OFF COLOUR
‘THE PLAYERS DIDN’T LOOK VERY LIVELY’
From Back Page after coming out to punch a corner, only to be beaten to the ball by centre half Glik. ‘I came out and didn’t get there,’ said Hart. ‘It’s my fault and that’s cost us the three points.’ But questions will be asked about the impact taking sleeping pills can have on a player’s performance. Poland mastered the sodden pitch better than the English players, who looked to have suffered more from the disruption of the game being put back because of a waterlogged pitch. Hodgson said: ‘I had the impression earlier in the week that the players were looking sharp and lively. I didn’t have that impression today. I don’t know if that’s due to the extra night, the sodden pitch or that we didn’t play well on the day. ‘There are days when you don’t hit the heights. You just have to make certain you don’t go away ruing that fact. A point in Warsaw is not to be looked down upon.’ Midfielder James Milner said: ‘You have all your meetings, you go into the dressing room and have your massages, put strappings on, boots on, tie-ups on, are ready to go out and then you’re told to wait and the game is called off. It’s not ideal but you have to be professional and prepare again.’ Hodgson took his team for a walk and a stretch yesterday morning and no-one tried to use the delay as an excuse. Captain Steven Gerrard said: ‘When you’re fired up, pumped up and you’ve had your massages and you’re ready to go and then don’t play, that’s not ideal. But we’re professionals. We’re playing at the top level and we had to get ourselves up for this but I didn’t think we were totally at the races. ‘The pitch was slippy, wet and cutting up. I think it was laid a week-and-a-half ago. So it wasn’t ideal. Both teams tried to make the most of it and they did it better. ‘The surprise was why they didn’t shut the roof the night before when it was raining. But that’s life. We get on with it. I won’t use the delay and conditions as an excuse. The reason we didn’t win was because we didn’t pass it when we went in front.’ The draw means England will be overtaken as group leaders if Montenegro beat San Marino next month and manager Hodgson is looking for a big improvement when his side travel to San Marino and Montenegro in March. He said: ‘We didn’t play well. We’ve got to be satisfied we came away with a point. We were fortunate to be 1-0 up at half-time because we hadn’t played well. ‘The extra day and stay over, the sogginess of the pitch didn’t work in our favour. But we leave here with a point, on an unbeaten run, and hopefully we’ll continue to progress and get the points we need.’
ENGLAND nodded off in Poland yesterday and dropped two vital World Cup points after some players needed sleeping pills to cope with the game’s 20-hour delay.
Wayne Rooney headed his team into a first-half lead but Kamil Glik equalised 20 minutes from time and manager Roy Hodgson was relieved to hold on to stay top of Group H.
Some England players, who routinely take caffeine stimulant tablets before matches, had struggled to unwind after Tuesday’s game was rained off and those suffering most were given sleeping tablets.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart shouldered responsibility for Poland’s goal