Rooney scores opener

By Chris
October 13 2013

Wayne Rooney broke the deadlock as Wembley as England took a huge step towards qualifying for the 2014 World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Montenegro.

Four minutes into the second-half, Vukasin Poleksic failed to hold onto Danny Welbeck’s shot, and his Red Devils team-mate Rooney pounced on the loose ball and fired a fine shot into the back of the net.

Rooney’s goal sparked signs of relief around Wembley – with the pressure on England to deliver following Ukraine’s victory against Poland.

The lead was doubled 14 minutes later as Branko Boskovic bizarrely turned Welbeck’s cross into his own net, but England fans couldn’t relax for long as Dejan Damjanovic’s goal reduced the arrears back to one.

However, England’s performance warranted maximum points – and surprise selection Andros Townsend capped a strong performance with a fine goal, with Daniel Sturridge’s late penalty proving the icing on the cake for Roy Hodgson’s men.

The victory keeps unbeaten England top of Group H, but with Ukraine facing San Marino in their final game, the Three Lions will almost certainly need to beat Poland to secure automatic qualification for Brazil 2014.

United’s Michael Carrick was also in action for England as a second-half substitute.