-off."

31 min: This should have been 2-0. Ozil flicks a clever pass into the area down the inside right channel, springing Klose clear in the box. James saves brilliantly, low at Klose's feet. Klose should have slotted that away - and Germany had two free on the left, waiting to roll the ball home. A pivotal miss? "Do you think Wayne Bridge was at home applauding that sensational bit of defending by the brave John Terry?" wonders John Reid.

32 min: From a right-wing cross, Defoe hits the bar with a header - but he's offside. A fair decision.

33 min: ANOTHER GOAL!!! Germany 2-0 England. And another defensive shambles. Klose is YET AGAIN set free down the inside right channel. He doesn't bother engaging James, looping the ball to the left of the area, where Podolski is free in acres. Where on earth are the defenders?!? Podolski's first touch isn't great, taking him wide left at a tight angle, but the striker toks the ball between James' legs and sends the inside of the right-hand side netting billowing.

35 min: England finally get the battle fever on. Milner whips a low cross in from the right. Lampard slides in at close range, hitting Neuer with his shot. The ball loops up, and is eventually sliced clear by Friedrich.

36 min: This is officially embarrassing for England. Klose nearly breaks free for the 384th time in the game. Upson and Johnson combine to poke the ball out for a corner on the left. From it, the ball's swung to the far post, where Klose twists, turns, and is allowed to get a toe-poke on goal. The ball's scrambled clear for another corner, which is wasted. England need to get their gamefaces on, and quick.

38 min: ENGLAND GET THEIR GAMEFACES ON!!! Germany 2-1 England. England take a short corner on the right. Gerrard swings a cross in towards Upson, who is always getting there ahead of Neuer, and heads home. It is on!

39 min: 1966 IN REVERSE!!! Lampard hammers a long shot goalwards. Finally in an England shirt he delivers a peach, looping over Neuer's head and bouncing off the underside of the crossbar and into the net, before spinning out. It's miles over the line - but the goal's not given! Lampard can't believe it. You may well hear about this again. That's probably ensured video replay come the next tournament.

41 min: England have been robbed there, but they will do well not to get the radge on, and remember that even a 2-1 score, never mind 2-2, flatters them after the first 37 minutes. That, of course, is easy to say. Still, they have looked a much more potent force since Upson's goal.

44 min: What a half of football this has been. Ozil is buzzing around a lot. Barry and Lampard are beginning to see enough of the ball to make a difference.

HALF TIME: Germany 2-1 England. To a tumult of boos, the teams walk off. Rooney, predictably enough, stops for a blast of hot air at the referee before he takes his leave. Jingoism's Guy Mowbray, on the BBC, is arguing that the laughable decision not to award Lampard's goal was more wrong than the one which allowed Hurst's goal all those years ago. Absolutes are absolutes, Mowbray. And anyway, it's bad enough as it stands, there's no need to work a persecution complex into it.

Video evidence - the debate starts here: "Do you think that crossed the line?" asks Billy Williamson, whose name suggests he might be causing trouble. "I'm not sure. Sometimes angles can be deceptive and TV replays aren't always reliable."

Video evidence - restarting the debate, this time with some sense: "Wouldn't it be easier to add another ref along the end line like the Europa Cup experiment?" asks Mike Murphy. "Video replay is too difficult to implement. That extra ref would have called that a goal."

Changing the subject, just for a minute: "Now that David Beckham is the England team mascot," writes Peter Charsley, "why not go the whole hog and force him to wear a David Beckham costume, complete with giant David Beckham head? Could it be just the boost the boys need?" See, this is the sort of proactive blue-sky thinking missing at the FA. Have you thought about giving them a ring?

Health Top Tips Nutrition Love Lifestyle Happiness Weight Loss 

Oo-er, hold on, here's some logic: "There is widespread condemnation of the decision not to allow Lampard's goal as 'shambolic', 'unbelievable', and 'exceptional'," writes Scott W. "Yet the people who say they have never seen anything like it go on to say that this is why we need video evidence. Surely if the absurdity of this decision resides in its extraordinariness, there is no need to take curative action?" Meanwhile here's Simon Horwell: "I was distraught to see that second England 'goal' not given but not because it would have levelled the game but because it's now given our tabloid media an excuse to go on one of those anti-german conspiracy crusades once we (inevitably) lose this game. Of course focusing

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] 下一页