So all England needed was a point from this match in Montenegro to win the group. So perhaps the three weren't that big of a deal. It also turns out that all Montenegro needed was a point to seal second place and a spot in the playoff, since Wales beat Switzerland at the same time this match was going on.
Both sides ended up with the result they needed, but I think it would be safe to say that Montenegro was the happier of the two. All in all it was an underwhelming performance from the Three Lions.
It started off well enough for them. In fact, most of the first half was firmly controlled by England and it looked like they might be cruising to another impressive road win. In the 6th minute Theo Walcott had a nice volley chance that was saves, and then in the 11th he assisted on the first goal by knocking in a nice cross that Ashley Young headed in to make it 0-1. Then in the 31st minute Young turned provider, sending in a nice ball that Darren Bent slotted home to make it 0-2.
However, as the first half wore on. England started to get sloppy. Montenegro used this to get a foothold in the match. They got a goal back right before half time as Elsad Zverotic deflected a shot off of Cahill and into Joe Hart's net to make it 1-2 at the interval.
The second half was not much short of lazy for England. I swear I could feel the equalizer coming. it just took longer than I thought. Montenegro was assisted in this effort by the idiocy of Wayne Rooney, who earned a red card in the 77th minute. For some reason, he decided to petulantly kick a Montenegro player in the back of the leg. The red means he'll miss the first two matches of Euro 2012.
The equalizer itself came in the first minute of stoppage time. Delibasic headed in a cross from Pekovic to make it 2-2. Hart stood no chance. Coupled with the Wales result, the goal jazzed up the crowd and a couple of minutes later the ref blew for full time. England left the pitch in disinterest as Montenegro celebrated their birth in the playoff.
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