England 5 Kazakhstan 1: England win fails to end boos culture

ENGLAND ended up with more than an adequate margin of victory against Kazakhstan to maintain a 100% record in World Cup qualifying Group 6, but the scoreline should deceive no-one. England were at times dreadfully poor and manager Fabio Capello will be alarmed at how quickly the spark which so electrified their 4-1 win in Croatia last month has disappeared.

Still, a win is a win and when the final table is compiled, three points and five goals at home will not look so bad. Yet it took Wayne Rooney's late double and Jermain Defoe's injury-time effort to kill off spirited opponents ranked 131st in the world after Kazakhstan had rallied from a breakthrough header by stand-in skipper Rio Ferdinand with an Alexandr Kuchma own goal.

There were plenty of negatives. Capello's plea for supporters to cut out the boos was ignored. England were jeered after the goalless first half and full back Ashley Cole was the target of abuse from his own fans, prompting the manager to speak out after the match. Capello said: "I couldn't understand the crowd booing Ashley Cole after he made a mistake. It is possible for one player to make mistake. It is very important that the crowd help him and not boo him."

Ferdinand also slammed the fans. He said: "As regards the booing of Ashley, a lot of the fans will go home – and I hope they will be ashamed of what they were doing. Everyone is human, and people make mistakes. We are big enough to hold our hands up when we have made a mistake, but it is not made any easier when you have got your own fans booing you. A lot of the fans did try to clap Ashley, and I think you've got to rally round as players and supporters when anyone makes a mistake."

Kazakhstan did try to play and attack when they could, and showed plenty of enthusiasm if not much finesse, as half-chances came their way thanks to some lacklustre England defending. But the gulf in ability was obvious from the outset and a capacity crowd sat back and waited for the slaughter.

It did not happen. In fact, Kazakhstan goalkeeper Alexandr Mokin did not have a shot to save in the first half, two punches to Frank Lampard free-kicks the most exertion he required.

Disappointments were easy to find. The defence, with Matthew Upson replacing injured skipper John Terry, lacked cohesion. Upson was not commanding enough and Cole's concentration was strangely lacking.

In front of them, a midfield designed to get the best of Lampard and Steven Gerrard showed promise. Both men drove towards the visitors' box after receiving smart lay-offs from Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney respectively. But on each occasion Kazakhstan's massed defence snuffed them out.

England finally made the breakthrough in the second half, profiting from Mokin's poor goalkeeping. Wright-Phillips' low drive was ruled to have taken a deflection as it whistled wide. Mokin tried to come through a crowd of bodies to reach Lampard's corner, got nowhere near it and Ferdinand had an empty net to nod his third international goal into.

With 21-year-old Tanat Nuserbayev continuing to catch the eye of Premier League scouts, the hosts needed a second, which came courtesy of Kuchma, who turned Lampard's free-kick into his own net as he jumped with Rooney. It should have been over. So to see Cole aimlessly loft a pass into the path of Zhambyl Kukeyev, who promptly drilled into the corner, just four minutes later, must have been fairly dispiriting.

Cole was booed by the England fans thereafter, although at least Rooney sent them home in happier mood as he headed home Wes Brown's teasing cross 13 minutes from time. Then substitute David Beckham crossed for Rooney to steer home the fourth before being replaced by Defoe, who also got his name on the scoresheet in the final minute.