Six points out of six for Steve McClaren after a hard fought 1-0 in Skopje. Not a convincing performance and the old habit of sitting back on a lead caused some nervous moments in the last 15 minutes but England’s defence held firm.

It was 0-0 after the first 45 minutes of a poor game. England had a great penalty shout turned down after Peter Crouch was dragged down in the box and Frank Lampard went close with a shot from outside the box.

Just after the break Crouch continued his fantastic run of scoring to give England the lead. Persistent play from Lampard blocking a clearance before playing the ball to Crouch who struck a great volley in off the underside of the bar.

In a game that would have been the ideal opportunity to take the game to the opposition and kill them off England as so often in the past sat back and allowed Macedonia to attack. A few close shaves but England held on.

Steve McClaren said: "We knew we would learn about the players in an atmosphere like this and we have.

"We now know what we have got in that dressing room - players who can go away from home and give people good games. I was absolutely delighted with them."

And McClaren praised goal hero Crouch, who scored his 11th England goal in 14 appearances just after the break.

He said: "At the present moment he is doing a great job, along with Jermain Defoe as well.

"Peter scored a very good goal, but you shouldn't forget the work the front players do, filling in in midfield and making sure they don't penetrate us too easily.

"Macedonia on their home pitch are always tough opposition. It was a tough game, in spells we had to really dig deep. It was a team effort and we got the points.

"The back four were magnificent, the defining moment came with the goal. We've got six points from two games so we're on target.

"We could have played better football. The referee was a bit bitty, he stopped the game too much and we couldn't get flowing. But overall that was the game we expected."