England headed into the half-time interval relieved as they led 1-0 thanks to a superb goal from Joe Cole, against a resolute Estonia in the crucial Group E Euro 2008 qualifier in Tallinn on Wednesday night.

The visitors had dominated the first half in terms of ball possession and had a couple of shots missing the Estonia goal narrowly. That apart, the defensive approach from Estonia saw them rallying behind the ball to thwart a number of promising moves from the Three Lions.

While the home side showed that they will not be pushovers with their tough-tackling stance, England came close to opening the scoring with former skipper David Beckham curling a free-kick just over the crossbar in the 7th minute after Ragnar Klavan had wrestled Michael Owen down near the top of the 18-yard box.

The Three Lions moved the ball around the park well with both flanks moving the attack and as a result Steve McClaren’s side dominated the possession. Beckham also enjoyed a large share of possession and moved well on either flank.

Peter Crouch side-foot drive missed the target narrowly in the 19th minute after Owen had set him up with a subtle touch in the box.

The Estonians crowded the penalty box making it difficult for England to find space as Beckham and Wayne Bridge whipped in the crosses.

England had a rare scare in the 25th minute when striker Sergei Terehhov sneaked into the box with King and Terry having a slight misunderstanding. However, the skipper tidied up before any damage was done.

England missed a golden opportunity in the 29th minute when Beckham delivered a superb free-kick from the left channel that bounced just in front of Mart Poom. The Watford keeper could only just deflect it and the lurking Owen failed to react quickly and score from a close range.

Cole scored in the 37th minute a cracker of a goal after controlling Crouch’s headed assist on his chest. The Chelsea winger turned and hammered the ball into the Estonia net with Poom’s full length dive unable to stop the shot after Bridge had hurled a throw-in from left. Minute later, Lampard’s header missed the mark.

Robinson made his first serious contribution towards the closing stages of the half as he raced off his line to thwart rival forward Voskoboinikov.

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