Gerrard: 'We tore them apart'
Tuesday, 07 September, 2010
Skipper hails England's performance against Switzerland.
by Gerry Cox
Steven Gerrard hailed the Three Lions' opening 45 minutes as "perfect" as England tore apart Switzerland to take control of Group G.
Gerrard and his team-mates carried out Fabio Capello's game plan to the letter as they destroyed a Swiss side known for their defensive strength, and although they let the pace drop after half-time, the Three Lions still managed a comfortable win to make it two wins out of two in qualifying for Euro 2012.
"The first half was perfect - everything the Manager asked of us," said the skipper. "We got the game plan spot on. We got a little bit lazy in the second half and the passing wasn't quick enough. They came into the game at certain stages, but it was never in doubt.
"People were talking about how good Switzerland are, defensively, but we just tore them apart."
Man of the moment Wayne Rooney got England off to the perfect start in the tenth minute by getting the goal he deserved for his part in the 4-0 win over Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday.
"That goal was great for Wayne," said Gerrard. "All the talk in the build-up was about Wayne so it was nice for him to get the early goal. I'm sure that helped his performance, and he was terrific again, like he was on Friday. I'm sure he'll be great for us in qualifying."
Adam Johnson added a second in the 70th minute before fellow substitute Darren Bent made it 3-1 two minutes from time, after Xherdan Shaqiri gave the Swiss brief hope. "We were always comfortable and the third goal killed the game off. We just have to learn not to get sloppy," added Gerrard. "We beat Switzerland 3-1 but it could have been five or six."
But he warned that England have a long way to go to silence the critics after this summer's World Cup. "We're nowhere near there yet. It's going to take two years to prove to our supporters and to everybody in the world that England are back.
"Two good results don't make you a good team. What makes you a good team is qualifying easily from the group and then going into a major tournament and proving you can mix with the best."