Michael Owen made up for the absence of David Beckham by scoring both goals in England's come-from behind 2-1 victory over Slovakia in a Euro 2004 qualifying game on Wednesday.
With the suspended and injured Beckham thousands of kilometers away and pondering an expected departure from Manchester United, Owen -- his replacement as team captain -- rolled home a dubiously awarded penalty to make it 1-1 at the Riverside stadium and then headed England's second to mark his 50th appearance with a vital victory.
Turkey's come-from-behind 3-2 triumph over Macedonia meant England had to win to stay two points behind in Group 7 and, after Vladimir Jonocko had given Slovakia a 31st minute lead, it looked bad for Sven-Goran Eriksson's team. But Owen's two strikes in the 62nd and 73rd minutes will make sure that England, which still has a game in hand over World Cup semifinalist Turkey and has to play in Istanbul Oct. 11, still has a great chance to win the group and qualify automatically for next year's finals in Portugal.
PHOTO: AP
"It was a great game," Owen said. "We didn't start so well but the boss sat us down at half time and told us to keep calm because our class will tell in the end.
"We were chasing the game a bit in the first half and the crowd were getting agitated and it vibrated onto the players as well and it wasn't easy. But the manager sat us down and his team talk at half time really settled us down.
"If we keep putting in good performances and picking up the points than it will be a mouthwatering game against Turkey."
Eriksson said England was lucky to have a star like Owen.
"You don't appreciate Michael Owen, you are very spoiled to have him in this country," the Swede said.
"I'm happy for Michael. It was a good way to show how to be captain and a good way to celebrate his 50th cap. Once again he showed in the important games that he's very gifted and he was excellent tonight.
"Steven Gerrard was also excellent, but that is no surprise to me. Every manager would like to have him in their team."
UEFA was monitoring the behavior of the fans having threatened England with expulsion from the finals if they misbehaved. But there was no sign of the jeering of the Slovak anthem despite acrimony following England's 2-1 victory in Bratislava.
England almost went ahead after only 49 seconds when Steven Gerrard pushed a defense-splitting pass to Owen who was clear of the defense. The Liverpool striker, the youngest England player to reach 50 appearances, aimed for the far post but the keeper's leg deflected it wide.
The visitor, beaten 1-0 at home by Turkey on Saturday, then silenced the England fans by taking the lead with a fluke goal.
Jonocko curled in a free kick from wide on the left, none of the Slovak strikers or England defenders managed to get a head to it and 'keeper James dived too late to stop it floating inside the far post.
It could have been worse when Michael Hanek found space to shoot for goal only for James to block his effort. Igor Demo fired wide from wide when Ratislav Michalick put him clear in a Slovak counter attack and Szilard Nemeth, playing on his home ground, wasted a great chance from an unmarked position 15 out when he shot past the post.
At the other end, Owen twice moved into good positions but was unable to get in shots. Nothing seemed to be going right for Eriksson's team and he sent on Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves for Danny Mills two minutes before the break to strengthen the midfield. Eriksson also sent on Darius Vassell for 17-year-old Wayne Rooney who made little impact but his team only drew level thanks to a generous decision by German referee Wolfgang Stark.
Owen went on a weaving run past four Slovak defenders and, when he brushed Zeman and fell to the ground, Stark delighted the England fans by pointing to the spot. Owen stroked the ball past Miroslav Konig for his 21st goal in England colors.
Frank Lampard had the ball in the net six minutes later when he prodded in a goalbound shot from Gareth Southgate but it was incorrectly ruled out by a linesman.
England looked a different team by now and went ahead 17 minutes from the end when Gerrard collected the ball wide on the left and floated in a cross for Owen to make a run before two defenders and head home from 6 meters.
Owen almost completed his hat-trick when Ashley Cole crossed from the left, his first effort was blocked and his follow-up header hit the crossbar and bounced clear.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was