England miss chance to pull clear

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LONDON, England -- England were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Macedonia and missed the chance to pull clear at the top of Euro 2008 Group E.

A late equalizer from substitute Amit Ben Shushan gave Israel a 1-1 draw with Russia in Moscow and kept them in second place level on points with Steve McClaren's side.

Mladen Petric scored four goals for Croatia as they crushed Andorra 7-0 to strengthen their challenge.

Croatia are three points behind the top pair but have a game in hand.

England were outplayed at times by their slicker-passing opponents.

The hosts' best chance came in the closing minutes when Steven Gerrard hit the bar.

Gerrard will miss the midweek game in Croatia because of supension.

McClaren said: "It's a very disappointed group of players in the dressing room, but rightly so because we have not performed as we know we should have done.

"We have gained a point from the game, but we expect to beat Macedonia and we certainly expect to score against them in a home game.

"But it is all about showing character and resilience now. The job starts here.

" We have had three good games and taken the plaudits, but we have to accept that we were below par in this game and the task now is to bounce back on Wednesday.

"We must regroup against Croatia and show the character that I know I have in this team. The players want to put it right."

England made a bright enough start, with Wayne Rooney looking sharp on his return from suspension, but there was also an early warning when Macedonia striker Goran Pandev broke into the box and fired into the side netting.

England had plenty of early possession but were held up by a combination of dreadful passing and some alert defending by Macedonia, who were quick to get men behind the ball.

Stewart Downing on the left flank, midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, along with right back Gary Neville, were all guilty of wasting possession.

As England toiled and started to look edgy, the visitors grew in confidence as the first half wore on, with much of their attacking play going through the impressive Pandev.

Superb work on the right by Vlade Lazarevski, getting the better of Ashley Cole, enabled him to get in a booming cross which the inrushing Robert Petrov volleyed high over the bar.

Ilco Naumoski was also causing trouble down the left, leaving both Gerrard and Michael Carrick on the floor with his twisting runs, and Goran Maznov finished the half with a raking shot which flew wide of the far post.

With Macedonia playing the better football and looking the more likely to score, the halftime whistle was greeted by boos from the Old Trafford crowd.

There was a further setback for McClaren within minutes of the re-start with Gerrard picking up a booking that will rule him out of the game in Croatia.

England continued to struggle and had two let-offs in quick succession when Aleksandar Mitreski headed over the bar from a corner and substitute Aco Stojkov sped through for a shot which keeper Paul Robinson turned round for a corner.

England had to wait until the 58th minute for their first real scoring chance, when Peter Crouch's header was parried by keeper Jane Nikoloski and Neville blazed the loose ball over.

McClaren tried to inject some bite into England's attack midway through the half by sending on right-winger Shaun Wright-Phillips for the ineffective Downing on the left. Rooney made way for Jermain Defoe, but there was only a minor improvement.

England's frustration began to boil over in the closing stages, with pushing and shoving by a group of players in the center circle as play stopped for Stojkov, who was on the ground following a thundering tackle by Ledley King.

England kept pushing forward and Gerrard nearly snatched an ill-deserved win with five minutes to go, only for his searing drive to hit the bar, while Crouch headed wide in the final seconds.

It was not enough to deny Macedonia a merited point and give McClaren plenty to consider in the days ahead.

Flying start

The Russians made a flying start, Andrei Arshavin outsprinting a defender in the fifth minute to slot the ball inside the post from 10 meters.

Israel leveled from a rare counter-attack six minutes from time as Shushan pounced to score after Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev had saved from substitute Toto Tamuz.

Israel have not lost a competitive match for almost three years after going undefeated in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The visitors, missing strikers Yaniv Katan and Omer Golan through injury, rarely troubled Akinfeyev until Idan Tal tested the CSKA Moscow keeper with a low drive from the edge of the box early in the second half.

The home side dominated possession until their late lapse of concentration cost victory.

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