England 1-1 Russia: Vasili Berezutski cancels out Eric Dier's stunning second-half free-kick to deny Roy's boys three points Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3636942/England-1-1-Russia-Vasili-Berezutski-cancels-Eric-Dier-s-stunning-second-half-free-kick-deny-Roy-s-boys-three-points.html#ixzz4BLzHdNaY Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
- Adam Lallana and Chris Smalling enjoyed early chances for England but both efforts were saved by Igor Akinfeev
- Despite England's impressive first-half performance and dominance from the start, the score was 0-0 at the break
- England eventually found their goal when Eric Dier fired in a wonderful free-kick from just outside the 18-yard box
- A last-gasp Vasili Berezutski header denied England a precious three points as Russia managed to nick a draw
- Earlier in the day, Gareth Bale and Hal Robson-Kanu helped Wales to a 2-1 win over Slovakia in Group B's opener
You
can view it as desperately unfortunate if you wish. Or you can point to
old failings, familiar flaws and vulnerabilities which seemed to be
ingrained in the national team.
On
a night on which the English nation badly required a lift after a
desperately dis-spiriting day of disorder in Marseille, the denouement
seemed cruel after a performance which had promised some hope.
England
had dominated the game; they were by far the better side, albeit
against a thoroughly mediocre Russia. And yet at end they reverted to
type, throwing away a lead and allowing a poor side back into a game.
Vasili Berezutski
(not pictured) headed the ball over Joe Hart and into the net with 92
minutes on the clock to salvage a draw for Russia
Russia captain Berezutski (right)
pumps his fists in celebration after breaking England hearts in stoppage
time at the end of the match
Jack Wilshere, a late substitute for
Wayne Rooney at the Stade Velodrome, reacts after England conceded a
late goal to draw with Russia
Dele Alli (right) and Hart (left)
react after conceding a goal very late on in their opening match of Euro
2016 at the Stade Velodrome
Eric Dier (second left) watches his
free-kick fly past goalkeeper Akinfeev to give England the lead after 73
minutes in Marseille
Dier (centre) is mobbed by his
team-mates after sending a wonderful free-kick into the back of the
Russia net to put England ahead
With the world watching, Dier slides on his knees at the corner flag as Tottenham team-mate Alli joins him to celebrate the goal
Tottenham
team-mates Danny Rose (left) and Dier celebrate after the latter's
free-kick flew into the back of the net with just 17 minutes left
They
defended like this in Brazil two years ago, though for much of this
game they looked far better than that. But still, two minutes into
injury time, having seemingly defended a corner well, James Milner
rushed to close down Georgi Schennikov.
It
was clearly to be the last serious attack of the game. And in his
haste, Milner allowed the Russian simply to push the ball past him and
allow just one more dangerous lofted ball into the England area. At the
far post, rising above Danny Rose was Vasili Berezutski, whose header
looped agonisingly over Joe Hart. Dennis Glushakov got a touch at the
death but the ball seemed over the line already.
As
the small knot of Russian fans celebrated, the ugliness from earlier
spilled over into the stadium. An obvious lack of stewarding meant that
when missiles were exchanged between rival fans and the Russians charged
at England supporters, French and English fans were left fleeing from
gangs of thugs at the final whistle, which came quickly after the goal.
It was a scene hardly ever now seen in football and a desperate
conclusion to the evening.
On
the pitch, England had seemed to be shaking off their tournament woes,
playing with some style, creativity and a degree of panache. They have
never won an opening game at the European Championships but seemed to
have done enough here against a Russian side stripped of its four best
players through injury.
'To
say we're bitterly disappointed would be an understatement,' said
Hodgson. 'To get that close to a victory which would have been deserved,
then to lose it with one minute of injury-time to go, it's a tough pill
to swallow. But that's football. One doesn't have a divine right to win
any game. It doesn't make it any easier for me to accept.
'But
it won't take us long to get over it. When we analyse the game, and
start preparing for the next game, there'll be a lot of things from
tonight's game that we'll want to take forward and hopefully we'll be
able to put the memory of that last minute goal behind us.'
It
was a real blow though, because winning this group now becomes
difficult and that always seemed England's best chance of progressing
deep into this tournament.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3636942/England-1-1-Russia-Vasili-Berezutski-cancels-Eric-Dier-s-stunning-second-half-free-kick-deny-Roy-s-boys-three-points.html#ixzz4BLyZJrIL
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