England's World Cup qualifying campaign got off to a miserable start on Saturday when they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Austria in Group Six.
England were scrappy throughout but looked to have done enough at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna after Frank Lampard gave them a 24th-minute lead and Steven Gerrard added a second with 26 minutes left on the clock.
But Austria replied with two goals in two minutes after a brilliant free kick from substitute Roland Kollmann and a goalkeeping blunder by David James, who let skipper Andreas Ivanschitz's shot squirm beneath him.
The result is bound to add to the pressure on England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, already under fire from the British press and reportedly some members of the Football Association for their Euro 2004 exit at the quarter-finals.
England, who face the second leg of their double-header in Poland next Wednesday, were badly missing their best player at Euro 2004, injured striker Wayne Rooney.
"It's more important now to win and get the three points in Poland," Eriksson said.
"I hope we go on playing as well as we did, especially in the first half. We defended well and I don't recall any clear chance for Austria," he told Sky Sports.
"I think we should have scored more and won," he said.
"I was disappointed to see the free kick go in, I was disappointed to see their second goal when it went in, I was disappointed when we hit the post, that happens in football."
Gerrard said: "We scored two good goals tonight and dominated for 70 minutes but we were all over the place for 20...Unfortunately, we let them back into it."
DESERVED POINT
Though often fluid moving forward in the first half, Eriksson's side failed to really exploit their lead and kill off an Austria side ranked 90th in the world.
England substitute Jermain Defoe hit the post in the closing minutes, but the hosts deserved their point for keeping the pressure on Eriksson's side right to the end.
Lampard exploited some comic book defending to score his fifth England goal in seven games after Martin Stranzl conceded a back-pass to former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger, handing skipper David Beckham a free kick from around the penalty spot.
Beckham feinted a shot but instead laid it off for the unmarked Lampard to tap in at the left-hand post.
Manninger had a let-off five minutes before the break, though, when Owen was put clean through and his snap shot appeared to be blocked by the keeper just outside his area -- risking a red card.
Austria missed a great chance after 58 minutes when James rashly sprinted out of his goal and was rounded by striker Mario Haas, only for his shot to be cleared off the line by John Terry.
Gerrard appeared to have settled England's nerves when he unleashed a curling shot from outside the area that caught a stranded Manninger off his line.
But Kollmann's 71st-minute piledriver was followed by Ivanschitz's strike two minutes later and Austria, who face Azerbaijan next week, held on for the roars of the home crowd at the final whistle.
