Ace Lamp outshines sad Steve; World Cup Qualifiers.

Byline: BY FRANK MALLEY

GLUE together the column inches written on whether Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard can play together for England and the paper chain would snake comfortably from London to Astana.

It will stretch a little further still after England eased to a win which left a home crowd happy for what seemed like the first time in years.

But, while not wanting to rain on another goal-laden parade, this match did little to enhance a reputation which had been restored so refreshingly with that victory in Croatia.

The truth is that until Kazakhstan crumbled in the later stages, large parts of this match saw the old England.

Struggling for balance, little movement, poor passing, precious little guile with which to prise open opponents who came to Wembley with no great ambition.

But it was a win, a comfortable one in the end, and that was what Fabio Capello had ordered as much as his message to play with no fear.

The point is it did not always look as if the men in the Three Lions had taken that on board, especially Gerrard who still cannot reproduce the supreme form he displays for Liverpool on a weekly basis.

At least Lampard can look to this game as the one in which he built a bridgehead in the minds of the Wembley faithful.

Winning his 65th cap, he was perhaps England's best player for great swathes of this match.

It is not always easy, of course, to stoke up a head of steam against a side content for the most part to defend and frustrate.

Which is why Capello was left with lots to mull over before Wednesday's match against Belarus.

Where to play Wayne Rooney, for instance, who was wide on the left for the duration of the first half when his talents appeared wasted.

The substitution of Shaun Wright-Phillips for Gareth Barry at half-time was intended to engineer some urgency, conjure up that elusive balance.

Yet the fact is that before Rio Ferdinand headed England in front from a corner Kazakhstan should have taken the lead themselves.

Tanat Nuserbayev found himself in the centre of the goal four yards out and somehow contrived to put his shot over the bar.