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Skipper Ferdinand slams England boo-boys

11/10/2008

Rio Ferdinand has blasted the England fans who booed Ashley Cole in the 5-1 win over Kazakhstan at Wembley.

Cole was jeered after a woeful back pass led to the visitors scoring through Zhambyl Kukeyev.

Fabio Capello's men were led to victory by a brace from Wayne Rooney, an own goal from Alexandr Kuchma, and goals from skipper Ferdinand and substitute Jermain Defoe.

Ferdinand, who captained the side in the absence of the injured John Terry, said he was disappointed with the crowd's behavior towards Chelsea defender Cole.

"It's disappointing when any player makes a mistake - you want to get behind him and gee him up so he gets back into the game," the Manchester United defender said.

"I hope the people who've done that [booed Cole] will feel a bit ashamed of themselves."

Meanwhile, England boss Capello echoed Ferdinand's condemnation of the supporters who booed Cole in the second half.

"I don't understand why the crowd boo one player - you have to help the players more when they make a mistake," the Italian said.

All of England's goals arrived in the second half after Capello reverted to a 4-4-2 formation, after a stuttering first-half display.

Rooney, who has three goals in his last two England games, admitted they were below-par in the opening 45 minutes despite the euphoria after last month's 4-1 win over Croatia.

"In the first half we had couple of chances and could have gone in one or two goals up at half-time. But we knew we had to be patient," the United striker said.

"We knew the chances would come and we would take them. We took them in the end and ended up with an easy victory.

"We know we can play better, but the result was the main thing - to get the points on the board. We're delighted with that."