England 5 - 0 Andorra

Having a seat in the East Stand at Old Trafford I could see the incredibly poor decisions the referee had close-up. I could also see the incessant time-wasting and poor sportsmanship that occurred all too frequently. I'm sure their coach miss-interpreted the rules, I'm sure he read some where that when ever you're tackled you had to go to ground clutching your groin or calf muscle.

All 56,000-odd fans that almost made the ground look fairly full were as full with anger as they were devoid of respect with the way the Andorran players handled themselves on the pitch.

When it comes to the game the gulf in class between the two sides was almost as great as the difference in the size of their diminutive number 3 compared to towering frame that Peter Crouch continually bore down on him.

After 4 minutes Crouch passed the ball into the net for an easy 1-0 lead and we all thought that a massive rout was on the cards. This continued when Steven Gerrard fired home the second from a tight angle. With the crowd baying for a goal from Jermaine Defoe they were duly reward on 37 minutes and then provided the best possible start to the second half with another great thump of a Euro 2008 goal from a Phil Neville's headed cross.

Owen Hargreaves was outstanding throughout the match, passing, tackling great shooting but despite the fact he only just didn't make the score sheet, he showed the determination and commitment that the England faithful crave.

Lampard was a misnomer and contributed little. The captain played the important uber-defensive role given Ferdinand's absence, whilst Phil Neville didn't take this new opportunity to shine.

But it's difficult to get into a flow with the opposition playing sniper victim whenever they had the slightest contact and having a referee that was just as keen to hold up play when the game became a contact sport.

Two substitutes were made two-thirds through the game, Lennon and Kieran Richardson came on and the team changed to a 3-5-2 formation as Neville was rightly replaced. The tinkering paid instant dividends with Crouch scoring his second and England's fifth from Lennon's cross.

The referee was Austrian, I hope that his fellow nationals officiate the Euro 2008 tournament better than he controlled the game. Yellow cards were given for nothing and free-kicks for even less. Tutt.

With much to moan about, including sloppiness by Neville, the opposition playing as if they had a degenerative muscle disease that caused them to collapse with no notice and a whistle happy referee - even the weather can't dampen three points in the bag and five goals on the board for a Rooney, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney weakened side.

With the stronger opposition that Macedonia will be on Wednesday England will have to play with great fluidity and be less "mugs" and kicking the ball out whenever the opposition go down.
Role on Macedonia ... Engerland are on it's way!

England:
Robinson, Neville, Brown, Terry, Cole, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Lampard, Downing, Crouch, Defoe.
Subs: Kirkland, Dawson, Carrick, Richardson, Lennon, Bent, Johnson.

Andorra: Alvarez, Antoni Lima, Garcia Luena, Ayala, Sonejee, Javi Sanchez, Sivera, Vieira, Silva, Pujol, Ruiz.
Subs: Alfonso Sanchez, Juli Sanchez, Moreno, Jimenez, Garcia, Rubio, Fernandez.

Referee:
Bernhard Brugger (Austria)

Your views: Post them on the Euro 2008 Forum.

Game Rating: 6/10 - Frustrating as heck but with a 5-0 win you can't complain too much.

Highlight of the game: There wasn't much to crow about.

Moan of the Game: You need to ask? Sooo much!

Match Highlights:

Image ©: Sporting Life