2ND Insipid England beaten by Spain in friendly international By Ben James

dpa German Press Agency Published: Wednesday February 7, 2007

international
By Ben James, dpa =
London- England suffered their second defeat in four
matches as they were beaten 1-0 by Spain in an international
friendly match at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday.
Substitute Andres Iniesta scored the only goal of the game just
after the hour mark, firing home a sweetly-struck volley from the
edge of the box after England failed to clear a cross.

"It's very difficult in a friendly when you have to make
changes," McClaren, who made six substitutions, said.

"I was really looking at individuals and how they adapt. But it
is difficult to get any cohesion and you could see that.

"I thought Ben Foster did well, Jonathan Woodgate and Rio
Ferdinand were very good at the back, and I was very pleased with
Kieron Dyer, he tried to make things happen."

Former Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes wasted the best
chance of the first half, blasting the ball high over the bar with
the goal at his mercy.

At the other end, Peter Crouch had a couple of opportunities, but
Spain held firm to pour the pressure on England manager Steve
McClaren.

With Wayne Rooney considered unfit to play, McClaren played
Crouch alone in attack, supported by Kieron Dyer and Shaun Wright-
Phillips, while Steven Gerrard captained the side in the absence of
John Terry.

England began brightly but as the match wore on, Spain gained
control and after Morientes' miss, David Villa forced a good save
from Ben Foster, who was making his debut in goal.

McClaren took Gerrard off at half-time - inexplicably replacing
him with Gareth Barry - but England could not get the better of
Spain in midfield as the visiting side continued to have the better
of things in midfield.

The England manager made six substitutions in all, with Joey
Barton coming on for the last 10 minutes in place of Frank Lampard -
having criticised Lampard for writing an autobiography after the
World Cup this summer - but the Manchester City midfielder could do
little to change things.

"We created opportunities but just lacked that final bit of
quality," McClaren said.

"It was always going to be a tough game with all the players we
had missing but I learned quite a bit about a few that came back."

The Spanish players, for whom it was a first victory in England
since 1981, celebrated the victory. Iniesta said that "to win here
gives us a lot of prestige."

He added added that "it was not an easy game since England played
in a very direct and physical manner...but we faced up to them
well."

The Barcelona midfielder finished by saying that "I am sure that
Spain will be in the European Championship finals, if we continue
playing like this."

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, for his part, said that "a win like
this was just what we needed, after our recent problems."

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency