By Jonathan Barber
ENGLAND visit the Stadium of Light tonight to face Australia and the Three Lions can be buoyed by an impressive record when playing in the North-East.
In five games played in the region while Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt, England won five games out of five, conceding just one goal.
Tomorrow in front of a sell-out crowd, Roy Hodgson’s side will be hoping for a comfortable win as they step up their preparations for Euro 2016.
Take a look at the England's North-East victories which Hodgson can take heart from, the last of which came over 11 years ago:
England 2-0 Albania
September 5, 2001
St James’ Park
England’s first victory in the North East came against Albania in a vital World Cup 2002 qualifier. The win pushed England to the top of the qualifying group but was not straight forward with Albania frustrating Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side for long periods.
Michael Owen opened the scoring just before half-time with with an outside of the foot volley to set England on their way. Robbie Fowler came off the bench for the injured Emile Heskey and sealed the win with an audacious chip following a clever run.
England 2-0 Turkey
April 2, 2003
Stadium of Light
A 17-year-old Wayne Rooney inspired England to victory in this fiercely competitive Euro 2004 qualifier.
Making his first start for his country, Rooney drove the team on but the deadlock was not broken until the 75th minute when Darius Vassell slotted home after Rio Ferdinand’s strike was saved.
A stunning David James save from a Nihat header helped preserve England’s clean sheet and David Beckham’s stoppage time penalty confirmed the win.
England 2-1 Slovakia
June 11, 2003
Riverside Stadium
A double from Michael Owen saw England come from behind to win another crucial Euro 2004 qualifier in the North-East. The side fell behind in the 30th minute when Vladmir Janoko’s free-kick evaded everybody and bounced into the net.
It took until the 61st minute for England to respond through Owen, who fired home a penalty after being brought down by Marian Zeman.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side completed the turn around when Owen headed home a Steven Gerrard cross in the 73rd minute.
England 3-0 Ukraine
August 18, 2004
St James’ Park
The only non-competitive England fixture played in the region before tonight, this was a very comfortable win.
David Beckham scored the opener in the 27th minute, sliding in to finish off John Terry’s teasing low cross.
Michael Owen doubled England’s lead with a 50th minute header and debutant Shaun Wright-Phillips rounded off the scoring with a stunning run and finish with 18 minutes remaining.
England 2-0 Azerbaijan
March 30, 2005
St James’ Park
The last England game held in the North-East was this World Cup qualifier which kept England on course to reach tournament in Germany.
Minnows Azerbaijan held on for 50 minutes but their resistance was finally broken when Steven Gerrard’s half volley bounced in off the crossbar.
England had wasted a lot of chances to win by a much clearer margin but did score a second thanks to a classy finish from David Beckham.
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