England fans BUZZING overcoming plague of flies to celebrate Three Lions win
ENGLAND had the nation buzzing last night (mon) after overcoming a plague of flies to clinch a thrilling injury time World Cup victory over Tunisia.
Posted Tuesday, June 19, 2018 by Dailystar.co.uk
WINNER! Harry Kane celebrates scoring the winning goal in the England vs Tunisia clash
Captain Harry Kane nodded home the winner in the 91st minute to send 30 million Three Lions’ fans watching on TV in pubs, restaurants and at football house parties across the country into ecstasy.
Before kick off he had vowed to nab a hat-trick to give Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo a fight to become the tournament’s top scorer.
He fell one short but sent 2,500 England fans in the stadium wild with both goals in a 2-1 triumph that realistically leaves them just a victory against Panama on Sunday away from a place in the last 16.
But Gareth Southgate’s young lions had to sweat for it as 86-degree heat inside the Volgograd Arena brought out a swarm of flying bugs and blood-sucking mosquitos.
The players had to spray themselves with insect repellent on the pitch as millions of mini monsters from the nearby Volga River filled the air.
Raheem Sterling looked visibly distressed as he battled to wipe insects from his nose and mouth with his shirt before being substituted in the second half.
Two days ago city officials deployed helicopters to spray nearby marshland with insecticide in a bid to kill off the critters.
But soaring temperatures in the south Russian city before the match lured them out in time for kick off.
Sky Sports News had to abandon a series of live pre-match interviews they had planned at the England team hotel when presenter Kaveh Solhekol (corr) was attacked by the bugs.
GOAL: England fans celebrate England's first World Cup game in London
At the fan zone where supporters gathered to watch the game on a giant screen officials relaxed a liquid ban so people could bring in insect repellent.
Maintenance engineer Patrick Vockins, 26, from the Isle of Wight, doused himself in repellent in a vain bid to keep the little blighters at bay.
He said: "I’ve never experienced anything like it.
"If you stop moving on the street you’re instantly attacked by clouds of these tiny little flies.
"They get everywhere and some of them bite.
"They players would be breathing them in."
Nottingham Forest fan Paul Hickinbottom, 40, said: "It’s really unpleasant.
"The bugs are everywhere and have been getting in my beer.
"Some of the locals walk around in bee-keeping headgear and I don’t blame them."
FLIES: Jesse Lingard reacts as a fly lands on him ahead of England's first game
England fan Tatiana Jiminez, 19, from Sheffield, said: "They’ve been driving me mad all day and I’m covered in bites.
"It’s just so unpleasant."
But Southgate’s new look Three Lions swatted them away – flying out the blocks with the most attacking display by any team at the tournament so far.
They notched up six shots on goal in the first half alone – the highest of any other nation in the opening group matches.
Sterling shot wide from six yards when presented with an open goal before Kane scored his first sliding the ball home after Tunisian keeper Mouez Hassen parried a John Stones head into his path in the 11th minute.
After Hassen went off injured England peppered the Tunisian goal until Kyle Walker conceded a controversial penalty against the run of play when his left arm caught Fakhreddine Ben Youssef in the face.
Ferjani Sassi equalised from the spot then kissed the turf with joy.
On BBC Radio 5 Live England legend Terry Butcher described the penalty as `a joke’ and said he was 'appalled’ Colombian referee Wilmar Roldan had been 'conned by weak players’.
Despite the setback England continued to press forward with Jesse Lingard hitting the post a minute before half-time.
The tempo dropped in the second half as the players wilted in the energy-sapping heat and it looked as though all England’s attacking promise may come to nothing – until Kane again from a Kieran Trippier corner.
CLOSE CALL: Harry Kane is held in the box
He now sits one goal behind Ronaldo in the tournament scoring charts – alongside Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku who scored two in a 3-0 victory over Panama.
That left England second in the group behind Belgium on goal difference.
But the top two both qualify.
England fans were heavily out-numbered in the stadium as terrorism and hooliganism fears stopped many travelling to Russia.
But just revved up the atmosphere for fans watching on TV as the nation went booze and football crazy.
Demand for electricity jumped by 500 megawatts across the UK at half-time – the equivalent to 23 million fridge doors opening at once.
Duncan Burt, director of system operations at National Grid, predicted a new surge record if the Three Lions reach the final.
The current record for a TV programme was set following the heart-breaking penalty shoot-out in the 1990 World Cup semi-final between England and West Germany when usage hit 2,800 megawatts.
Afterwards Kane said: "We got told there would be a lot of flies and when we went out for the match it was a lot more than we thought.
"We all had bug spray on and it was important as some of them went in your eyes, some in your mouth.
"But it is about dealing with what comes your way.
"You go until the last second and I'm absolutely buzzing.
"We are proud of each other and in a World Cup you are not sure how it is going to go, but we have a great togetherness and are always proud to see it come off in the game.
"We never panicked, never looked like conceding another one and got what we deserved in the end.
CELEBRATIONS: Harry Kane celebrates with team mates after scoring WINNING goal
"It’s what dreams are made of and I’m so proud of the lads.
"We have shown that resilience for a while now and we have got a great bond off the pitch, so it’s nice to see it working on the field.
"I think there could’ve been a couple of penalties for us, especially when you see the one they were awarded. They tried to stop us running at corners and free-kicks, so maybe that goal at the end was justice."
Southgate said: "As a team you keep working and working.
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