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England secured qualification for Euro 2012 after a 2-2 draw against Montenegro thanks to goals by Ashley Young and Darren Bent however the victory was tarnished by Wayne Rooney’s petulant sending off.
In truth it was a very mixed night as Fabio Capello’s men stumbled rather than waltzed their way into next summer’s European Championships after blowing away what seemed to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead at the Stadion Pod Goricom.
Needing only a draw to secure top spot in Group G, the visitors got off to the perfect start and were ahead by the 11th minute as winger Ashley Young nodded in Theo Walcott’s pinpoint cross.
With their hosts on the ropes, the Three Lions sensed blood and were soon two-up. Midfielder Gareth Barry won the ball in midfield before finding the impressive Scott Parker.
The Spurs man then picked out Rooney in space who in turn slid the ball into Young with a perfectly weighted pass, before the winger squared for Bent to finish comfortably.
At 2-0 everything seemed settled and coach Fabio Capello would have been thinking about his final squad selection for next summer.
However, any notion of certainty were quickly evaporated as Montenegro reduced the arrears on the stroke of halftime when Elsad Zverotic’s deflected volley eluded Joe Hart.
At 2-1 the match once again was on a knife edge and having heard that Wales were leading Switzerland by one-goal to nil, the hosts were fired up in their search for the equaliser.
They were to receive another break when Wayne Rooney foolishly swung a boot in anger at Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic leaving referee Wolfgang Stark no option but to dismiss the Manchester United forward.
Roused, Montenegro pressed forward in throes and grabbed an injury-time equaliser when substitute striker Andrija Delibasic headed home Stefan Savic’s cross.
2-2 seemed a fair result although after their second half collapse, more questions rather than answers have once again emerged from an England game with Rooney’s temperament further being called into question.
The striker now set to miss the first of England’s Euro 2012 matches through suspension.
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