 England overcame a decent start by Scotland before taking all three points in a 3-0 win at Wembley. Headed goals from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill were the undoing of Gordon Strachan's side. Scotland made the better start and mustered the first shot after three minutes when captain Darren Fletcher miscued an effort that bounced well wide. England, looking lethargic in the early stages at a packed national stadium, soon had further cause for concern when, with five minutes gone, Hull midfielder Robert Snodgrass whipped in a free kick that was punched clear of the danger zone by Joe Hart. But the hosts finally flickered into attacking life as the 10-minute mark approached as Lallana saw his run down the left ended by a tidy challenge from Ikechi Anya. Just four minutes later, England called for a penalty when Raheem Sterling went down under a challenge from Lee Wallace, only for the referee to wave their appeals aside. Wayne Rooney saw a free kick deflected wide of the mark after 19 minutes before Scotland forward Leigh Griffiths was in action inside his own area to block the resulting corner. Five minutes later England led when Sterling's blocked effort from the edge of the box fell to Kyle Walker, whose fine cross was stylishly headed home by Sturridge. Griffiths saw an effort deflected behind, with John Stones getting in the way, and Grant Hanley powered a header off target when left unattended from a corner. Moments later, Griffiths tried an optimistic shot when the unmarked Snodgrass was in the clear outside him after Rooney had given the ball away as England escaped a problem of their own making. Fletcher blazed over from outside the box after evading Rooney's challenge as Scotland worked their way back into the game.Scotland began the second half in the same way as they had the first, pressing high and creating an early opening when Snodgrass fed Anya only for him to completely mis-control down the right. The visitors had another chance when a cross into the area was left for James Forrest, who could only prod his low shot wide of the post, before Stones blocked another effort from Snodgrass after some smart build-up play. Within moments, Scotland were made to pay for those missed chances as Lallana guided a header home from an arrowed Danny Rose cross. A James Morrison effort was stopped by Hart as Strachan's side tried to find a route back into the game. Cahill was booked for pulling back Forrest, meaning that he will miss England's next qualifier at home to Lithuania in March, but that was forgotten soon after the hour when he scored the third to put the game beyond any doubt, heading a Rooney corner past Craig Gordon. Sterling should then have made it four when he blazed over from close range after a superb one-two between Lallana and Henderson had freed the latter to cross. England coach Gareth Southgate made his first change, taking off opening goalscorer Sturridge and replacing him with Leicester's Jamie Vardy, before Sterling tried to pass when he should have shot and saw his attempted through ball come to nothing. Rooney was booked for a late foul on Leigh Griffiths as England saw out the closing moments of the latest game against their oldest rivals with no difficulty. |
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