WEMBLEY, England, April 2: John Terry scored the winning goal in the 85th minute Wednesday to lead England to a 2-1 win over Ukraine and stretch the team’s winning streak to five games in World Cup qualifying.[break]
The England captain scored from close range after Steven Gerrard had touched on David Beckham’s free kick as England stayed five points clear at the top of Group 6.
Peter Crouch volleyed England into the lead in the 29th minute at Wembley, but substitute Andriy Shevchenko leveled in the 74th with a half-volley after the home side failed to clear a free kick.
“We were disappointed to concede a goal late on but showed great character to come back and win the game, so there are some real positives,” Terry said. “It meant a lot (scoring the goal) and it has given us the win, so I’m delighted.”
England manager Fabio Capello said his team wilted in the second half, a sign that the players were tiring late in the season.
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“We played well in the first half but we lost too many easy passes in the second,” he said. “I think at this period of the season the players are not fresh. The players suffered a little. But I am very happy—five victories is very important.”
Even with his team now eight points behind England, Ukraine coach Alexiy Mikhailychenko doesn’t believe Capello’s team is out of reach, especially with his team having a game in hand.
“England has a great chance to go through from first place,” Mikhailychenko said. “But that’s not really saying anything because we are only halfway through the games. Let’s see what will happen in the future.”
Wayne Rooney, who scored two goals in Saturday’s 4-0 victory in a friendly against Slovakia, almost gave England an early lead with an overhead kick after a good approach play by Gerrard before the home side moved in front in the 29th.
Terry met Frank Lampard’s corner with a firm header and Crouch volleyed home from five yards.
England goalkeeper David James had little to do in the first half but was almost caught out by a 30-yard shot from Ukraine captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, which struck him on the arm.
Beckham and Shevchenko, currently teammates on loan at AC Milan, were on rival benches at the start of the game and gave each other a hug before they walked out before kickoff. They went on within three minutes of each other in the second half, Shevchenko replacing fellow striker Andriy Voronin and Beckham going on for Aaron Lennon to take his England record of appearances for an outfield player to 110.
“Our plan was to keep him on the bench until the England team became a bit exhausted and then send him on to produce the result that we were hoping for,” Mikhailychenko said of Shevchenko.
Within seven minutes of his entrance, Beckham almost made it 2-0 with a bending free kick that flashed wide of the goal.
But it was Shevchenko who hit the target in the 74th when England failed to deal with a firmly hit free kick from the right and the ball bounced off Glen Johnson to Shevchenko, who drove it home from 10 meters (yards).
The England fans in the crowd of 87,548 feared their team’s Group 6 run had come to an end, but Beckham swung in a free kick from the right, Gerrard stretched to pull the ball back in front of goal and Terry was ideally placed to turn it home.
“There was some great fight and desire from the lads,” Terry said. “We were not settling for 1-1 and we went on to win the game. We’re in a great position in the group and this has really set us up.”
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