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Maguire, Grealish shine as England sink Republic of Ireland
LONDON, Nov 13, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Gareth Southgate admitted he was impressed
with Jack Grealish as the England winger sparkled and Harry Maguire enjoyed a
moment of redemption in Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win against the Republic of
Ireland.
Just 48 hours after the resignation of English Football Association
chairman Greg Clarke following his offensive comments about the BAME and LGBT
communities, Southgate’s side showed no signs of being distracted by the
controversy.
After being sent off in his previous England appearance against Denmark,
Maguire captained his country for the first time and scored the opening goal
at Wembley.
It was a welcome boost for Maguire, who has endured a difficult campaign
marred by his Greek court case and poor form for Manchester United and
England.
Jadon Sancho bagged England’s second goal before the interval and Dominic
Calvert-Lewin made it three with a second-half penalty.
That was enough to seal England’s first success against the Republic since
1985.
Grealish, starting against the country he represented at youth level,
caught the eye on the left flank as he justified the constant calls from fans
and pundits for the Aston Villa star to be given a sustained run in the team.
“The two players in those roles, Jadon and Jack, they’ve got the freedom to
go either side of the pitch and try and create overloads,” Southgate said.
“I thought at times both of them did that really well. Of course, as soon
as they are turned and running at people, they are a real problem for the
opponent.”
There was a landmark moment for Jude Bellingham, who became the third
youngest player to represent England when the 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund
midfielder came on for Mason Mount in the 73rd minute.
Bellingham, who left Birmingham to join Dortmund earlier this year, is
behind only Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney in the list of England’s youngest
players.
The teenager is one for the future, but Southgate will have been more
encouraged by the way his understudies impressed after he rested Harry Kane,
Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson before the Nations League games against
Belgium on Sunday and Iceland next Wednesday.
“I was very pleased with the way the boys played. A lot of young players, a
lot of inexperienced players, we used the ball very well, created a lot of
chances, could have been more comfortable if we’d taken some of those chances
but overall very pleased,” Southgate said.
“We were a bit slow at the start but that’s understandable. It’s not a team
that have had a lot of time to work together.
“The longer they went on, some of the interplay, some of the play between
our attacking 10s and our wing-backs in particular was very good.”
Southgate had urged England to put the focus back on football after
Clarke’s self-inflicted demise triggered a “turbulent week” and his team were
always in control in their first meeting with the Republic since 2015.
– Temporary reprieve –
Maguire put England ahead in the 18th minute when Harry Winks crossed back
into the area and the defender rose above Shane Duffy to head past Darren
Randolph for his second goal in an England shirt.
Sancho has been struggling to find his peak form for Borussia Dortmund this
season, but the winger showed his quality to double England’s lead in the
31st minute.
Grealish teed him up on the left side of the Ireland area and Sancho
shifted the ball onto his right foot before curling a low strike past
Randolph.
Bukayo Saka won a penalty in the 56th minute when he wriggled past Cyrus
Christie, who responded with a clear trip on the Arsenal wing-back.
Everton striker Calvert-Lewin stroked the spot-kick high into the roof of
the net for his second England goal.
Manchester United’s Dean Henderson had come on for his England debut at
half-time, replacing Nick Pope in goal, but he was barely tested as the hosts
cruised to the final whistle.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0928 hrs