England Held After Second Half Onslaught from Montenegro

Montenegro remain two points clear of England at the top of the World Cup qualifying Group H after a second half onslaught saw Roy Hodgson's side come under constant pressure as Dejan Damjanovic cancelled out Wayne Rooney's early goal.

England had made the perfect start when Rooney opened the scoring after just six minutes as he lost his marker in the area to head home a Steven Gerrard corner and give the away side a well deserved lead.

Rooney had already gone close just a matter of minutes into the game when he raced clear of the Montenegro defence and lobbed goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic but he was unfortunate to see his effort hit the post.

Glen Johnson then forced a superb save from the keeper who tipped his long range effort onto the bar and it was from the resulting corner that Rooney opening the scoring.

England remained on top for most of the first half but it was a different story after the break and it was little surprise to see substitute Damjanovic poke the ball home after a goal mouth scramble that saw the defence fail to clear their lines.

Montenegro will feel as though they had done enough to get all three points with their second half performance as strikers Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic had a number of attempts on Joe Hart's goal.

It was a strange performance from Hodgson's side who appeared to completely stop playing in the second half as the midfield failed to control the play and they were left holding on to make sure they took away at least a point.

Jovetic almost pulled Montenegro level just minutes into the second half when his header hit the side netting and there was then a string of saves from Hart. Vucinic curled an effort agonisingly wide after and it appeared just a matter of time before they found an equaliser.

That came on 77 minutes thanks to Damjanovic who latched onto a corner and forced a good save fro Hart, he then saw his shot blocked by Danny Welbeck before finally poking the ball home with his third attempt.

Ashley Young came on for Tom Cleverly, who had been largely ineffective in the second half, and there were two late chances for Gerrard who saw a late free kick and a well struck volley both comfortably saved by Bozovic.

It was a frustrating night for Hodgson who would have been impressed with the opening 45 minutes as England pushed forward and looked for a second goal.

There were few clear cut opportunities but Welbeck felt as though he could have had a penalty as he appeared to get in a tangle of legs with Stefan Savic. However, the referee booked the Manchester United striker for diving and England were forced to go into the break with just a one goal lead.