ENGLAND 2, MALTA 0
Gareth Southgate made a winning start as England’s interim manager as they defeated minnows Malta in their World Cup qualifier.
It was only a modest margin of victory bearing in mind Malta are ranked 173 in the world, but England ended a tumultuous period on a positive note after Sam Allardyce’s short spell as manager.
First-half goals from Daniel Sturridge and Deli Alli made it two wins out of two in their qualification campaign.
And had it not been for an exceptional performance from Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, England would have won by a far wider margin.
Hogg, who had a spell playing in Greece before returning to Malta for personal reasons, produced a display that ought to see him playing at a higher level than for Hibernians on the tiny Mediterranean island.
While Jesse Lingard, on his England senior debut, and Alli gave the side energy, the worry was Wayne Rooney who failed to impress in a central midfield position.
Rooney is no longer a striker and is also clearly not a midfield player so there is a quandary as to his future, both for club and country.
Southgate was pleased with the victory in view of being in the job less than a fortnight.
He said: “Given the situation I picked up 12 days ago internally, we have come a long way.
“It was always about the performance and getting the players to understand how I wanted them to play.
“I looked at the situation I inherited and what was required. We will get better. I have seen teams work all pre-season to get their ideas across, but we only had four days.”
Southgate was pleased with aspects of the performance, but added there was scope for improvement.
“We had enough chances to win more comfortably and, had we scored a couple more goals, there would have been a different feeling,” he added.
Southgate was delighted with Lingard’s debut and his interplay with Alli and Sturridge.
He added he could not understand the booing Rooney received from a section of the crowd.
“Some of the criticism is at times unfair and he ploughs on and captains his country with pride,” he said.
Malta manager Pietro Ghedin was delighted with his side’s display saying his side would have lost more heavily but for Hogg.
“I read that England would be disappointed if they did not win by at least five goals. They should e happy as they won the match and picked up three point while we have zero,” he explained.
Southgate made his mark with a number of interesting selections.
Lingard was handed his first England cap ahead of his Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford.
And Rooney was picked, even though he is unable to command a starting spot for the Old Trafford club.
Rooney operated in midfield while Tottenham’s Alli was in the No 10 role behind Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge who was preferred to Jamie Vardy up front.
Rooney was quickly in the thick of the action firing a free kick into the defensive wall before a well-directed shot from the edge of the box brought a flying save from keeper Andrew Hogg.
England were forced into a change after 18 minutes when left-back Ryan Bertrand limped off with a hamstring strain to be replaced by Danny Rose.
Lingard had the chance to make it a dream debut as he was put clean through, but he lifted his shot over the crossbar.
Hogg came to Malta’s rescue again mid-half with a terrific save to keep out a header by Alli who was only six yards from goal when he met Jordan Henderson’s cross from the right.
And Henderson provided the delivery when England made the breakthrough just short of the hour with a cross from the right that Sturridge headed low to the left of Hogg from 15 yards for his seventh England goal.
Lingard went close again with a header from a Kyle Walker cross and Hogg pulled off another super stop low to his left.
And from the resulting corner, Gary Cahill’s shot flashed just wide of the upright.
The impressive Alli scored a second for England after 38 minutes. His initial shot was beaten out by Hogg but only back into the path of the Spurs player who fired home his second goal for his country.
It continued in the same vein in the second period with Hogg providing a formidable barrier behind the back four.
Rooney curled a free kick towards the top corner only for the fingertips of the keeper to turn the ball to safety.
Hogg then pulled off another worldy to deny Theo Walcott as Malta continued to defend resolutely.
England made their second change midway through the second period when Walcott was replaced by Rashford to a huge chorus of approval from the fans.
And Rashford was soon followed by Vardy as Sturridge was withdrawn as Southgate completed his permitted changes.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart, a spectator throughout, was called into action for the first time after 81 minutes with a smart stop at his near post to keep out an angled volley from Andrei Agius following a free kick.
England ought to have bagged a third goal with five minutes left when Rashford got behind the Malta defence and his low cross fell invitingly for Alli who inexplicably blazed over from six yards in front of goal, a glaring miss.
After a lively opening, the second half petered out as Malta were content with damage limitation while England showed little appetite to break them down.
And at the final whistle, there were muted jeers among the applause as England did what was expected of them, but nothing more.