England manager Roy Hodgson was not too downbeat after his side’s 1-1 draw with Montenegro in their World Cup qualification clash.

The Three Lions took an early lead through Wayne Rooney, and looked to be in full control of the game at the half way stage.

However, the hosts roared back into the tie during the second period, with Dejan Damjanovic netting a deserved equaliser with 14 minutes left to play.

The result means that England still trail the Eastern Europeans by two points in Group H, with both sides having played six games.

Despite leading the encounter and appearing to be in control, Hodgson feels that the result should not be viewed as disappointing:

“All things considered, we musn’t be too disappointed. There is a long way to go yet and a draw here is something that allows us to build for the future.” He is quoted by the FA’s official website.

“We have to play three of our last four games at home and we will see how it goes there.”

Hodgson was happy with England’s opening 45 minutes, but believes that a slack spell in the second-half allowed Montenegro back into the tie and cost his team the win:

“I thought the first half was good but we didn’t start the second half as we would have liked to and that gave Montenegro some encouragement.

“I thought we hung on well and finished strongly but during their good spell they got an equaliser and robbed us of a victory.”

England have four games remaining in the qualification campaign, with home ties against Montenegro, Moldova and Poland and a trip to Ukraine awaiting them.

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