Owen saves England blushes

England tonight got off to a winning start in their bid to qualify for the European Championships in 2004 with a 2-1 win against Slovakia.

Michael Owen scored both goals for his country after England went 1-0 down in the first-half.

The match was also marred by sporadic violence by some England supporters.

The disturbances, which were quickly controlled by riot police, came after two England followers were shot in Bratislava in the early hours.

Before the violence broke out in the stadium tonight, Slovakian supporters had been racially abusing black England players Emile Heskey and Ashley Cole.

Some fans tried to tear down metal fences separating the two sets of supporters before riot police moved in.

There were no reports of trouble in the second-half.

England were playing their first competitive match since the World Cup in Japan this summer.

During that tournament, fans were praised for their behaviour.