Ecuador end England unbeaten run

England 2-3 Ecuador
England were defeated inside 90 minutes for the first time in 29 games as Ecuador battled back from 2-0 down at La Rosaleda in Malaga to win this friendly 3-2.

Ecuador recover
Aside from their penalty shoot-out loss to the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship England had not tasted defeat since losing to France on 15 November 2005. That run looked unlikely to end after first half-goals from Adam Johnson and Frazier Campbell had put England in command, only for Ecuador to hit back through Joffre Guerrón, Pablo Palacios and Felipe Caicedo after the break.

Johnson brilliance
Johnson opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a stunning individual goal. Picking up a loose ball on the left he pushed past one man as he burst into the area and after flicking the ball round Segundo Matamba with his left foot volleyed it into the far corner with his right. Despite missing a number of regulars including Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Joe Hart who had all been called up to the senior side, England extended their lead four minutes before the break. Tom Huddlestone's raking ball set Michael Kightly breaking upfield and his pass found Campbell who shot first time beyond José Cevallos from the edge of the area.

Ecuador revival
Ecuador recovered with two goals in as many minutes to draw level at the start of the second half, with the England defence caught flat-footed on both occasions. Guerrón cut in on the right and fired low beyond Tom Heaton on 52 minutes then Palacios beat the offside trap to strike home the equaliser. Only Heaton's excellent diving safe from Caicedo just after the hour kept England from falling behind. Heaton was, however, beaten by Caicedo eight minutes from time, the striker turning Richard Stearman in the area before firing in at the goalkeeper's near post. England have been drawn in Group B of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship where they will meet Germany, Spain and Finland.

England: Heaton (Loach, 88); Taylor, Mattock (Gibbs, 61), Richards (Cork, 46), Stearman; Cattermole (Naughton, 77) Mancienne, Huddlestone; Kightly (Gardner, 61), Campbell, Johnson (Welbeck, 77).

Ecuador: Cevallos; Mendez, Matamba (Espinoza, 71) Ambrosi (Noboa, 51), Guerrón; Méndez, Caicedo (Hidalgo, 87), Palacios (Borja, 75), Castillo, Ayovi, Reasco.