SLOVAKIA 0, ENGLAND 1
- Martin Skrtl sent off for two yellow cards after 57 minutes
- Slovakia frustrate England who have few shots on target
- Adam Lallana hits the post in second half before scoring 95th minute winner
- Lallana’s first England goal in 27 internationals
Adam Lallana’s 95th minute injury time strike in Slovakia earned England a winning start to their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Lallana’s goal beat Matus Kozacik, who should have done better with the shot that went through his legs, just when Slovakia thought they had frustrated their visitors.
It was a new era for England but it threatened to become a haunting nightmare for new manager Sam Allardyce as 10-man Slovakia came within seconds of earning another goalless draw.
Sam Allardyce said before the game that a draw would have been a satisfactory result but would have been sorely disappointed if the game in Trnava had ended that way after Slovakia played for over half an hour with ten men.
Allardyce was relieved to get through England’s toughest fixture of the campaign with a win, but admitted that poor finishing almost cost them.
He said: “The importance of the game was a little bit of added pressure for us.
“We were comfortable today apart from our finishing.
“If we were a little bit more clinical we could have relaxed.
“When we saw goals going in ruled out for offside I was concerned it was going to end up 0-0.
“But Adam Lallana scored his first goal for England.”
Allardyce had taken the unusual measure of naming his England side a couple of days early – John Stones, Jordan Henderson, and Adam Lallana were recalled to the side, replacing Chris Smalling, Dele Alli and Daniel Sturridge.
Far from offering a new dawn for England, they seemed to revert all too quickly to the woeful patterns established in the summer against Slovakia.
Wayne Rooney, captain for the forthcoming Russian World Cup campaign, won his 116th cap – a record for an outfield player – but played too deep to help Harry Kane and was ineffective with his set pieces.
Kane, goalless since the start of the Euros, was isolated and was repeatedly fouled by ex-Liverpool defender Martin Skrtl until the Slovakia captain was sent off for stamping on Kane.
Such was England’s lack of cutting edge that, despite their possession, they didn’t muster a shot on target until after Skrtl had been sent off, but they went on to lay siege to the Slovakia goal.
Lallana hit the inside of the post on 76 minutes with Slovakia firmly on a mission to frustrate England and earn a point.
And substitute Theo Walcott had a goal controversially ruled out for offside as England were banging on the door.
Flashbacks of the France 2016 game threatened to return to haunt England until Lallana’s lucky strike at the very end.