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Gerrard’s 2 goals rally England over Hungary 2-1

Jeering England fans showed more emotion than coach Fabio Capello as the team returned to the field for the first time since a woeful World Cup campaign.

Capello, who has faced as much criticism as his players since South Africa, was devoid of any passion at Wembley Stadium, remaining impassively lodged to his seat even as Steven Gerrard spared him from embarrassment against Hungary.

The captain responded to Hungary’s disputed opening goal by scoring twice in a five-minute span of the second half to salvage a 2-1 victory in the friendly.

So while World Cup flops Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole were showered with jeers, cheers were reserved for Gerrard.

“It is always the same. When you score you are good. When you win you are good. When you lose, you are nothing,” Capello said. “I think it is not only about my reputation. but we win together and lose together.”

There were fewer than 20,000 empty seats in the 90,000-capacity stadium, where attendance was 72,024. Fans were encouraged by Capello to come to boo the England players who went out in the second round in South Africa, but they also got to see four players make their debuts.

“A lot of criticism had been directed at us saying that we don’t care and it doesn’t mean anything for us to play for England,” Gerrard said. “So I think from my reaction for the first goal, you can see how much it means to myself and the players to be part of this group.

“On the back of the disappointment of the World Cup, there was a lot of pressure on the players to get a win tonight and put a performance in.”

England’s hopes of rebuilding before qualifying for the 2012 European Championship starts next month looked like they would be derailed in the 63^rd minute, when Phil Jagielka sent the ball into his own net. Replays, however, showed the ball didn’t completely cross the goal line, reviving memories of Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal in the 4-1 loss to Germany in June.

“We showed good character after going a goal down and we stuck in there,” Gerrard said.

And the Liverpool midfielder equalized six minutes later from 25 yards, then went around three defenders for his second goal in the 73^rd minute. He left to a standing ovation in the 83^rd minute when he was replaced by 18-year-old Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who made his England debut despite being in hospital until 5 a.m. with stomach pains.

“I am happy with the performance. We played well in the first 30 minutes, but the last 10 minutes of the first half were not so good,” Capello said. “They were really compact and it was difficult to find space.”

Goalkeeper Joe Hart made his first start for England. Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott — two wingers cut from the 30-man preliminary World Cup squad, were in the starting lineup and showed the pace that was missing when England was ripped apart by a young German side.

Their inclusion also enabled Capello to end his rigid adherence to a 4-4-2 formation in the first half, deploying Rooney as the lone front man in a 4-5-1.

Rooney, who failed to score at the World Cup after a standout season for Manchester United, was ruled offside when he found the net in the third minute after racing onto Gerrard’s pass.

Rooney, who has not scored for England since September lacked sharpness and was given support in attack in the second half when Fulham’s Bobby Zamora made his debut.

The other new players were center back Michael Dawson, who replaced John Terry, and 20-year-old left back Kieran Gibbs, who came on for the much-booed Cole.

“The young lads that came on tonight were fantastic,” Gerrard said. “They got thrown right in at the deep end and I think they can be really proud of themselves.”