This friendly with Platinum Stars was a little too authentic at times. Wayne Rooney may have appeared merely as a substitute, but he was still booked for indicating that the referee should consider an appointment with an optician.
At least the Manchester United striker set up Joe Cole for England's second goal with a line-up almost completely changed following the interval and made further amends by volleying home a James Milner cross near the end.
It is difficult to impress in a contest with a club team, yet it was still hard not to think about the limitation of the squad even if the result was respectable. England not only got a little practice ahead of the group match with the U.S. but also had a reminder of what it means for the country to have won just a single major trophy, 44 years ago. Predictions of mass hysteria over this match were misconceived.
The capacity was restricted, but there would still have been a sense of anticipation if, for instance, Brazil had been in town. Nothing that happened here mattered deeply for England over all, but the disappointment will be authentic for some and Shaun Wright-Phillips, for instance, had no impact on the right.
With Gareth Barry still convalescing, Fabio Capello would have seen value in letting Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard rehearse as a central midfield partnership before the game against U.S. The Liverpool player had a more advanced role as Capello tried to clarify what is expected of a partnership that has floundered in the past.
Stars miss penalty
Gerrard did have impact when setting up Jermain Defoe to score in the third minute, yet that gave a false impression. Platinum Stars soon had a penalty as Glen Johnson seemed distracted by Joe Hart's failure to come off his line and bundled over Muzi Mashaba. Bradley Grobler then sent the penalty lavishly over the bar.
Hart, making his first start for England, even if this was not an international, might have wished for more to do before Robert Green took over, but England's command was no more than territorial. Although Ashley Cole impressed, Peter Crouch made little of a cut-back by the left-back in the 14th minute.
A further 50 minutes passed before England next scored. It was achieved on the break as Rooney fed Joe Cole, the one England player to feature for the whole game, and he converted smoothly. It had been a rare moment of slickness.
© Guardian News and Media 2010
