England vs Wales

Three Lions tackle the Dragons

Written By: Robert Halter

England were on track for qualification to the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine as the Three Lions topped Group G and looked to slay the Dragons once again having beaten Wales 2-0 back in March at the Millennium Stadium before a return meeting of the two sides under the Wembley floodlights on September 6. In the first chance of the match, England captain John Terry put wide an Ashley Young corner on seven minutes. At the other end of the pitch, Ashley Williams miss placed a header from Gareth Bale’s free kick, three minutes later. On seventeen minutes, Frank Lampard laid the ball off to Wayne Rooney, whose lob drifted over the upright . As Stewart Downing hit a volley into the midnight sky from Young’s cross, neither team had put a chance to bed midway through the first half. But that all changed on thirty five minutes when England finally hit the mark when Downing cut inside Joe Ledley, and put the ball on a plate for Young, who turned his shot past Wayne Hennessey, into the bottom right side of the net, to put the Three Lions ahead. Young was near to adding to the score in the opening minute of the second half but drilled his shot at Hennessey from close range, after Lampard had created the opening. On sixty four minutes, Hennessey failed to get hold of Adam Johnson’s free kick but Gary Cahill was unable to divert the rebound although it was the Dragons who came closest to levelling the score in the seventy sixth minute when Robert Ernshaw with the goal gapping from a few yards out, blasted the ball over from in front of the line to waste the knock on by Darcy Blake from an Aaron Ramsey free kick. On eighty minutes, Joe Hart showed why he was England’s number one with a theatrical one handed stop to block Chris Gunter’s shot, after Young had slipped in the box even though England had set an offside trap. After weathering the Welsh storm, the Three Lions pressed late on as Young put an effort into the side netting from Rooney’s pass but at the close of play it was Young’s first half goal that separated the two sides to put England within touching distance of qualification, needing just a point from their next game in Montenegro.