South Korea put England in the shade

South Korea 1 England 1

England's World Cup preparations continued with a distinctly mixed display against co­hosts South Korea in Jeju today.

Skipper Michael Owen crowned a surefooted first­half performance by shovelling the visitors in front. But, after a raft of interval substitutions, Sven­Goran Eriksson's side lost their composure, and their lead when Park Ji­Sung headed South Korea level eight minutes into the second period.

There were some plus points, notably the performance of Owen Hargreaves who produced an industrious midfield display, while Danny Mills turned in an assured performance at right­back.

But question marks were also raised, particularly over the ineffective Emile Heskey and half­time substitute Teddy Sheringham, who failed to make any kind of impact.

Eriksson gave some indication of his thinking ahead of the opening qualifying clash with Sweden on June 2 by opting for Mills at right­back ahead of Manchester United's Wes Brown in a 4­3­3 formation.

As usual, the Leeds man was a forceful presence going forward, but also looked comfortable at the back although during the opening period at least, England were rarely extended.

Seol Ki­hyeon led the home attack and gave Sol Campbell a few problems, but Nigel Martyn was not tested until five minutes before the break when Hong Myung­Bo advanced from halfway and unleashed a 35­yard drive which moved alarmingly in the air, forcing the Leeds keeper to tip over.

Hargreaves was doing well, setting up Owen in the opening stages with one mazy run, and providing a useful defensive barrier when the hosts came back into the game after the half hour.

By that time, England were in front thanks to a typical Owen effort. Heskey slipped a neat pass through the Korean defence to release Paul Scholes.

The Manchester United man's first­time shot was blocked by the advancing Lee Woon­jae but the ball skewed sideways and Owen beat two defenders to the rebound to bundle it home.

Mills might have doubled England's lead after latching onto Danny Murphy's long crossfield pass but his shot flicked off Choi Jin­cheul and flew over the bar.

The time for experimentation may be over, but Eriksson still has a few problems to solve. Hence the seven half­time changes which left only Mills, Hargreaves, Heskey and Darius Vassell from the starting line­up.

Guus Hiddink made a couple of alterations too, and the result was a transformation in the home performance which brought them level within eight minutes of the re­start.

The manner of the goal will worry Eriksson.

Against opponents somewhat smaller in stature than the major powers, the English defence twice found themselves outjumped from Lee Chun­Soo's corner.

Choi Jin­cheul won the first header, rising above Martin Keown, and propelled the ball deep into the England box where Park Ji­Sung shrugged off the attentions of Sheringham to power past David James.

England were suddenly on the back foot and at times Hargreaves seemed to be a lone defensive option in midfield for England, who gave opponents needing little incentive to shoot far too much room.

Kim Nam­il tried his luck from 40 yards but failed to force James into a save and though Korea were now forcing the pace, England easily held them off.

But, worryingly, they never looked like regaining their lead either ­ hardly a performance to concern the likes of France and Argentina.