Everton centre-half Michael Keane had a mixed night on Monday evening as England took a comfortable 5-1 victory over Montenegro in the Group A European Championship qualifier.
The game may have ended comfortably, but that wasn’t the case in the opening 30 minutes as the hosts took the lead 17 minutes in as they caused a scare. The 26-year-old was unable to stop Marco Vesovic from running through and pundit and former player Martin Keown admitted our defender wouldn’t have been happy with how the goal came about as he wrote his latest column for the Daily Mail following the match, even if the error wasn’t really his fault.
He did, however, admit that Keane’s reaction to the early disappointment was perfect as he scored England’s leveller on the half-hour mark, before Ross Barkley (brace), Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling tied the victory up.
“Michael Keane would not have been happy with Montenegro’s goal — failing to make an adequate clearance and letting the ball go through him too easily — but what a response from the defender. He showed real character to take ownership at that set-piece and equalise with a thumping header.”
Hopefully, Keane will take a significant confidence boost from that as he returns to Goodison Park and Marco Silva’s side can now look to end the 2018/19 campaign on a high.