Belarus 1 England 3: Rooney double keeps England on course

WAYNE Rooney continued his fine run of form for England as they overcame a demanding hurdle in the Dinamo Stadium to create their own slice of history in a World Cup qualifier.

The Manchester United forward took his tally to five in the last three internationals with two clinical second-half finishes for Fabio Capello's side. It means that England have won their opening four games in a World Cup qualifying campaign for the first time, surpassing the trio of victories ahead of the 1958, 1986 and 1998 tournaments.

Capello will be able to rest easily for the next six months before England resume their competitive programme in April, knowing his side are already firmly on course for the 2010 finals in South Africa.

And he will give thanks that the much maligned Steven Gerrard put recent debate about his role within the England side behind him after playing a crucial role in the win. The Liverpool midfielder set England on their way to victory with a long-range effort after 11 minutes.

"Playing for England you always have a point to prove," said Gerrard. "You are fighting for the shirt every game and it's always nice to score and win.

"A lot of people have been talking about me and Frank Lampard and where I'm going to play all week but as long as I am in this team and we are winning football matches then I'm happy. I thought I played well tonight."

Happy, too, was England manager Capello, although he was at pains not to single out any one player for praise.

"Gerrard played well but all the players did," said Capello. "It is very important for us if we want to play well we have to play like a team and not as single players. Tonight I saw one team and that was very important for us.

"Sometimes I haven't always hit the heights I would have liked to, but I'm moving forward now and I'll continue to work hard."

Belarus looked comfortable on the ball at the start, with Vitaly Kutuzov and Pavel Sitko causing problems, and gave a searching examination to rusty-looking left-back Wayne Bridge, who was deputising for the injured Ashley Cole. But England wrestled the initiative away from them in the second 45 minutes once Rooney had restored their advantage.

It was a confident start but, after 11 minutes, Gerrard's stunning strike temporarily silenced the passionate home crowd. Rooney battled away in typical fashion in the middle of the park to win the ball before laying it off for Gerrard, and his first-time effort from 30 yards out curled past Alexander Kulchy's dive into the corner of the net.

It was the Liverpool skipper's first competitive goal for his country since his brace 19 months ago in the European Championship qualifier with Andorra in Barcelona.

But, if England thought that would knock the stuffing out of Belarus, they were very much mistaken as their opponents engineered wave after wave of attacks.

David James found himself in the thick of the action on several occasions. Sitko twice found space outside the box to extend the Portsmouth keeper who also denied Dmitry Molosh from a similar distance.

Anton Putsilo became the first player to be yellow-carded for a late challenge on Lampard, but, as the Belarus pressure started to grow, it came as no surprise when they equalised through Sitko after 28 minutes.

After putting together a move of around 20 passes, Vitaly Kutuzov and Igor Stasevich were the creators on the right with the latter checking back inside after Bridge had dived in.

He then had ample time to measure and float an inviting cross into the path of Sitko who gave James no chance with a close-range header.

England retaliated after this setback and Heskey directed a near-post header just wide from a Lampard corner.

Kulchy clung on to a low skidded drive from Lampard and was then relieved to see Walcott strike a low shot straight at him after wriggling free inside the box. But England needed only five minutes of the second half to regain the advantage through Rooney.

Heskey was the creator with a powerful run into the box which took him past the challenge of Sergei Omelyanchuk before he turned the ball across the box – and Rooney did the rest with a clinical close-range finish.

Belarus were now posing little of the threat of the first half and, with 15 minutes remaining, Rooney killed off the game as a contest with his second. Bridge played the ball into Gerrard after a dummy from Rooney who was then well positioned to receive the ball from the midfielder before clipping it past Kulchy.

Gerrard should have made it 4-1 in the closing stages, but he hit the post with the goal at his mercy after rounding Kulchy.

There was just time for David Beckham to win his 107th cap as a late substitute for Rooney and overtake Sir Bobby Charlton in the all-time list, but there was no doubting the starring role offered by Rooney.

"When Wayne's in this type of form he's up there with the best players in the world," said Gerrard afterwards. "He's a special talent and the understanding and awareness he has is fantastic. It's a pleasure to play with him."

Gerrard will hope he continues to get the chance.


Belarus: Zhevnov, Verkhovtsov, Filipenko, Omelyanchuk, Molosh, Kulchy, Sitko, Putsilo, Stasevich, Kutuzov, Bulyga. Subs: Veremko, Korytko, Strakhanovich, Viacheslav Hleb, Rodionov, Pavlov, Sosnovskiy.

England: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Upson, Bridge, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Walcott, Rooney, Heskey. Subs: Carson, Johnson, Lescott, Beckham, Wright-Phillips, Defoe, Crouch.