England fail to break down Montenegro at Wembley
England dropped their first points of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on Tuesday, when Fabio Capello's team only managed to draw Montenegro 0–0 at Wembley Stadium.
The home team enjoyed most of the possession, but failed to convert the few scoring chances they created against a stoic Montenegrin defence.
Steven Gerrard, who was stripped of the captain's armband before the game, sent an elegant pass from midfield towards Wayne Rooney in the third minute. The ball ended up with Peter Crouch, with the Tottenham striker finishing wide of the left post.
Crouch nodded Glen Johnson's cross over the bar in the 24th minute as England struggled to create any openings at all. Capello's team dominated possession, but their movement failed to let them in behind the opposition.
Gerrard let the in-form Adam Johnson take an England free kick from 30 yards with just over 30 minutes gone. The Manchester City winger's curling effort cleared the Montenegrin wall but narrowly missed the top-right corner.
The subdued pace of play continued after the break, with England getting their first chance of the half on the hour mark.
Rooney, once again the recipient of a magnificent ball from Gerrard, tried to finish under Mladen Bozovic, but the Montenegrin keeper saved before being fouled by Crouch as he tried to score on the rebound.
With Bobby Zamora, Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe out injured, Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies was handed his England debut when he replaced Crouch in the 70th minute.
Davies combined with Rooney in the penalty box, causing a scramble that gifted the latter a shooting opportunity from point-blank range, but Bozovic showed quick reactions to parry his belted shot.
Jovanovic at the centre of the action
Montenegro's Milan Jovanovic then got away with a clear handball inside the area with 11 minutes to go in the game, much to the frustration of Capello on the sidelines. The game then heated up considerably when Jovanovic chested the ball down and thumped
a left-footed half-volley onto Joe Hart's bar.
Shortly thereafter, Shawn Wright-Phillips, who had come on for Ashley Young, was fouled on the left flank but Gerrard's free kick failed to trouble Bozovic.
Manchester City's Gareth Barry nearly scored when the ball fell to him in the 90th minute, but Bozovic stretched to deny him at the bottom of the left post.
England now have seven points from three games in Group G. With four games played, Montenegro are top of the group on ten points.
Tags: