Roy Hodgson’s decisions baffle fans after England held to a draw by Russia [Best Tweets]

It was a promising display from the Three Lions on the night, but the fans were left baffled by some of the decisions taken by Roy Hodgson and took to Twitter to vent out their frustration on the former Liverpool and Fulham boss.

The English were left to wonder what could have been as Russia scored a 91st minute equaliser to cancel out Eric Dier’s fantastic free-kick effort in the 73rd minute. The likes of Lallana and Sterling were guilty of squandering a number of golden opportunities as the Three Lions were forced to settle for the solitary point going into their big clash against Wales next week.

There were a host of chances for the English in the first half waiting to be taken, but it needed Tottenham’s Eric Dier to rifle in a free-kick in the second half to send the anxious fans into boisterous celebrations. It was a well taken free-kick from 25 yards out and Twitterati expressed it’s surprise over the strike. Eric Dier was the best player for the England on the night putting up a solid performance from his defensive midfield position to take home the Man of the Match accolade.

Roy Hodgson’s team selection and in-game tactics received a lot of flak on social media with the England boss choosing to sideline Jamie Vardy and opt for Raheem Sterling, and surprisingly have Harry Kane, a target man, take set-pieces. The Englishmen desperately lacked a finishing touch with numerous goal-scoring opportunities begging to be put away. The Leicester City striker who has been in red hot form for club and country wasn’t even brought on as a substitute as England eventually let slip their one goal lead in the 91st minute through a goal from Vasili Berezutski.

Manager Reactions

Roy Hodgson

England vs Netherlands

The England boss admitted the draw was a bitter pill to swallow and felt more like a defeat. He was quoted as saying, “When you concede with a minute left, it is a bitter disappointment. After one dodgy spell at the start of the second half, if we take away that 15 minutes, we were in total control.”

“I would have been happy with 1-0. At least it wasn’t a glaring error but we go away with a draw rather than a victory.I thought we played well. It feels like defeat because we were preparing to celebrate a victory and we don’t have that possibility now.”

“I’m feeling the same emotions as the players. To say we’re bitterly disappointed is an understatement.It won’t take us long to get over it. When we analyse the game I think there’ll be a lot of things to take forward.”

Leonid Slutski

Russia vs Lithuania

The Russian boss was impressed by his players’ fighting spirit and lauded his side’s ability to contain a dominant English side. He said, “My players stuck at it until the end and they rescued a point, which is tricky to do. England dominated the match, but we were still able to contain them and their dangerous forwards.”

“We were playing against a 4-3-3 or even a diamond system, so we were prepared for those two different tactical alternatives – we were prepared to play against both systems. We focused on their movement. As for their intensity, we tried to outdo them. That said, England are one of the quickest teams on the planet so I don’t know if we were able to succeed in what I’d planned.”

“As for the new players, both [Roman] Neustädter and [Aleksandr] Golovin showed the level needed in this tournament.”

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