England fought back from a goal down to draw 1-1 against the Republic of Ireland in their first meeting for 18 years at Wembley tonight.
Much of the pre-match hype focused around Ashley Cole, who captained the side and received a commemorative cap for his 100th international appearance, but Shane Long gave Ireland the lead after 13 minutes.
© PA Photos
Seamus Coleman picked out the West Bromwich Albion striker, who escaped the attentions of Glen Johnson and planted a header into the top corner.
However, England equalised 10 minutes later through Frank Lampard. Daniel Sturridge squared up two defenders before squeezing a ball through to Lampard, who poked the ball beyond David Forde.
© AP Photos
Soon after, Theo Walcott, who gave Stephen Kelly a torrid time in the first half, skipped past the Reading full-back and fired the ball across the six-yard box, but Sean St Ledger managed to scramble the ball away.
Sturridge left the field on a stretcher minutes after setting up England's equaliser, with Tottenham Hotspur forward Jermain Defoe replacing him.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side started the second half brightly, with James McClean's free kick curling just wide of Joe Hart's left post.
As the half wore on, England carved out a number of goalscoring opportunities, but first Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and then Walcott fired straight at Forde as the away side held on to secure a draw in front of more than 80,000 fans.
Kristian Johnson
