Misfiring England relieved to escape with win

Estonia 0 England 1

Misfiring England relieved to escape with win

Estonia 0 England 1

Wayne Rooney edged one step closer to Bobby Charlton's scoring record by saving England's blushes in the Baltic.

Rooney is now just six shy of becoming England's greatest ever goal scorer thanks to a 74th minute free-kick, which Sergei Pareiko fumbled into his own net to hand the Three Lions a 1-0 win over 10-man Estonia.

For much of the match England looked like coming away from the A. Le Coq Arena with absolutely nothing.

Roy Hodgson's team dominated the game from start to finish, but they wasted chance after chance.

They were even given a huge helping hand by Estonia captain Ragnar Klavan, who was sent off three minutes into the second half for a second booking.

Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were guilty of missing chances, but the biggest culprit was Rooney, who spurned three good opportunities.

Estonia, ranked 81st in the world, might have held on for a famous draw had the England captain not made up for his mistakes by clipping a majestic dipping free-kick over the wall and into the net off the post.

Hodgson, who started with Raheem Sterling on the bench, spoke of the attacking potency of his squad before the match, but he will be concerned about the profligacy his players exhibited here on Sunday night.

Still, the England manager will also be mindful that his team have now recorded three wins from three in their Euro 2016 qualification campaign.

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