Roy Hodgson admitted England were starting to feel frustrated in Tallinn before Wayne Rooney delivered victory with a 73rd-minute free-kick to see off a stubborn Estonia side.
Rooney scored his 43rd England goal after the Three Lions had failed to capitalise on their domination, especially after Estonia captain Ragnar Klavan was sent off shortly after half-time.
“It was hard work,” said Hodgson.
Estonia 0-1 England
European Qualifier
Group E
A. Le Coq Arena
Sunday 12 October 2014
“In the first half we played really well but didn't take our chances, so to come in at 0-0 after playing like that meant that, going out for the second half, there was an air of frustration setting in and a little bit more pressure.
“Everyone is aware that when you play as well as that, and dominate the opposition with so many opportunities in and around the box, you've got to take at least one of them, which we didn't.
“Luckily we took our chance in the second half and it's now four wins in a row and five clean sheets. These are things that are not to be sniffed at, and we'll still keep working on the other aspects of our game that we can hone.”
Hodgson reckoned Rooney would have blamed himself if he had not scored at least one goal, but struck a superb free-kick to see England through.
“It was good that he did that, because it was a frustrating night for him. He had a lot of the ball, had a lot of half-chances, so I think he'd have been bitterly disappointed if he'd come off the field without having scored a goal, and I think he would have blamed himself.
“Luckily he didn't have to because he scored the winner and we go away with three more points and we realise that although we were clearly superior as a team to Estonia, they are still going to cause other teams a lot of problems here because they certainly do not give up and they are not easy to break down.”