Leeds
striker Alan Smith outshone fellow England new-boy
Lee Bowyer as his bullet header helped seal a 1-1
draw with Portugal at Villa Park. The young Whites
hitman put the finishing touch to a superb flowing
move on 40 minutes, but his clinical header and display
were rare bright spots in a solid but largely disappointing
display by Sven Goran Eriksson's troops.
The Swede handed Smith and Bowyer their full England
debuts, and the latter settled on the international
stage straight away, testing Portuguese keeper Vitor
Baia with a crisp 20-yard drive in the opening minutes.
Midfield general Nicky Butt also tested Baia with
a slippery 25-yard strike in a bright opening, but
the visitors soon got their passing game going and
enjoyed large spells of first-half possession.
Luis Figo, Pauleta and Rui Jorge combined well to
set up Portugal's first real chance, but keeper David
James saved comfortably on 11 minutes.
Manchester United star Butt was once again the pick
of England's midfielders, while Steven Gerrard failed
to deliver the same quality from set-pieces usually
provided by injured skipper David Beckham.
The Liverpool man wasted a host of dangerous free-kick
and corner opportunities, but his Anfield team-mates
Emile Heskey and Michael Owen made amends by being
heavily involved in the move which prised open the
Portuguese defence five minutes from the interval.
James' swift throw-out set Heskey free down the left
flank and the Reds powerhouse squared the ball to
stand-in captain Owen in the centre.
Owen then swivelled and fed the ball wide to Bowyer,
whose right-wing cross was powered home by Smith from
10 yards out, giving Baia no chance at all.
The goal lifted both the Villa Park crowd and players,
but it remained 1-0 at the break, and Eriksson rang
the changes for the second half - sending on David
Dunn, Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Bridge and Jonathan Woodgate.
The Swede had promised not to make such widespread
changes in the pre-match build-up - but once again
he shook up his personnel and from the kick-off, England
seemed bemused.
Within minutes of the restart, the visitors were given
two free headers by a static England defence, with
Nuno Gomes wasting the best chance when putting a
back-post header just inches wide.
Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair and Danny Murphy also entered
the fray, but this failed to raise the standard of
England's second-half performance - and the Portuguese
got a deserved equaliser 11 minutes from time.
Playmaker Rui Costa whipped in a dangerous corner,
and this time England paid for their defensive slackness,
allowing Costinha to steer a powerful header into
the back of the net.
Smith's tigerish display will have caught Eriksson's
eye as he prepares for the 2004 European Championships
qualification campaign - but the Swede must attempt
to iron out England's tendency to produce Jekyll and
Hyde performances either side of the interval.
