LONDON. Sept 8: Striker Alan Shearer scored twice in the space of seven minutes on Wednesday as England beat the United States 2-0 in a friendly that went son»e way towards avenging one of English soccer's darkest days, reports Reuter.

The Blackburn marksman, taking his International tally to five goals in 11 appearances, ripped through the ragged-looking US defence with a powerful shot in the 33rd minute and a superbly athletic diving header in the 40th.

The score was scant reward for a rampant England team, bolstered by the reappearance of a fitter and lighter John Barnes, that never looked in danger of conceding a goal let alone losing and that could easily have doubled its tally at Wembely.

But. as far as the 38.629 fans were concerned, it was enough to erase the memory of the two countries' last meeting in Boston in June 1993 when former manager'Graham Tay tors Englannd went down 2-0 tq the inexperienced 1994 World Cup hosts

As well as avenging that loss, the victory maintained Englannd's record of not eon ceding a goal in the four games since Terry Venables took over as coach.