Hodgson satisfied with draw

England manager Roy Hodgson was pleased his team picked up an ‘important’ point with a 1-1 draw against Poland on Wednesday.

Wayne Rooney put the visitors ahead from a corner on the half-hour, but England were unable to hold on and Kamil Glik headed in a second-half equaliser in Warsaw.

Having had the World Cup qualifier delayed a day because of a waterlogged pitch, Hodgson was glad his side took something from their trip to Poland.

“I don’t think it’s one of our better performances if I’m to be honest. I’m very disappointed but I think there are lots of factors that need to be taken into consideration,” he told ITV after the match.

“The pitch was quite difficult, it was a soggy pitch, the ball wasn’t moving that well, it was really a pitch more suited to a long-ball game than a passing game.

“Also, of course, the extra 36 hours or whatever we’ve been spending in a hotel ready to play the game, it definitely didn’t do us any favours.

“But having said that, I’m pleased with a point because I don’t think we played well enough today to get the three points and I think a point here, away from home, when the group is decided next October, we might find that was an important point that we took here.”

Despite opening the scoring, Rooney was substituted in the 73rd minute after a lacklustre performance by the Manchester United star.

Hodgson, whose team sit top of Group H, said Rooney’s below-par performance and tiredness were the reasons he came off.

“He got the goal, which was good, but I don’t think Wayne was having one of his better days,” he said.

“I think he was also tiring, it was a tiring pitch, so we had (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench.”

Poland coach Waldemar Fornalik rued a lack of concentration from his team on the half-hour, which led to Rooney’s opener.

“We had a failed cover at one corner kick and that led to a mishap, but in the second half we forced the English into defence,” Fornalik said.

Torino defender Glik praised his side for their hard work, highlighting the fact England struggled to break them down.

“We toiled very hard. It was a very tough game, especially when we were losing 1-0,” he said.

“Our game was consistent, we had a good pace from the start and we kept it in the second half and we scored. England did not create clear scoring situations.”