Jag: Four points from six 'will do'

12 September 2012 13:17

Phil Jagielka is confident England's World Cup qualifying draw with Ukraine will prove a good result.

Jagielka was given the nod to replace the injured John Terry before Tuesday night's game at Wembley, but the Everton defender's joy was short-lived as Ukraine threatened to pull off a shock victory until Frank Lampard's late penalty snatched what could prove a vital 1-1 draw - despite their surrender of first place in Group H.

Asked if Tuesday night's performance and result were merely "okay", Jagielka said: "It's probably the right word to use, 'Okay'. No great shakes. We'd have loved to have had the full six points but four points will do."

He added: "As long as we continue building on it, we'll be fine."

England hope to reclaim top spot in the group next month when they host minnows San Marino. A tricky trip to Poland follows four days later and victory there would ensure they end 2012 with at least a share of top spot.

He added: "Definitely one point gained. We look forward to the next game now and if we can make that seven then it's a progression and hopefully we'll finish top of the group."

Ukraine outplayed their opponents for large parts of the game and asked if England had "got out of jail", Jagielka said: "Yeah, a little bit.

"But if you look at the chances we created, two or three pretty clear-cut ones in the first half and a couple more in the second - hitting the post and stuff - as much as the performance wasn't amazing, we still showed glimpses of being able to create the chances.

"If we'd taken them, especially earlier on, we'd have been in control of the game."

Source: PA