Jermain Defoe Double Earns England Draw After Defensive Sins in Amsterdam

Jermain Defoe stepped off the bench to score twice to secure England's draw against Holland in its first match of the new season.

First-half errors from Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry gifted the Dutch a two-goal lead in Amsterdam as Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart punished poor defensive mistakes from the visitors.

However, England improved after the break and Defoe, on as a half-time substitute, struck just four minutes into the second half to drag his team back into the game before scoring the equaliser with just over ten minutes to play.

Fabio Capello’s starting eleven was as expected with Rob Green retaining his place in goal and David Beckham and Ashley Young occupying the wide-midfield roles.

Yet it was the hosts who started brightest, enjoying the majority of the possession before they were gifted a goal on ten minutes.

Rio Ferdinand played a well under-hit back pass from the right-back position which Dirk Kuyt easily intercepted. The Liverpool forward rounded Rob Green and quickly cut back inside after being forced wide, his shot eventually finding the roof of the net via the outstretched boot of John Terry, who could do little to prevent the goal on the line.

England’s response was strong though as Frank Lampard fired straight at Maarten Stekelenburg from a narrow angle after being played in by Glen Johnson.

Quick thinking from Beckham and Lampard then created another chance for England as the former whipped in a quick free-kick for the latter whose shot was well-blocked.

Barry had a reasonable shout for a penalty soon after as his intended back-heel to Emile Heskey in the box was stopped by the arm of new club teammate Nigel de Jong. Barry’s strong appeal, however, fell on deaf ears as the referee waved play on.

Holland continued to create chances of its own as Green was forced into action to first block Kuyt’s back-post header with his legs before pushing an Arjen Robben effort over the bar after the Real Madrid winger had outpaced the English defence.

Yet just as England handed the Dutch their first goal so again would they be guilty on 38 minutes—this time Barry played a blind pass for John Terry which Robben intercepted to go clean through on goal.

Green did well to block Robben’s initial effort but the ball rebounded kindly for Rafael van der Vaart to slot the rebound into the unguarded net and double the Dutch lead.

Wayne Rooney was inches away from halving the Dutch lead a minute before the break but his half-volley on the edge of the box from an Emile Heskey knock-down flew just wide.

Capello made three changes at half-time, introducing Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick, and Defoe and it was the Tottenham man who quickly made an impression.

Just four minutes of the second half had elapsed when Defoe exposed a high Dutch line to run onto a lofted through ball from Frank Lampard before firing in off the near post with his left foot.

Defoe came close again midway through the second period, flicking a near post header just over from an instant cross from James Milner, making his full international debut as a replacement for Ashley Young.

Moments later and Carlton Cole, also on as a substitute, fired just wide on his left-foot from the edge of the box as England began to push hard for an equaliser.

It eventually came on 78 minutes when James Milner beat Heitinga to a ball wide on the left before cutting into the box and pulling the ball back from the by-line for Defoe to tap home his second of the game.

It was Defoe’s tenth goal for his country, seven of which have come in his nine appearances under Capello as he made the recall of Michael Owen look like an even more distant prospect.

England finished strongly as they pushed for an unlikely victory but were fortunate when a Dutch free-kick in injury time was deflected narrowly wide. The past four meetings between the nations have now ended in draws.

Overall, Capello will surely have been pleased with a spirited comeback away from home, with several fringe players in particular impressing. Yet, he will be keen to ensure that such basic defensive errors are eliminated with World Cup qualifiers just around the corner.

Holland:  Stekelenburg – Heitinga, Ooijer, Mathijsen, Braafheid – De Jong, Schaars (Mendes da Silva, 82) – Van der Vaart (Sneijder, 46), van Persie (Babel, 46), Robben (Afellay, 55) – Kuyt (Huntelaar, 78)

England:  Green – Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry (c), A. Cole (Bridge, 84) – Beckham (Wright-Phillips, 46), Barry (Carrick, 46), Lampard, Young (Milner, 68) – Rooney (C. Cole, 59) Heskey (Defoe, 46)