England weather French storm to earn 1-1 draw

Manchester City’s players were on the score-sheet as Samir Nasri cancelled out a 30th minute Jolean Lescott header in an entertaining 1-1 draw between England and France at Donetsk. England’s starting line-up included the 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left wing as James Milner played out wide on the right. In all actuality, City player Milner could have opened the scoring after Ashley Young slipped a clever pass to him which he could not convert after rounding Hugo Lloris. [caption id=“attachment_340034” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Benzema was restricted to long shots by England’s resolute defence. AFP”]  [/caption] But it was captain Steven Gerrard’s free-kick from the right side which Lescott bravely headed in to give the English an unlikely lead after France had made a bright start. Their celebrations lasted for only six minutes after the slippery and skillful Nasri was expertly set-up by Franck Ribery to curl past a diving Joe Hart for a deserved goal. France could have scored earlier the equaliser earlier than the 36th minute but for Hart to make a fantastic save from a point-blank Alou Diarra header. France’s other chances were not clear-cut, with Karim Benzema coming close with a couple of long shots as England’s defence held firm. He had another chance to curl in from a tight angle in the 85th minute, but Gerrard’s header helped it off target. The Real Madrid striker made millions of English hearts skip a beat with a last second strike which Hart kept saved. The team in white looked very well organised when it counted, but Yohan Cabaye almost broke their resolve from a volley in the 80th minute which fell for him after a corner went uncleared. Jermaine Defoe, Jordan Henderson and Theo Walcott were introduced late in the game for England but were unable to do change the scoreline. France will want a better final ball for their strikers, with Benzema only restricted to long range strikes. England on the other hand, should be happy with the share of the spoils after much less was expected of them.