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Wayne Rooney gave Roy Hodgson 3 point

England made it three wins out of three Euro 2016 qualifiers in Tallinn on Sunday night as they defeated a determined Estonia side 1-0.


Following the Group E match, manager Roy Hodgson said that he was satisfied with England's victory, although he did admit that his side should have scored more goals.
The only goal of the game came from a set-piece, when captain Wayne Rooney steered a 73rd minute free-kick past goalkeeper Sergei Pareiko.

Earlier in the match, Estonia were reduced to ten men after captain Ragnar Klavan was sent-off for a second bookable offence in the 48th minute.

In reference to Rooney's goal, Hodgson said: "I think he's happy that he scored what turned out to be the winning goal but he knows that he and his fellow forwards could have had so many more."

The manager also claimed that midfielder Raheem Sterling felt too tired to start the match for England, which resulted in Sterling's Liverpool team mate Adam Lallana taking his place in the starting line-up.

"Raheem wasn't as sharp even in the game against San Marino as he has been - he was still good but he wasn't spectacularly good. (Adam) Lallana came on and was spectacularly good, so in this particular moment in time it's a no-brainer situation."

Although Hodgson insisted that the decision to replace Sterling was the right thing to do on this occasion he was weary of similar occurrences in the future, where players may expect to rest during international fixtures before returning fresh to their club sides.

"I think there is going to be a situation where players suffer from both physical and mental fatigue. I think it's a bit unfair if all the expectations to give that player a little bit of a break fall on my shoulders," he added.

Hodgson's opposite number, Magnus Pehrsson, felt Klavan's dismissal after two bookable offences was harsh, questioning the first yellow card in particular.

"It's really doubtful because the ball was on the way out and there was barely contact and there was no hands," said Pehrsson.

The Estonia manager also intimated that England were lucky get the win and that, despite having an extra man for much of the game, they were "not that dangerous".

Pehrsson's side are now fourth in Group E with three points from three games, while England top the group with a maximum tally of nine points.

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