England (11-10-2013)

England 4 – 1 Montenegro (World Cup Qualifier), 11^th October 2013

Match ticket = £32-50

Coach = £34

Programme = £6

Tea (x2) = £3

Taxi (Sheffield-home) = £15 (approx.)

Total = £90-50

I write this several months after the event, so forgive me if details are a little unclear! This was my third World Cup qualifier of the 2014 qualifying cycle (after San Marino and Ukraine), and was a crucial game in ensuring England reached Brazil safely. Montenegro had done incredibly well in this group, and could have easily beaten us away when it finished 1-1 back in March. Now England were two home wins from topping the group after a key draw in Ukraine and an easy win over Moldova. It sounded so simple!

For once, the coach down from Sheffield was delayed on the M1, and we only reached the ground at about 7.30, so it was a bit of a rush to get in, grab a programme and get set for this one. I barely had time for rolls before the game kicked off. As is so often the case, England couldn’t get a breakthrough before half-time, and the crowd began to get a bit nervous. This was in spite of a very attacking line-up which included Andros Townsend. I couldn’t contemplate the anguish of a World Cup play-off, or indeed, missing out entirely.

Rooney settled nerves on 48 minutes when he tapped in a rebound from a Danny Welbeck shot to make it 1-0. Perfect start to the second half. The game’s intensity strangely dropped off after 62 minutes when an unfortunate Montenegro player scored an OG to double England’s lead. It felt odd to be comfortably ahead when we had struggled to break the away side down in the first half, and when they carried so much of an attacking threat. In the next 15-20 minutes England began to relax more and attack with more fluidity. It seems we do best when playing with a comfortable lead, and little pressure. Up stepped Andros Townsend to make it 3-0 with a wonderful rocket of a shot into the goal, which left the away goalkeeper with no chance. This was terrific, and vindicated Hodgson’s decision to play him ahead of Milner, who has been described as more ‘yeoman-like’. A Sturridge penalty in the last minute made it 4-1, and gave a slightly undeserved gloss to the scoreline. In truth, we had definitely deserved to win, but had got some good fortune at key points in the game to make it look like a better win than it had been. This was good for the goal difference, and great for confidence going into Tuesday’s game with Poland. This hadn’t been a classic, and the atmosphere around Wembley (particularly in the first-half) was tense and almost angry. But this was another key win at the right time, and backed up Hodgson’s confidence that we would make it to Brazil.