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<table class="contentpaneopen"><tbody><tr><td id="content_heading" class="contentheading" width="100%">Montenegro hold England 0-0 to stay top of group </td> <td rowspan="2" class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%">
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"> Wednesday, 13 October 2010 10:21
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td id="content_body" colspan="4" style="color: black;" valign="top"> EURO 2012 QUALIFIER LONDON - Montenegro remained top of Euro 2012 qualifying Group G as they held England to a 0-0 draw at Wembley on Tuesday. The draw preserves Zlatko Kranjcar's unbeaten record in qualifiers, both as manager of Montenegro and Croatia, and leaves his side with 10 points from four games.
England, having played a game less, are three points further back, but the sense of satisfaction that followed their opening wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland has begun to fade. "They hit the bar late on, but until then we were on the front foot trying to create chances," said captain Rio Ferdinand.
"You want to please the manager, you want to please the fans but it just wasn't to be today. "We didn't concede. We were solid so we can take some positives." It could have been worse for Fabio Capello's side, with left-back Milan Jovanovic pinging a dipping shot against the crossbar with seven minutes remaining.
"We created four or five chances to score a goal, and the keeper saved every time. They were waiting always across the box," Capello said. "It wasn't an easy game; they're a team that's really difficult to beat."
Already without Stevan Jovetic, Nikola Drincic and Savo Pavicevic, Montenegro were dealt a dreadful blow hours before kick-off when Mirko Vucinic was ruled out with a thigh injury. He has been their best player in qualifying so far, and scored the only goal in Montenegro's 1-0 win over Switzerland on Friday.
Montenegro switched from a 4-4-1-1 to a 4-1-4-1, and settled in to frustrate England, who not surprisingly dominated possession. Peter Crouch almost got on the end of a raking Steven Gerrard early on, and then headed a right-wing cross over on the quarter-hour.
Ashley Young looked fleetingly threatening against Stefan Savic, the Montenegrin right-back, who was playing just his second international, and only a crude block from Miodrag Dzudovic stopped him on a burst infield. The other wide-man, Adam Johnson, swept a free-kick a fraction wide after 32 minutes, but Montenegro held England relatively comfortably in the first half.
Not until the final minute of the half was Mladen Bozovic drawn into a save, Glenn Johnson's cross deflecting to Wayne Rooney, who hit his effort straight at the Videoton keeper. Bozovic is not a keeper who looks comfortable under crosses, but his shot stopping is first-rate, and he made an excellent block to deny Rooney as he ran on to Gerrard's through ball just before the hour.
Part of England's problem was that with two inverted wingers - that is a right-footed playing on the left and vice versa - they lacked width and as a result didn't get in the crosses that might have exposed Bozovic. With chances few and far between, Kevin Davies was introduced for Peter Crouch after 69 minutes, becoming at 33 England's oldest debutant since Leslie Compton in 1950.
He almost made an immediate impact, knocking down Glenn Johnson's cross for Rooney who, after a tangle on the edge of the box, unleashed a snapshot that Bozovic did superbly to save with an outstretched right arm. The keeper also made an excellent save low to his right to keep out a Gareth Barry effort, England probably should have had a late penalty as Jovanovic seemed to handle in the box, but Montenegro deserved the draw. - DPA/Bernama </td></tr></tbody></table>
