Macedonia 1 - 2 England

M'donia 1-2 England: Rooney history

Updated: September 6, 2003, 12:00 PM UK

Beneath his cool exterior, Sven-Goran Eriksson is a calculated gambler at heart and his instincts paid off in Macedonia as Wayne Rooney and David Beckham kept England's Euro 2004 qualifying hopes firmly on track.

England may have lived on their nerve ends for much of a feisty game, with crowd unease and some racial abuse of players offering an unsettling backdrop.

Indeed, when Macedonia took an early lead through former Barnsley striker Gorgi Hristov, the home side were threatening to repeat the damage inflicted by their 2-2 draw in Southampton last October.

However, even though Rooney hardly had a kick of the ball in that frustrating first half, it was still Frank Lampard who was taken off by Eriksson at half-time as he brought on Emile Heskey in a bold attacking move.

Eight minutes later, that move paid off spectacularly as Rooney became the youngest England player to score an international goal at 17 years and 317 days, beating Michael Owen's mark by six months.

And it was not much longer before the second calculated gamble came up trumps.

David Beckham's fitness may have been in question before the game but Eriksson still trusted his captain's promise of full fitness.

That show of faith was fully justified as Beckham not only delivered the cross from which Rooney scored - via Heskey's knock-down - but also the free-kick from which John Terry then won England a penalty.

Beckham converted the spot-kick and so England were left needing victory at home to Liechtenstein next week to mean that a point would suffice in the final game in Turkey to qualify automatically.

The only blot on the horizon was the appearance of several hundred England fans without official tickets, with the England team applauding them at the end of the game.

Then again, given that all the potential ingredients for an upset were there, this was an effective display by England, at least in the second half.

Amid a hostile atmosphere and playing on a hard, extremely uneven surface, England were not allowed a moment to settle early on, with Macedonia's first booking coming after just 80 seconds.

Indeed, with the England midfield conceding possession with monotonous regularity, while West Browich Albion's Artim Sakiri ran the show, Eriksson's side could establish no rhythm.

Missing Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard, they were especially indebted to Sol Campbell's presence at the back to repel the initial wave of attacks.

However, when Ashley Cole conceded possession, England were caught flat-footed at the back and when Campbell inexplicably tried to head a ball just inches off the floor they had reached the point of no return.

David James managed to save the first effort from Goran Pandev but he could only deflect the follow-up effort from Hristov inside his own post.

Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Croatia had exposed exactly the same defensive shortcomings in England's past three fixtures, but the lessons have still not been heeded.

Then again, while Macedonia can establish a lead - as they have done against England and Turkey home and away - holding onto it is another matter.

After Beckham had tested out not only his groin but also the referee's patience with two full-blooded tackles, he yet again managed to inspire his side.

Before half-time, Owen was denied by keeper Petar Milosevski diving at his feet from Beckham's through-ball but, after the interval, England's refusal to give up finally paid off.

With Heskey now on for Lampard, with Rooney dropping back into the hole, Beckham - as ever in times of pressure - took it upon himself to roam in search of the ball.

His chipped cross towards Heskey was knocked down by the Liverpool forward straight into the path of Rooney, who buried his first-time shot from the edge of the penalty area.

So much for Eriksson supposedly being indecisive and unable to change his team's fortunes, as the World Cup quarter-final charge sheet ran.

His side needed to score again to make any real difference to their qualifying position but their tails were now up.

Just nine minutes later, Terry controlled Beckham's free-kick inside the penalty area and, as he cut back inside, was brought down by Braga Aguinaldo de Zezus.

Beckham converted the ensuing penalty with his normal panache and England were ahead, albeit still far from home and dry.

Hristov went diving in search of a penalty but earned only a yellow card, while Aguinaldo de Zezus had a shot deflected just over the top.

Eriksson had seen enough. Successful gamblers know when to cash in their chips and off came Rooney as Phil Neville was introduced into a more solid midfield.

Kieron Dyer also followed, to replace Owen, who had just been denied by keeper Milosevski along with Heskey.

England, however, had prevailed and their qualifying fate still rests in the hands of their poker-faced coach.