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England beat Colombia 3-2
Michael Owen scored a hat-trick as England completed a clean sweep of their two-game trip to the United States with a 3-2 victory over Colombia on Tuesday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:52 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
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Michael Owen scored a hat-trick as England completed a clean sweep of their two-game trip to the United States with a 3-2 victory over Colombia on Tuesday. England, who beat the United States 2-1 on Saturday in Chicago, played again with a second-choice line-up, although this time the team was bolstered by the addition of Real Madrid players Michael Owen and David Beckham. Colombia also played with a less than a full regular side. For England coach Sven-Goran Ericksson, the tour was still important as it gave him a chance to experiment, with England's next World Cup qualifier not taking place until September. Tough challenge Colombia were not easy opposition, earning four corners in the first 14 minutes as they claimed possession with relative ease. But Owen was able to capitalise on England's handful of chances in the opening 45 minutes. With nine minutes remaining he was first on the scoresheet, chipping Colombia 'keeper Farid Mondragon following the pass from Joe Cole. With one minute left before the break he made it two, taking advantage of some confusion following a foul on Beckham. The pass came from Southampton's Peter Crouch, who was making his debut for England. Easy goal The goal was Owen's 31st in an England shirt, moving him past Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse and Alan Shearer and behind only Bobby Charlton (49), Gary Lineker (48) and Jimmy Greaves (44) in the overall standings. England gave away an easy goal seconds later, Mario Yepes the scorer from an Elkin Soto corner, and at half-time England were 2-1 ahead. Owen extended England's lead again in the 58th minute to claim his hat-trick, following a great pass from Beckham on the wing. Second-half substitute Aldo Ramirez pulled Colombia within one again just over 20 minutes later. But the South Americans couldn't get the equaliser and at the final whistle England were 3-2 winners, to complete a double victory on their US tour. Colombia, in seventh place in South America's qualifying standings, play Peru and Ecuador in Barranquilla in the next eight days. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Football Michael Barry Owens
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