England come good at the death against S. Americans

England seldom do well against crack South American sides. Yet, in their last two clashes against Argentina and Uruguay they showed a new approach to their game.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's team registered back-to-back wins and on both occasions came from the brink of defeat to chalk up significant victories in the late stages of the match.

In neutral Geneva, earlier in the season, England came back from 2-1 down with three minutes to the final whistle against Argentina to hold the upper hand 3-2 with goals from Rooney and Owen (2).

Against Uruguay at Anfield, England were losing 1-0. However, 15 minutes from time Peter Crouch equalised and then Joe Cole netted the winner in injury time.

Crouch became England's 25th different scorer with Eriksson in charge. The list includes:
27 - Owen
15 - Beckham
11 - Rooney
10 - Lampard
6 - Vassell, Gerrard
5 - Cole Joe
4 - Fowler, Heskey, Scholes
2 - Sheringham, Richardson
1 - Ehiogu, Barmby, Andy Cole, Murphy, Campbell, Ferdinand, Smith, Jeffers, Southgate, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Defoe, Crouch

February review

¤ At Hampden Park, Celtic topple Motherwell 2-1 to reach the League Cup final.

¤ Chelsea's Frank Lampard is voted England's national side Player of the Year for 2005 ahead of Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Wayne Rooney (Man. United).

¤ The FA appoint a three-man team of chief executive Brian Barwick, international committee chairman Noel White and Premier League president Dave Richards to find a successor to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

¤ Newcastle sack Graeme Souness and appoint Glenn Roeder as caretaker boss with Alan Shearer as his assistant.

¤ The FA announce a deal worth £8 million from energy company E.ON for the sponsorship of the FA Cup for four years.

¤ Former England and West Ham manager Ron Greenwood dies, aged 84, at his Suffolk home. He managed the national team between 1979 and 1982.

¤ Ex-Scotland manager John Prentice, who played for Hearts, Rangers and Falkirk, dies at the age of 79.

¤ Everton's David Moyes and defender Anton Ferdinand, of West Ham, are named Manager and Player of the Month, respectively.

¤ In UEFA Cup first leg, third round ties, Bolton draw 0-0 at home to Marseille, while Middlesbrough win 2-1 at Stuttgart.

¤ Partick shock Premier side Inverness 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a Scottish Cup fourth round replay.

¤ Livingston appoint John Robertson as their new manager.

¤ Everton and Middlesbrough apply for an entry into the Intertoto Cup.

¤ Arsenal become the first English side to win at Real Madrid (1-0).

Other Champions League first leg, last 16 ties: Benfica-Liverpool 1-0, Chelsea-Barcelona 1-2, Rangers-Villarreal 2-2.

¤ FA confirm this season's FA Cup final will not be played at the new Wembley but will take place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

¤ Middlesbrough move into the last 16 of the UEFA Cup on the away-goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate against Stuttgart. Bolton bow out 1-2 over two legs to Marseille.

¤ Man. United lift the League Cup, defeating Wigan 4-0 at Cardiff.

¤ In an Under-21 friendly at Reading, England beat Norway 3-1 (Whittingham, Bentley 2).

Other results: Republic of Ireland-Sweden 1-0 (Ward), Scotland-Iceland 4-0 (Naysmith, Scott, Elliott 2), Wales-N. Ireland 0-1 (Morrow).

Leading marksmen

FA Premiership
19 - Van Nistelrooy (Man. United)
17 - Henry (Arsenal)
14 - Lampard (Chelsea)

The Championship
18 - King (Watford)
16 - Jerome (Cardiff)
15 - Kitson (Reading), Akinbiyi (Sheffield Utd)

Scottish Premier
21 - Boyd (Rangers)
16 - Skacel (Hearts)
15 - Hartson (Celtic)

Average attendances
1. Man. United - 67,842
2. Newcastle - 51,931
3. Liverpool - 44,336
4. Manchester City - 43,311
5. Chelsea - 41,833
6. Arsenal - 38,155
7. Everton - 36,483
8. Tottenham - 36,048
9. Aston Villa - 34,740
10. Sunderland - 33,652

11. West Ham - 33,271
12. Middlesbrough - 28,471
13. Birmingham - 27,656
14. Charlton - 26,231
15. Bolton - 25,275
16. West Brom - 25,231
17. Wigan - 20,868
18. Fulham - 20,499
19. Blackburn - 20,242
20. Portsmouth - 19,738

Active leading scorers

The hot shots in the Premiership since the inauguration of the league up to March 5.

1. Alan Shearer (Newcastle) 255
2. Andy Cole (Man. City) 184
3. Robbie Fowler (Liverpool) 154
3. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 154
5. Ted Sheringham (West Ham) 142
6. Michael Owen (Newcastle) 125
7. J.F. Hasselbaink (M'boro) 123
8. R. van Nistelrooy (Man. Utd) 93
9. Paul Scholes (Man. Utd) 89
10. Ryan Giggs (Man. Utd) 88