Montenegro 2 - 2 England - Match Report

By Alex Moore /

England secured qualification for Euro 2012 but it was overshadowed by a late Montenegro equaliser and a Wayne Rooney red card. England dominated the first half, going ahead through goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent, before Elsad Zverotic pulled one back. Wayne Rooney was sent off for a violent kick in the second half though and Andrija Delibasic levelled the score with a dramatic late header. An allocation of 1,200 fans travelled to the Podgorica City Stadium to watch England take on the newest international team. Montenegro - formerly merged with Serbia, have only been on the international scene since 2006, and have achieved a meteoric rise through FIFA€™s rankings system €“ climbing from 208th to 26th in the past five years. It certainly wasn€™t going to be an easy game for Fabio Capello€™s side. Although Montenegro has a population smaller than Leeds, they have a new manager in the form of Branko Brnovic and currently sit second in Group G. Despite good results on paper England have yet to show they can play as well as the best in the world, and Montenegro away from home was going to be their toughest test yet. Capello€™s starting eleven wasn€™t quite what you might expect; it was a 4-4-2 for a start. Phil Jones was handed his first full cap, starting at right back. In addition to this Darren Bent found a start, he partnered Wayne Rooney with the Manchester United striker dropping in just behind, allowing Bent to spearhead the attack. Another distraction for Wayne Rooney, his father had reportedly been arrested for suspicious football betting. Frank Lampard was out in the cold again €“ Scott Parker returned in the centre of midfield. There were a few familiar faces in the opposition line-up, Manchester City€™s Stefan Savi‡ €“ a promising youngster, started in centre back for the hosts. Simon Vukevi‡ who plays his football for Blackburn Rovers and is Montenegro€™s most capped player with just 26 appearances, started as an attacking midfielder. Other players to watch were Stevan Joveti‡ €“ a creative, tricky player who plays for Fiorentina in Italy, and Mirko Vuini‡ €“ the hosts€™ top all time scorer (11 in 24) who completed a £12 million switch from Roma to Juventus in the summer. There had been reports that despite some considerable attacking talent Brnovic was going to take a defensive approach to the game. Undeterred by the pouring rain the Montenegro fans were in fine voice and the Podgorica City Stadium had been teeming with supporters half an hour before kick off. Phil Jones instantly sprung into life, running down the right and skinning Vladimir Bozovic before putting in a cross that slipped through the other Bozonic€™s (Mladen) hands and out for a corner. Ashley Young won another corner when his shot deflected just wide. He also swung in the cross but Stefan Savic towered above everyone else to head it away. Unlike Bulgaria, Montenegro weren€™t going to be so easily undone by a simple set piece. Bozonic was looking shaky in the Montenegro goal, he spilt a relatively tame Theo Walcott shot but luckily for the hosts there were no Blue shirts following up. Mirko Vuini‡ showed there was life in the Montenegrins though as his winding run led him deep into the England 18 yard box, but the threat was eventually smothered and the ball was scrambled away from the danger area. England had had the better of the game though, and took the lead 10 minutes. A fantastic cross from Theo Walcott swung in from the right, and the stooping Ashley Young couldn€™t miss as he headed home. They seemed happy with this narrow lead too, and very little happened for quite some time. It hardly seemed like an important qualifying game for either team. Montenegro were looking particularly awful, they barely had it in them to stage an attack. A good ball in from Jovetic looked like it might cause some problems, but Ashley Cole calmly headed it behind. Darren Bent justified his recall by adding a second on the half hour mark. Wayne Rooney found Ashley Young after Montenegro had squandered possession once again. He unselfishly squared it to the Aston Villa striker, who just had to stroke it into the empty net. 2-0 to the visitors. A Montenegro goal shook spectators from their stupors up and down the country as he pulled one back with the last kick of the half. Zverotic was found by Beciraj, and brought it down on his thigh before turning and shooting goalwards. It deflected off John Terry and somehow snuck under Joe Hart and into the bottom corner. Not particularly deserved but then England were hardly good value for their two strikes. If it weren€™t for the obligation of having to watch one€™s national team no-one would watch these games. England had largely controlled the game but despite three goals the first half was completely lacking in any real excitement. HALF TIME Joe Hart was the first €˜keeper called into action in the second half. He had to dive to his left to deny Fatos Beciraj€™s shot on the turn. Phil Jones then had England fans€™ hearts in mouths as he dived in from behind to deny Stevan Jovetic in the area. He didn€™t appear to have taken much if any of the ball, but Wolfgang Stark waved play on. A lucky escape for the visitors. Beciraj was causing problems again running at the England defence and beating Ashley Cole and Gareth Barry. His shot under pressure was terrible, but it was a good spell of pressure from Montenegro. After a poor start they were definitely in with a chance of getting something from this game. Gary Cahill headed towards goal from a corner but Bozonic wasn€™t troubled. Darren Bent was replaced by Frank Lampard. A slightly defensive move perhaps but a single point would guarantee qualification for England. Vucinic had looked threatening with the ball at his feet throughout until it came to making a pass or having a shot €“ where he€™d invariably undo his hard work by losing possession. Wayne Rooney was sent from the field and quite rightly too as he aimed a kick at Miodrag Dzudovic. Maybe his Dad had a bet on it... Either way he was off and England were down to 10 men. England€™s first red card since Robert Green was sent off against Ukraine in 2009. Shades of the old Wayne Rooney (or perhaps more accurately the young Wayne Rooney) so often thought to have been stamped out. Stewart Downing could have put it beyond doubt as he volleyed a follow up from a corner goalwards. It flew over the bar though. It was offside but Dejan Damjanovic might€™ve equalised - a spectacular overhead kick that went just over. Joe Hart was on hand again to deny the hosts. A good cross goal shot from Stevan Jovetic looked to be bobbling into the bottom corner but the €˜keeper did brilliantly to keep it out. Jovetic had another penalty appeal turned down. He collided with John Terry in the area but the Montenegrin was booked for simulation. It wasn€™t a penalty, but they should have arguably had one for the earlier decision. Montenegro equalised in injury time, some good work from Vukcevic allowed a teasing cross to come in from the right. It looped over Gary Cahill€™s head and found Andrija Delibasic who headed home from point blank range. Stark called the game to a close €“ a deserved point from Montenegro who improved beyond recognition after a poor first half, and fully capitalised on Rooney€™s moment of madness. Referee: Wolfgang Stark Montenegro (4-5-1): M. Bozovic, V. Bozovic (Delibasic, 80), Savi‡, Dzudovic, Zverotic, Beciraj (Damjanovic, 64), Pekovic, Kascelan (Jovanovic, 45), Jovetic, Vukevi‡, Vuini‡ England (4-4-2): Hart, Jones, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Walcott (Welbeck, 76) Parker, Barry, Young (Downing, 60), Rooney, Bent (Lampard, 64)

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