Soccer: England comes short again

James Deuce

WC Moderator

After three straight wins, England was held to a 0-0 draw by Macedonia on Saturday in a European Championship qualifier.

England didn't have a shot on goal until the 41st minute, when Macedonia goalkeeper Jane Nikolovski came off his line to block a shot from Frank Lampard at Old Trafford.

McClaren, who took over as England coach from Sven-Goran Eriksson after the World Cup, said he was "disappointed and frustrated."

"Macedonia played very well but we have to be better than that," McClaren said. "We've had a reality check.

"We have got one disappointed dressing room because we did not perform to our normal standards. We expect to win games against Macedonia and we at least expect to score."

The second half of the Group E match provided more opportunities for the hosts. Peter Crouch's header was parried by Nikolovski and Gary Neville sent the rebound over the bar.

Also, a header from captain John Terry was turned around the post and Crouch had several more attempts go wide, including one in the 89th minute, when Nikolovski palmed a shot from the Liverpool striker over the bar.

Wayne Rooney nearly scored his first England goal since November, but his close-range chip was parried by Nikolovski.

Rooney, who was suspended for England's first two qualifiers, was taken off in the 75th minute.

"We're pleased to have him back and I'm sure come the next game, he'll be firing them in," Crouch said.

Steven Gerrard, who was shown a yellow card which caused him to be suspended for England's next Euro 2008 qualifier at Croatia on Wednesday, hit the crossbar in the 85th.

"It's disappointing to miss Wednesday," Gerrard said. "I don't think it was a booking. I've hit the woodwork four or five times this season and I need my luck to change."

Macedonia's best chance came early in the second half when midfielder Igor Mitrevski headed the ball over the crossbar. The visitors also went close in the 72nd minute, with Nikolce Noveski flicking a ball past goalkeeper Paul Robinson. It took a late intervention by Ashley Cole to rescue England.

"We played very well tactically," Macedonia coach Srecko Katanec said. "It was a good result for us. I was satisfied with one point because England had some chances. I expected England to play more aggressively."

England has seven points from three games while Macedonia has four from three. Macedonia is at Andorra on Wednesday and England at Croatia.

"Maybe we should have been a bit more forceful," Lampard said. "There are a lot of difficult games in this group. It's never an easy ride in these qualifying groups. Ask Italy. Ask France. That's the way it goes."

England played without central defender Rio Ferdinand, who withdrew shortly before the match after hurting his back in training on Friday.

England beat Macedonia 1-0 in Skopje on Sept. 6 in an earlier qualifying match. In 2002, Macedonia held England to a 2-2 draw in qualifying for the 2004 European Championship.



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Lineups:

England: Paul Robinson, Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Ledley King, John Terry, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney (Jermain Defoe, 75), Peter Crouch, Stewart Downing (Shaun Wright-Phillips, 70).

Macedonia: Jane Nikolovski, Nikolce Noveski, Robert Petrov, Goce Sedloski, Vlade Lazarevski, Igor Mitreski, Aleksander Mitreski, Velice Sumulikoski, Goran Maznov, Ilco Naumoski (Aco Stojkov, 46), Goran Pandev (Darko Tasevski, 83).

Source: Fox Sports