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September 9,
2002 (Monday)
Bowyer milks
moment as Woodgate withdraws
Their demeanour could
hardly have been any different. Jonathan
Woodgate, unflappable on the field yet distinctly uncomfortable off
it, slipped quietly away, declining the invitation to have a drink in
the players' lounge and side-stepping the media with the type of body
swerve and drop of the shoulder that Luis Figo had not managed all
afternoon. By the time Lee Bowyer, anxious to milk the moment, had
finished his umpteenth interview, his club colleague would have been
on the motorway.
Woodgate, it emerged, had been cautioned by his management company
SFX that the English public did not want to hear him glorying in a
moment so many begrudged him. For now, he should keep his head down,
bide his time. It was too soon since he stood in the dock at Hull
Crown Court, too soon since the nation learned of his part in the
revolting attack on an Asian teenager. "He doesn't feel ready to
speak to anyone," the Football Association explained. Wise
management.
Bowyer, however, is made of different stuff. Listening to him
afterwards, it was as though he did not know what the fuss was all
about. Questions about the court case and his public image, post-
acquittal, were either ignored or misunderstood, and there was a
distinct air of self-pity as he looked back at his omission from
previous squads. "It just wasn't meant to be," he opined, as though
fate had cruelly conspired against him.
They got off lightly. Woodgate may have heard the lone cry of "scum"
from the lower tier of the Trinity Road stand during the warm-up but,
that apart, there was no voluble dissent. Whatever the rights and
wrongs of them playing, the latest trial in the lives of two Leeds
United footballers went as well as they, Sven-Goran Eriksson and the
FA could have imagined.
"There was more pressure on those two today than anyone, and probably
more on Lee even than Woody," observed Alan Smith, colleague for club
and country. "You could see they were a bit nervous beforehand, but
they got a great reception off the crowd and that would have settled
them down."
A pedant could point out this was the same crowd that,
excruciatingly, mind-numbingly, annihilated the Portuguese national
anthem with their imbecilic whistles and vitriol. But in Bowyer's
world, that will not matter. To him, the absence of any sustained
abuse was a form of public exoneration.
"I don't normally get nervous. But this is different, isn't it? It
was my first game at this level and I was a bit worried at the start.
Everybody in the dressing room tried to help me get rid of those
nerves, other wise I would have been a lot worse. But once you touch
the ball it always goes away. And the fans were great - they got
right behind me."
He was asked if it would end the debate about whether he should be
selected for England. "I'm not too sure. I can only play well for
Leeds and hope I get selected for England," Smith added. "It means a
hell of a lot to play for your country. When I was a kid it was all I
wanted to do.
"I've waited a long, long time and I was very grateful to get the
chance. That's all I asked for and that is what I got. It was down to
me and I don't think I did myself any harm."
The only minor blemish was a late foul on Simao midway through the
first half. "He would probably have been booked in a competitive
match, as you can't get away with that at this level," said Danny
Mills. "Perhaps he was a little bit over-exuberant but there was
nothing malicious in it.
"He should be pleased with himself. As a team-mate at Leeds, it was
fantastic to see him crossing the ball for Smithy's goal. And I was
delighted for Woody as well. He has had to mature a lot in the three
years since his last cap."
The final word, however, belonged to Bowyer: "I set up our goal and
at this level if you get one chance to do something then it can be
enough. So maybe I did enough to stay in the team. I gave it my all -
that's all I can say. I tried my hardest."
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