to get the ball down and play in the first half, but in the second period we played a lot better and deserved the win. For me, personally, it's a great feeling to lead the side to victory in Germany, particularly after losing the game with them at Wembley 15 months ago."
Terry was quick to take full blame for Helmes' equaliser, which cancelled out a first-half goal from Matthew Upson – his first for England. He said: "I hold my hands up. I am to blame for their goal. There is no blame at all attached to Scott. I should have dealt with the situation better. Someone of my experience should have cleared the ball.
"But I am relieved that I had the chance to make amends by going down the other end and getting the winner. I told Stewart (Downing) to hold the ball up at the far post and I managed to get in front of their centre-half and head it home."
Agbonlahor said: "When I found out I was starting I was determined to go out there and do my best. I was hoping it would go well and thankfully it did. Any player that puts on an England shirt wants to do their best and I feel that's what I did tonight.
"Did I play well? You are not going say that are you? I just did a decent job for the team."
The full article contains 476 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
