England were denied a crucial victory as Kamil
Glik’s second-half equaliser gave Poland a point they fully deserved in
the delayed World Cup qualifier in Warsaw.
Roy
Hodgson’s side were on course for three points that would have been a
generous reward for a mediocre display after Wayne Rooney’s deflected
header gave them the lead before the interval.
In a game played 24 hours after the initial meeting was washed away
in a Warsaw deluge, England struggled to exert any supremacy and it was
no surprise when Glik took advantage of a rare misjudgement from keeper
Joe Hart to head home a corner with 19 minutes left.
England would have been hoping for a win that could have given them
control of a potentially very tight qualifying group, but in the end
there may even be a measure of relief that they leave Poland with a draw
which leaves them a point clear at the top of Group H.
Moments of quality were rare, not helped by a patchy pitch made worse
by the storm that hit the city on Tuesday and forced the game to be
held over for a day.
England’s campaign now has a mixed appearance, with convincing wins
against Moldova and San Marino set against two draws, from meetings with
Ukraine and now Poland.
Hodgson’s men will resume action with a double header against San
Marino and Montenegro in March, the latter fixture in particular now
assuming real significance.
The England boss made no late alterations to the team selected for
the postponed game – but the lingering effects of the Warsaw rains were
seen in the sticky surface, which curtailed Poland’s counter-attacking
style and emphasised how tentative England’s passing was.
Rooney’s industry was evident when he raced deep into his own
territory to cover when Ashley Cole lost the ball but he was as guilty
as any England player of gifting the ball back to Poland in an
undistinguished first half.
Hart needed to be alert to dive at the feet of Lukasz Piszczek and
Kamil Grosicki shot wide as Poland attempted to build momentum, while
the dangerous Robert Lewandowski fired across the face of goal after
shrugging off Tom Cleverley.
But it was Rooney whose contribution made the difference at half-time
as he gave England a 31st minute lead, his header from Steven Gerrard’s
corner glancing off Piszczek and beyond goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton.
Poland had certainly seen enough to offer encouragement and the
momentum was with the hosts after the interval, with Glen Johnson having
to rescue Phil Jagielka when his mistake threatened to offer up an
opportunity to Lewandowski.
Hart had been relatively untroubled but he was called into action to turn away Ludovic Obraniak’s long-range effort.
England were desperately wasteful in possession and were fortunate
that Poland had not mustered the quality to punish them for their
failings, although they had a chance to extend their lead against the
run of play in the 64th minute.
Gerrard’s free-kick found Jermain Defoe unmarked at the far post but
his finish was uncharacteristically wasteful as he screwed his shot back
across the face of goal.
It was Defoe’s final contribution as he was soon replaced by Danny Welbeck and the change almost brought an instant reward.
The substitute won a race for possession with Polish keeper Tyton
but, when he pulled the ball back to Manchester United team-mate Rooney,
his finish was hopelessly off target.
Poland’s pressure merited an equaliser and it came with 19 minutes
left. It was a goal that will not have pleased Hart, who got nowhere
near Obraniak’s corner as Glik powered home the header.
It was the signal for another England change as Hodgson removed
Rooney, who had been poor apart from his goal, and replaced him with the
pace of teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The game’s closing stages offered moments for each side but ultimately both seemed satisfied with sharing the points.
