INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England 1 Ghana 1:A FRIENDLY of vigour and ambition is an anachronism and the majority of the Wembley crowd will be unsure if it is wholly to their taste.

Those England followers did not see a victory delivered by Andy Carroll’s first goal for his country because Ghana deservedly equalised in stoppage time through Asamoah Gyan. The fixture had also contained the statutory curio when Danny Welbeck, on loan to Sunderland from Manchester United, received his England debut as a sub.

Joe Hart, Glen Johnson, Jack Wilshere, and Ashley Young were the only starters who had also been on the field at kick-off against Wales in Cardiff last Saturday. The England manager Fabio Capello had not really resorted to an obscure batch of footballers. Carroll could not be termed a makeweight once Liverpool had spent €40 million to take him from Newcastle United.

He had made his debut in the loss to France four months ago, but expectations have climbed in parallel with his valuation. If it was any comfort to him, there was a craving from his team-mates to get him into the action.

At least the early part of the night was given over to spirited attacking from the hosts. There was high energy, underlined by the interchanging midfield. Modest experimentation was on show, too, with Stuart Downing and Ashley Young on right and left wings respectively. If there was any disappointment, it lay for a while in the fact Carroll did not look fully fit and could not assist much in the swirling play at that stage.

It may be most encouraging of all he notched the opener in any case. Regardless of physical condition, his impact was unimpaired. Two minutes from half-time Young found his Aston Villa team-mate Downing and the latter released Carroll to score with a low finish. Young’s part in that ought to have come as a relief to the Villa winger since he had hit the bar from close range after excellent build-up from Downing before Milner cut the ball back in the 25th minute.

Nobody would have supposed the friendly was at the forefront of Ghana’s thinking. Minds were expected to have been a little jumbled by the 4,000-mile journey to London following Sunday’s away victory in Brazzaville over Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Even so, some were sprightlier than others and Sunderland’s Gyan, who had been suspended from that fixture, should have been capable of bringing a relative freshness to this match.

There was a desire to compete with England. Hart needed to make a good save from Dominic Adiyah in the 25th minute, even if the goalkeeper was also on the verge of looking a hapless figure when he knocked the ball to Gyan. The striker came to his aid by looking puzzled rather than merciless on discovering he was in possession.

The edge to the game also looked a little blunted at the outset of the second half. Ghana made three substitutions at half-time. It would, in any case, have been unexpected for a friendly to continue in so frisky a manner.

If anything, it was the visitors who had more zest. Talk of their desire to be the first African team to defeat England did not look like promotional hype when a drive from John Pantsil was deflected just over the bar with almost an hour gone. As the match moved towards the last 20 minutes England were still awaiting evidence of exhaustion in their opponents.

Many onlookers will have known days when they raged against the insipid character of matches at Wembley when no prize is at stake, but this was too authentic for comfort. Some held their breath when Gyan ran clear from the right in the 68th minute, only to bash his shot into the side netting from an angle. Capello brought on the Wolves winger Matt Jarvis for his debut, but by then it must have been the need for more energy that really accounted for his introduction.

Guardian Service

ENGLAND: Hart, Johnson (Lescott 46), Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Milner, Barry, Wilshere (Jarvis 69), Downing, Carroll (Defoe 59), Young (Welbeck 81). Subs not used: Green, Parker, Crouch, Bent, Carson. Booked: Milner.

GHANA: Kingson, Pantsil, Vorsah (Jonathan Mensah 46), John Mensah, Lee Addy (Opare 46), Adiyah (Tagoe 69), Annan (Derek Boateng 46), Agyemang-Badu, Kwadwo Asamoah (Inkoom 83), Muntari (Ayew 59), Gyan. Subs not used: Adjei, David Addy, Kumordzi, Clottey, Sowah. Booked: Derek Boateng, Ayew.

Referee: Cuneyt Cakir(Turkey).