Mostly for the people I know who wanted manager Steve McClaren out a bloody long time ago. Utterly shocking defeat, which meant that England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament next summer. This news wasn't made totally official until another result came down just a few minutes later, to see if Andorra could've drawn with Russia, but they lost 1-0 to eke out the last qualifying spot from their group.
Spurs goalie Paul Robinson had rightly been criticized for some of his misadventures and blunders in front of the net, but his replacement Scott Carson, installed on a gamble by McClaren, gave up a couple of howlers tht made Robbo's seem slight. Both happened in the first 15 minutes, with Nico Kranjcar getting off a shot that found the right side of the net, seemingly in plenty of time for Carson to get there, but alas he did not. The second goal caught the players on the back line of England flat-footed, as they expected an off-sides call (there was none, it was the correct call) and Ivica Olic cooly stepped past Carson to find the back of the net. 2-0 to the visitors on a rainy night in London, and McClaren's worst possible start had arrived.
McClaren's other starting line-up change, Shaun Wright-Phillips, playing in the stead of David Beckham, had a good look at the goal between the two that the visitors managed, but failed to find a deft enough touch on his shot and was turned back by the Croat defense.
Beckham and Jermaine Defoe were the English subs to start the second half, and both played a role in helping the home side to equalize. Defoe was pulled down in the box and England was awarded a penalty kick, which Frank Lampard delivered 11 minutes in the second half, and ten minutes later, a famed kick in from Beckham on the right side found Peter Crouch in front of the goal, and Crouch controlled the ball nicely and scored the tying goal, and all of the aggravation that the despondent crowd had shown all evening was swept away in a moment of euphoria.
Actually, change that moment to about 12 minutes, for that's when Mladen Petric delivered a 25 yard blast past the hapless Carson for the inevitable winner, a goal in which there were at leaast three white shirts around the man, and none made a move to defend him, apparently not believing that one could make a shot from that area. Wrong move, boyo.
I'm not going to play the guessing game and say that Robbo should have been in goal, but when England can't even manage a draw at home against a team that's not going anywhere (just like themselves), or even throw away a tie late in the game that was hardly an indication of how badly Englad was outplayed, well maybe I should change my mind. In actuality, it all comes together as symbolic of McClaren's tactics that what was seemingly so simple and within their grasp should prove as elusive as a slow-moving ball into the back of the net: one step behind.
BBC REPORT
THE PUNDITS
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