Frank Lampard felt England were rewarded for a clever change of tactics by manager Fabio Capello against Wales on Saturday afternoon.
Lampard and Darren Bent both scored in the first 15 minutes as England eased to a 2-0 win in their Euro 2012 qualifier at the Millennium Stadium.
Capello deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Scott Parker playing deep behind Lampard and Jack Wilshere in midfield with Bent, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney up front.
The victory took some of the heat off Capello after suffering heavy criticism for the manner in which he reinstated John Terry as captain.
Lampard said: "Scotty did the stuff he's been doing brilliantly for West Ham all season, sitting in front of the back four.
"Jack's shown what he can do with Arsenal and England now and it was nice to play with an extra body in there, to get a bit more possession with a bit of insurance behind you.
"The way we played, with the front three breaking, I think it worked very well.
"It's the manager's prerogative to use different systems at different times and I think he did it today cleverly, and that gave us the dominance in midfield."
England took control of the game after Young was brought down by James Collins in the seventh minute and Lampard struck from the penalty spot.
Bent added the second with an emphatic close-range finish after more good work by the outstanding Young.
Lampard added: "We did the damage early on and made what could have been a very difficult game quite a comfortable game.
"It was a bit more difficult in the second half, they had a bit of a go, but from being 2-0 up it was always going to be us that won it.
"These games are big derbies, some of us played in one a few years back.
"It was a tough day all round and the only way to make that more comfortable was to start well and take the momentum out of them.
"We certainly did that. We pressed hard, won the ball back and dominated that first half. That's what won it for us.
"Everyone expected us to come here and roll over Wales but it was a derby, with that atmosphere, everyone here knows it's not easy.
"We did a very professional job."
Lampard's penalty was his 21st international goal - moving him level with Mick Channon and Kevin Keegan in joint 17th place on England's all-time scoring list - while Bent struck for the third time in three appearances.
The Chelsea player said: "It was very important - you know it could be a long day if you miss it.
"I was just pleased to get us off to a good start.
"We then established ourselves and went on to get the second."
Capello is now likely to make a number of changes as England face Ghana in a friendly at Wembley on Tuesday.
"It is another important game," said Lampard.
"I think it will be a chance for the manager to try some different things, other players who were here but not involved so much today.
"It's great to have this win behind us going in to that game and test ourselves against the different style the Africans will bring."
