Cole edges England past Andorra

Written by Admin on Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Cole edges England past Andorra

Andorra (dpa)- Two goals from substitute Joe Cole spared England’s blushes as they overcame international minnows Andorra 2-0 in Barcelona on Saturday.

In manager Fabio Capello’s first competitive match in charge, England got off to a winning start in their quest to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

England struggled to break down the stubborn Andorran defence in the first half, and just as last year, they were booed off by their supporters as they went into the break 0-0.

But Capello introduced match-winning hero Joe Cole and Emile Heskey at the beginning of the second half and the changes brought immediate rewards.

Cole poked in his first goal from close range just three minutes after the break after Joleon Lescott had guided Frank Lampard’s free-kick across the face of goal.

And the Chelsea midfielder added a second only six minutes later with a cool finish after being played in by Wayne Rooney.

The Andorrans best hope always lay in not conceding a goal, and after England had struck so quickly in the second period, they never posed a serious threat.

England’s group rivals Croatia, who they will meet on Wednesday, also have three points after they comfortably defeated Kazakhstan 2-0.