World Cup: Roy Hodgson defends England after Ukraine draw and surprised by critics
Wednesday 11 September 2013 14:53, UK
Image:Roy Hodgson: Pleased with a point after England held Ukraine
England boss Roy Hodgson has defended his team after their 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw in Ukraine on Tuesday night.
Fair result
Hodgson felt there could be no complaints from either side after a goalless stalemate, although he was left to rue a late miss from Frank Lampard on his 100th international appearance.
"I thought it was a fair result, we did very well, especially in the first-half and we had clear control of the game and could have obviously won it in the last minute with Frank's header, what a chance," Hodgson said.
"But Moldova and this game are two were very different games, there were 70,000 people here, it was a big test for the players.
"We have lost seven players from the original squad so a lot of players come into the squad this time who are not normally there and not used to this level of performance and pressure.
"So we have got be more than satisfied with the result against Moldova and now the result here, especially as we gained the result without riding our luck in any way, we gained it because we were very good defensively.
"Had we shown a little more composure in the final third or had someone like a Rooney or Sturridge available, who knows we might have even got the goal we needed."
