Steve McClaren’s England have been held to a 0-0 draw against a determined and well-organised FYR Macedonia in their EURO 2008 qualifier at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium on Saturday, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard receiving a booking that means he will miss Wednesday's clash against Croatia.

The first-half started with a high tempo from both sides, with England having the majority of possession, with a host of early crosses into the Macedonian’s penalty area, but failing to capitalise on any of their half-chances, with FYR Macedonia defending well and creating chances of their own.

There was some sloppy play from England throughout the match, accentuated by some lazy passing and lack of support on the wings, with Stewart Downing shooting some wayward crosses from the left-wing in the first-half, far behind the duo of Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney up-front, who were being well marshalled by the excellent Macedonian back three.

There was a distinct lack of width from England in the opening period, with Michael Carrick slow to come into the match and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard not utilising the space on the right wing as well as he could, leaving a lot of space for the visitors to play their own game.

As the half came to a close Macedonia started to create chances of their own with Naumovski managing to get the better of Steven Gerrard and making a superb run down the left-wing, but his cross had no support, eventually going out to touch for an England throw-in.

Both sides went into half-time goalless, but with the visitors having shown their ability to play with a very solid defence, holding their own against the home-side and Group E favourites.

England almost scored three minutes into the second-half after Steven Gerrard was fouled by the excellent Petrov, who gave away in a dangerous position, with the resulting free-kick from seeing Frank Lampard’s attempt being forced away for a corner.

The resulting corner was well defended by Macedonia and as the visitors made a chance on the break Steven Gerrard made a rash tackle and was awarded a yellow card – his second of the qualifying campaign - and will now be missing Wednesday’s EURO 2008 qualifier away to Croatia.

Macedonia brought on Aco Stojkoc at half-time, who made all the difference to the visitor’s attack, with the substitute putting Tottenham’s Ledley King - who was otherwise excellent - under pressure to create a wonderful chance to score, but he had no support from his team-mates.

FYR Macedonia, who were bold enough to be playing with three strikers, were now brimming with confidence, with Velice Sumulikoski, Jane Nikoloski and Igor Mitreski all causing the England defence some unexpected problems, with Mitreski having a header going just over the bar to give a scare to the Three Lions defence.

This pressure seemed to galvanise England into some action, with Gerrard and his Liverpool team-mate Peter Crouch both having chances, and with Wayne Rooney also being denied by a fine save from the Macedonian keeper Nikoloski.

Shaun Wright-Phillips came on for Stuart Downing with a quarter of the match remaining and immediately had a chance on goal, but his shot was tame and was easily saved by Nikoloski, but that gave England a minor boost knowing that a draw was, in effect, a two point drop for England who, before the match, looked like they were hoping to stroll through this qualifier.

Wayne Rooney was not showing his best form on his home ground, and was substituted in the 73rd minute for Jermaine Defoe as England manager Steve McClaren searched for a way through the Macedonian defence.

Peter Crouch had a long-range effort go just wide as the game was drawing to a conclusion, with Gerrard having a long-range shot hammer-off the crossbar with just five minutes of normal-time to go and with Crouch trying to carve out a last-gasp chance for the home-side to achieve the win.

The pressure in the dying minutes was all from England, but throughout the match Macedonia defended brilliantly, with the match finishing 0-0 and the visitor’s thoroughly deserving the draw, leaving England's Three Lions licking their wounds and wondering how they managed to play with so little cohesion on home soil.

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