ENGLAND 1 — GHANA 1
From the daily star website
CHEERS is unlikely to be one of Fabio Capello’s 100 key words of English, but that was what he ought to have said to goal hero Andy Carroll last night.
Signed liverpool shirt
Liverpool striker Carroll has proved a lager than life character during his short career with some boozy exploits.
Until the 43rd minute he looked like he might have been suffering from a hangover, with the ex- Newcastle star sluggish and leaden- footed.
But, as seasoned drinkers know, a good shot can liven things up!
Carroll’s shot was with his left-foot and gave an indication of why Liverpool paid £35m for him
The only pity was it wasn’t the winner, with Asomoah Gyan snatching the equaliser with a fine, low curling finish at the start of injury-time
Carroll’s goal, in only his second England appearance, came after Ashley Young’s dinked pass went through the heart of the Ghana defence and found Stewart Downing with his back to goal.
The Aston Villa winger cushioned the ball to Carroll – the jury’s out on whether it was a sublime touch or poor control – and the 22-year-old smashed through John Mensah’s legs to the right of keeper Richard Kingson with his left boot.
It was a first strike for Carroll, whose season has been handicapped by a thigh injury since Boxing Day
On the eve of this friendly, Capello had lectured Carroll on the perils of alcohol and also revealed he only needed 100 words of English to explain tactics to his men.
Well, after viewing the 2-0 Euro 2012 qualifying victory in Wales and some of the football last night at Wembley, he does seem to be belatedly getting his message across
