Football: International friendly from Wembley - England 2 Hungary 1

Published: 12 August 2010
by PAUL COWLING at Wembley Stadium

THE past week has all been about the fans' reaction to England's World Cup disaster, and how loudly a meagre 60k crowd were going to boo the tarnished 'golden generation'.
Even Steven Gerrard came out and said he would boo the players, if he was sitting in the stands.
At Wembley  last night, the players did get booed - and very loudly at times - but it took a brace of majestic goals from the Liverpool man to turn a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 victory, and the jeers to cheers. 
Gerrard left the stage ten minutes from time to the loudest roar I can ever recall at Wembley.
His replacement: Arsenal prodigy Jack Wilshere, had a few moments to indicate he was part of England's future, but in the meantime, there is still much work to be done before England's long-suffering and loyal fans, have something to really savour.

A much healthier 72,000 crowd watched as England tore into their limited opponents right from the kick off.
Hungary - 62nd in the FIFA rankings - looked like a mid-table Championship side, pitched up against a 'Big Four' Premier League club going through a very lean patch, with a blue-chip manager being barracked from all quarters.
Fabio Capello has much to answer for, for England's disasterous World Cup, and it will take more than a few new faces to convince the doubters.
But, at least his side looked as if they had something to prove: Theo Walcott rampaged through at will, but as is so often the case with the speedster, there was little end product. Still, he was the main avenue for a goal in the first half, as England threatened, but failed to take the lead. They did have the ball in the net, inside three minutes, but Wayne Rooney was adjudged to have been offside.
The French officials judgement wasn't in doubt there, but it was in the second half, when on 63 minutes, Hungary took a surprise lead, and totally against the run of play.
A hopeful shot cannoned off Phil Jagielka towards the goalmouth; Spurs' Michael Dawson (on for 'booed boy' John Terry), hacked the ball off the line, but the goal was given. Cue delirium from the London-based Magyar fans, and a crescendo of boos from everybody else.
The lead didn't last long, as Adam Johnson set up Gerrard for a thunderbolt on 69 minutes to make it 1-1.

A raft of promised substitutions looked to be working. Fulham's Bobby Zamora (on for the anonymous Lampard),  took a nervous while to get going, but he could have ended up with a hat trick, but for fine saves from Gabor Kiraly in the visitors' goal. Zamora's muscular hold-up play, and opportunistic shooting - such a hallmark of his club's success last season - were on display here.
With England now working to a 4-4-2, and from the wings, they constantly exposed the hapless Hungarians. 
Adam Johnson moved to the right, and grew more-and-more into the game, and from the left side, Ashley Young (on for the lively Walcott) had a solid game.
Young's link-up play with Arsenal's, Kieran Gibbs, was a sparkling feature of the second half.
Gibbs, like Wilshere, on his senior debut,  is an international star in the making: his fearless forays into the box, and his rapier speed, caused mayhem throughout the second half, and when called upon defensively, he showed a cool head beyond his years. Ashley Cole has serious 'new blood' competition for the left-back berth. It's just a shame that can't be said for the other positions!

But, England got the lead, and the win, they so richly deserved on 73 minutes, when Gerrard turned three players in the box, before lifting the ball over Kiraly. It was a fantastic goal, and epitomised Gerrard's man-of-the-match performance.
Gerrard had said he would have booed the players, but his world class quality ensured, the fans were cheering England by the final whistle.
But, let's not get carried away: a lot of damage has been done to England's reputation, and much work is needed, if England are to avoid turning into a second-level international side like a Denmark or Sweden. The comeback will be slow, but starts now, with back-to-back wins next month against Bulgaria and Switzerland in Euro 2012 qualifiers. Over to you Capello!