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Jermain Defoe scores England's winner
England 2 Italy 1
It was a night for those on the edges of Roy Hodgson’s plans to impress, and Jermain Defoe’s fine winner in Bern would have put him in the front and centre of his manager’s thoughts.
The Tottenham forward scored with 10 minutes remaining to win a low-key friendly against England’s Euro 2012 conquerors, who – like England – used the occasion to test out several untried players.
Daniele de Rossi had headed the Italians into a first half lead, only for Phil Jagielka to nod home a Frank Lampard corner for his first goal for his country 13 minutes later.
Fielding a side made up of fringe players and playing in a half-empty neutral venue only three days before the start of the Premier League season made this one of England’s less enticing friendly contests, and against a similarly shadow Italian outfit Hodgson’s men started in much the same way they finished in Kiev 52 days earlier.
Italy were dominating possession, but the England rearguard were comfortably keeping them out for an opening quarter of an hour which wasn’t high on thrills.
Debutant goalkeeper Jack Butland would have been wishing the match stayed that way, but the youngster was soon to be beaten with Italy’s first attempt of the night.
Alessandro Diamanti – the former West Ham man whose shootout penalty knocked England out of Euro 2012 – was involved against the Three Lions again, and when his corner from the right was floated into the box, De Rossi got in ahead of Michael Carrick to nod the Italians into the lead.
The goal stung Hodgson’s men into life, and after the lively Adam Johnson forced Salvatore Sirigu into a save from his shot from distance, another run from the Manchester City winger forced a corner from the right.
Lampard stood over it, and when his delivery found decidedly un-Italian like defending in the box, the completely unmarked Jagielka was able to stoop to conquer and direct a diving header into the far corner for his first goal for England at the 13th time of asking.
There was still time in the half for captain Lampard to test Sirigu with a shot from distance and then a free-kick which passed narrowly over, and with Hodgson no doubt happy to see his side improve as the first half went on, the veteran boss would have been disappointed to have heard the whistle for the end of the opening period.
He responded with changes to front and back as John Ruddy – England’s second debutant goalkeeper of the night – replaced Butland and Defoe came on for Andy Carroll, and it was Norwich City stopper Ruddy who saw the first action as Mattia Destro’s low shot was well saved low to his right.
The unfamiliar setup of both sides was leading to chances being plentiful at both ends, and after Italian substitute Federico Peluso could only fire into the side-netting when he’d burst through, Gary Cahill was denied a well-taken goal at the other end due to what Swiss referee Sascha Kever judged as a push by substitute centre-back Joleon Lescott.
Peluso was grateful to first Sirigu and then the post when he got all tangled up in the presence of Lescott following a fine James Milner cross, before England were thankful for substitute Ryan Bertrand – a fifth debutant on the night, the fourth being Tottenham’s Jake Livermore and an earlier one being Tom Cleverley –making his first meaningful action in a Three Lions shirt a clearance off the line from Manolo Gabbiadini’s header.
Seconds later a Milner-led break saw the ball reach Defoe, and when the forward cut inside onto his right foot he sent a typically accurate shot goalbound from the edge of the box, with Sirigu flapping at it as it found the net.
It was enough to win the game, and perhaps enough to convince Hodgson that Defoe is worth turning to when the more meaningful games come around.
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