Crouch snatches points for England

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SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Peter Crouch scored his 11th goal in his last 10 appearances to give England a 1-0 win over Macedonia in their Euro 2008 Group E qualifier.

Crouch, who scored twice in England's 5-0 win over Andorra in their opening qualifying match at Old Trafford on Saturday, struck in the first minute of the second half with a volleyed shot that hit the bar and bounced down over the goal-line.

England dominated for long periods, but Macedonia came close to an equalizer in the 85th minute when Ashley Cole needed two attempts to clear off the goal-line.

England have six points from their opening two games while Macedonia have three points from their first two matches following their 1-0 win in Estonia last month.

"Just as we expected, we looked at Macedonia and knew they would be a tough. And they were," said England manager Steve McClaren.

"It was our test tonight and the team came through. We defended magnificently and denied Macedonia any chances, and came through at the decisive moment."

Slow start

Russia made a slow start to their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign under new manager Guus Hiddink on Wednesday, drawing 0-0 at home with Group E rivals Croatia.

In their first major match with the Dutchman at the helm, Russia failed to capitalize on their chances on a soggy pitch at Moscow's Lokomotiv stadium in front of a near capacity 30,000 crowd.

After a timid first half Russia enjoyed the better chances after the break with Andrei Arshavin going close with a crunching volley from the edge of the area.

Substitute Pavel Pogrebnyak was just wide with a low 10-meter shot while Croatia keeper Stipe Pletikosa made a fine diving save to keep out Igor Semshov's powerful close range drive.

At the other end, Croatia tested Igor Akinfeyev with several long-range efforts and Milan Rapaic's free kick hit the crossbar in the 50th minute.

Croatia's preparations for the match had been disrupted after Bosko Balaban, Ivica Olic and Dario Srna were expelled from the squad after leaving the team's training camp to go to a nightclub in Zagreb.

In-form Israel

Israel won their second straight European Championship qualifying match, beating Andorra 4-1 Wednesday.

The tie was played in the eastern Dutch city of Nijmegen because UEFA banned Israel from playing matches at home due to safety concerns.

Captain Yossi Benayoun, Amit Ben Shushan, Shimon Gershon and Tamuz Temile scored a goal each for Israel. Juli Fernandez added a late consolation goal for Andorra.

Benayoun scored the first goal in the ninth minute, heading in a cross from Idal Tal on the right wing, and Shushan beat Andorra goalkeeper Koldo Alvarez from short range two minutes later.

Gershon scored Israel's third goal from the penalty spot shortly before halftime after a hand ball by Andorra defender Oscar Sonejee.

Temile, a second-half substitute, scored the final goal in the 69th, netting a cross from Shushan.

Fernando Silva was sent off late in the match, leaving Andorra with 10 men, but Fernandez still managed to score in the 84th.

The match was played in the eastern Dutch city of Nijmegen because UEFA banned Israel from playing matches at home due to safety concerns.

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