Woeful England slump to defeat
McClaren's side desperately missed Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney
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England under-21s fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with their Spanish counterparts in manager Stuart Pearce's first match in charge. |  |
Wednesday, 07, Feb 2007 10:17
England slumped to a dismal 1-0 defeat to Spain at Old Trafford to increase the pressure on boss Steve McClaren.
A stunning goal from Barcelona star Andres Iniesta gave the visitors a deserved victory over a disjointed England who left the field to a chorus of boos.
McClaren's side have now scored just once in their last four matches going into the crunch Euro 2008 qualifier with Israel next month.
Ben Foster made his debut in goal while Jonathan Woodgate and Phil Neville started in defence.
Wingers Shaun Wright-Phillips and Kieron Dyer supported lone striker Peter Crouch in front of a three-man midfield, while Spain boss Luis Aragones left Liverpool duo Jose Reina and Xabi Alonso along with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas on the bench.
England could have broken the deadlock in the first minute when Ilker Casillas blocked Michael Carrick's shot following a corner.
But for the remainder of the game, England looked unbalanced in midfield while Spain enjoyed the lion's share of possession.
The visitors created their first chance on nine minutes when in-form Valencia striker David Villa fired into the side netting from the edge of the area.
Ex-Liverpool forward Fernando Morientes then wasted a glorious chance to score on 18 minutes.
The Valencia striker was put through by Miguel Angulo but struck his effort over the bar from ten yards out.
Crouch had the best chances for England in the first half but failed to test goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
First, the Liverpool striker placed his header wide of the post from Frank Lampard's cross on 24 minutes.
Fifteen minutes later, captain Steven Gerrard dispossessed Xavi and fed Crouch who scuffed his shot wide of the far post.
Despite being a friendly, there were some feisty challenges with Gary Neville lucky not to get booked for a rash challenge on David Silva on the stroke of half-time.
England made a change at the break, with Gerrard making way for Gareth Barry, but it was Spain who exploded out of the blocks and came close to scoring on 46 minutes when substitute Fernando Torres' shot across the face of goal just failed to reach Villa.
The visitors continued to dominate and Foster produced a fine save to deny Villa's rasping 25-yard effort.
Spain's dominance was rewarded on 63 minutes when Villa's cross just evaded Silva at the near post but fell to substitute Iniesta who blasted his shot into the top corner for his first international goal.
England's display was summed up on 71 minutes when Lampard's free-kick fell to Carrick but the Manchester United midfielder sliced his shot over the bar.
Joey Barton came on for his debut, replacing Lampard on 79 minutes, but he was given little time to make an impact.
England travel to Tel-Aviv on March 24th for the crucial qualifier with Israel in what could be a crucial step in deciding McClaren's future with the national team.