"YOUR BOOS WON'T STOP US" Daily Mirror

England Team

Romania Team

    Match Report by Mike Payne

Regular readers of my match reports, (both of you), will know by now that I am a Preston North End fan, so I was delighted to see goalkeeper Sam Johnstone win his first England cap.  He and Jordan Pickford both had successful loan spells at Deepdale, and when they were there I said at the time that both these goalkeepers will go on to play for England.  I’m proud to see my predictions come true as we, at North End, taught them all they know!  In actual fact, a couple of early nervous moments by Johnstone, ended in the first corner of the game, but England scrambled the ball clear.  All in all, it was a scrappy start for the home side as many more passes went backwards instead of forwards.  When England did finally get forward Kelvin Phillips put in a shot that practically ended up in Sunderland.

On ten minutes the first clear chance of the match fell to Romania.  A good break down the left saw a low cross and Razvan Marin shooting first-time, but Johnstone saved easily.  A minute later, Jadon Sancho looked offside as he strode clear after latching on to a long pass, but his final shot was disappointing and flew wide.  Then Jack Grealish won England’s first corner, but as Tyrone Mings challenged for the cross he was penalised for a foul.  England quickly won a second corner as their play started to improve.  The ball was James Ward-Prowse, who found Grealish.  This time the shot flew over the bar.  With 17 minutes gone the pattern was still more negatively going backwards instead of pressing forward from England, and it must be said that can be so frustrating to watch.  In one move, a promising attack position was suddenly turned into passes back, that ended up with Johnstone.  Not what the crowd wanted to see. Marcus Rashford, made captain for this game, much to his delight, could never really find his feet at times, with poor control and getting caught in possession on a number of occasions.  He was still a danger though to the Romanian defence and on 22 minutes a good run almost succeeded in getting through.  Immediately Phillips found Sancho who teed the ball up for Ben Godfrey, but his shot went harmlessly wide.  Just before the half-hour mark, Adrian Paun fired in a shot for Romania which Johnstone again saved well.

England’s passing was slow and predictable, and Grealish was then fouled, not for the first time.  "That’s three times," he protested to the referee as he crashed to the ground again.  From the free-kick a towering header from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, his first real contribution of the game, looped over the goalkeeper but crashed back off the crossbar.  The best of England’s attacks were coming down the left where Luke Shaw’s pace was worrying the Romanian defenders.  With eight minutes of the half to go Rashford went close and a minute later the best England move so far involving Grealish and Sancho ended with a fine shot by the latter, which also crashed back off the crossbar with the goalkeeper Florin Nita beaten.  Ward-Prowse sent in a teasing free-kick just before the break which Calvert-Lewin headed over.  The whistle had gone for a foul though, so if he had hit the target it wouldn’t have counted.  At the other end only a fine block by Johnstone stopped Deian as he had a clear shot at goal a minute before the break.  Johnstone stuck out his right foot to block the shot and England cleared the danger.  It had been a scrappy half, with no score and England only briefly threatened the Romanian goal.

Jordan Henderson made a welcome return to the football field after his long injury worries, replacing Phillips at the start of the second-half.  Two minutes after the restart, England so nearly went ahead.  Grealish was fouled, yet again, and Ward-Prowse sent in another dangerous free-kick.  Calvert-Lewin came roaring in, toe-ended the ball for what seemed a certain goal, but somehow the ball ended in the arms of Nita.  Romania broke down the right to cause more danger for the England defenders and in another attack following a corner, Sorescu fizzed a shot just wide.  England were not functioning on all cylinders, with Rashford’s touch unusually poor.  But it was end to end as attacks came at both ends, with a Romanian shot going wide and then when Grealish set up Rashford the skipper tried to dribble through a packed defence but was crowded out.  On 58 minutes a bad foul on Shaw gave Ward-Prowse another free-kick.  This time he went for goal himself but it produced an easy save from the goalkeeper.  Both sides were definitely going for it a bit more this half and as a result the play was a little more exciting.  A burst by Rashford in the 62nd minute looked promising for England but again the finish was nothing like the Rashford we know, as his weak final shot went wide.

Gareth Southgate then brought on Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham to shore up the midfield, although it was a surprise to see Ward-Prowse go off, as he had played well.  However, on 67 minutes, Grealish made one of his characteristic runs down the left, and as he moved into the box a clumsy challenge from substitute Tiberiu Capusa brought him down again.  Penalty!  Rashford took the kick, tiptoed up to the ball and coolly slotted it into the net with goalkeeper not moving.  Three minutes later, with Rashford now on the right, sending in a low cross which was well cut out by the keeper before Calvert-Lewin could pounce.

The next crucial moment of the match came after 74 minutes.  A Romanian attack and shot was blocked, but the ball ran for Andrei Ivan who just had to score as he fired in a close range shot.  But from nowhere, and summoning up all he learned at Deepdale, Johnstone made a wonderful save to somehow claw the ball away from danger.  It really was one of the best saves I’ve ever seen as the equaliser looked a formality.  But Johnstone was never going to give up his clean sheet easily, that’s for sure.

On 77 minutes the chance came to sew the result up.  Calvert-Lewin did well to keep possession but was clattered to the ground by Vlad Chiriches, who could have no argument that it was another penalty to England.  It looked odds-on that Calvert-Lewin would take it with both Rashford and Ward-Prowse off the field by now, but Henderson ‘pulled rank’ on him, deciding he was the man for the job.  He wasn’t!  Nita saved a weak kick quite easily and also blocked the follow up from Bellingham.

In the final ten minutes Calvert-Lewin went very close to another goal and then Bellingham couldn’t believe it when his header looked only for the ball to strike Chiriches flying foot to deflect it wide.  Grealish and substitute Ollie Watkins also came close whilst at the other end Johnstone made another fine save from a late Romanian effort.  It was a frantic end to the game, not least when England conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box.  The kick was blocked though and England again scraped the 1-0 win.  In the end, that amazing save from a former PNE star, gave them a win they just about deserved.  Oh, and did I tell you that Johnstone used to play for Preston? 
   

Source Notes