England need only to avoid defeat away to Spain on Thursday to guarantee their place in next year’s European Women’s Championship finals in Finland, but Hope Powell, the England head coach, will use yesterday’s “shocking” first-half performance to remind her players that they have no “God-given right” to qualify.

At the culmination of a week in which England players have been told they will not need to join the new American professional league to earn a living from the game — after the FA confirmed it will distribute central contracts to coincide with the advent of the Women’s Super League from 2010 — Powell’s team were as good in the second 45 minutes as they were bad in the first.

Scoring four goals in seven late minutes, after Emily Westwood’s brilliant equaliser, England’s superior fitness and class enabled them to cruise past a Czech Republic side who were ultimately so overwhelmed that they took to the turf and required a stretcher six times in the half. “I’m not sure I can condone that,” Powell said. “I think I call that cheating. But at the end of the day we’ve won.”

The Czech Republic are the only team to have taken points off England in this campaign, having ground out a goalless draw in Doncaster six months ago, when Kelly Smith was suspended. England supporters tipping up at the Dolicek Stadium yesterday predicted that the hosts would not be up to much when it came to attacking.

The Czechs had their own star player to call upon yesterday, however, and Pavlina Scasna created their goal, when she crossed to the far post and with Rachel Brown, the England goalkeeper, uncertain whether to venture from her line, Katerina Doskova headed home. It was the kick up the proverbial backside that England needed.

“I can’t repeat what I said at half-time,” Powell said. “I was trying to highlight what they weren’t doing — basically pull your finger out because otherwise you may as well not bother going to Spain. We lacked fight, we lacked effort in the first half, and if they think they have a God-given right to qualify, nobody has. But credit to them, they responded to it and turned it around. We scored five very good goals and got our fight back.”

Indeed, England gradually regained their familiar rhythm in the second period, when Smith moved up front and Westwood played at the front of the midfield triangle. The Everton player equalised with a stunning shot into the top corner from 25 yards.

Once the effete Rachel Yankey was withdrawn, England stepped up another gear. Smith ran on to Brown’s long kick to lob Marcela Zborilova with a right-footed shot 11 minutes from time to make the result was a foregone conclusion.

Karen Carney headed home Smith’s left-wing cross, Jill Scott ran on to Fara Williams’s pass to slide her shot past the goalkeeper before Smith dribbled round Zborilova to complete the rout and to remind us why Boston Breakers would push the boat out to have England’s captain as their first pick; Carney has been targeted by the Chicago Red Stars.

But the FA trusts that the Americans’ drafting game for next year’s launch of the Women’s Professional Soccer organisation will come to naught now that the governing body will be showcasing its own league. The women know they could expect to earn around $60,000 (about £33,000) in the US, so the FA’s timing with the central contacts is expedient.

“It is a busy time for the game and it is good news,” Powell, who could be a future candidate for the role of women’s performance manager, said. “We are delighted with the three points but I’m not happy. I can’t be because that first half was shocking.

“Spain will be harder than this, although they know they’ve got to come at us to win, which should make it a more open game. That could be good for us. Mentally, we’ve got to be ready for it.”

Czech Republic (4-4-2): M Zborilova — V Pincova, P Bertholdova, L Heroldova, I Mocova (sub: V Hoferkova, 72min) — B Penickova (sub: P Divisova, 58), A Pvonkova, E Smeralova (sub: L Kladrubska, 19), M Ringelova — K Doskova, P Scasna. Substitutes not used: I Odlasova, M Markova, P Benyrova, M Danielova. Booked: Kladrubska, Heroldova.

England (4-2-3-1): R Brown (Everton) — A Scott (Arsenal), L Johnson (Everton), A Asante (Chelsea), C Stoney (Chelsea; sub: R Unitt, Everton, 84) — F Williams (Everton), J Scott (Everton) — K Carney (Arsenal), K Smith (Arsenal), R Yankey (Arsenal; sub: S Smith, Leeds Carnegie, 64) — L Sanderson (Chelsea; sub: E Westwood, Everton, 46). Substitutes not used: E Aluko (Chelsea), S Chamberlain (Chelsea), L Bassett (Arsenal), D Buet (Chelsea).

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