In stark contrast to the misery of Robert Green on Thursday night, who simultaneously gave away a goal, suffered an injury and saw his World Cup dream shattered against Belarus, Earnshaw was a happy man as his goals defeated one of England's Group B opponents.
Stern John had given Trinidad and Tobago a first-half lead in the strange surroundings of a half-empty stadium in the Austrian city of Graz, but Earnshaw equalised soon afterwards before bundling home an unlikely winner at the death. John Toshack's side also featured Norwich's Carl Robinson as a wing-back and a host of youngsters, while senior stars like Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs were absent.
Scouting for England, who face Leo Beenhakker's collection of veterans like Dwight Yorke and Shaka Hislop and lesser-known players such as Chris Birchall and Norwich target Carlos Edwards on June 15th, was former Norwich defender Ian Butterworth.