New England coach Sam Allardyce reveals he was given a “lucky coin” by one disabled fan before the match against Slovakia.
Big Sam believes the gift which he kept in his pocket all through the match, was part of what gave his squad the 95th minute goal and a difficult win they won’t forget too fast.
Image shows Adam Lallana celebrating his goal for England.
Adam Lallana’s injury time goal is the country’s first World Cup Group F qualifier, and his 27th international appearance for England.
The victory against Slovakia means Three Lions started their campaign for Russia 2018 with the maximum three points.
The former Sunderland coach reveals: “A father of a son in a wheelchair came to the hotel in the morning and asked if it was OK to have a picture with his son. When we finished he said ‘Let me give you a lucky coin’.
“Here it is — a lucky penny. I’m not normally superstitious. I had it with me in my pocket, we won, so it will stay with me.
“I wonder how far it will take us?”
Though Slovakia lost Martin Skrtel [a reliable defender] to two yellow cards in the game, they team held off England for about 30 minutes before Lallana’s first goal ever for England.
Image shows Three Lions manager Sam Allardyce passing instructions to his players.
61-year-old Allardyce added: “I had a whole lot of messages. It was impossible to try to reply to all the goodwill messages from across the country.
“It was a huge relief for me, I’ll tell you that now. You’ve got to beat ten men.
“In the end, everyone back home is happy.
“We dominated the game and finally got what we deserved.”
