By Alan Duffy
Italy 1-1 England – International Friendly – 31st March 2015
A late long-range strike from Andros Townsend gave English a hard-fought share of the spoils in Turin on Tuesday night.
With Phil Jones starting in midfield and Theo Walcott joining man of the moment Harry Kane up front, this was an experimental England side which lined out against a pick ‘n’ mix Azzurri. Therefore, it’s difficult to provide any real analysis of the Three Lions’ patchy display, although not surprisingly that hasn’t stopped armies of armchair managers get their collective knickers in a twist on social media.
The hosts opened the scoring just before the half-mark, with Graziano Pelle heading home a Giorgio Chiellini centre after the Juventus man had evaded Jones. The goal was just reward for Antonio Conte’s side, who were far superior in the first 45.
However, after the break, the introduction of Michael Carrick and Kyle Walker brought a bit more balance to the England side. And then, after the visitors had threatened Gigi Buffon’s goal on more than one occasion, sub Townsend produced a superb effort to secure a draw for Roy Hodgson’s side. Indeed, the English could have won the game late on but ultimately had to settle for a draw.
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Highlights: Footytube