DEFOE DOUBLE SUCH A TONIC! Capello cool as England recover to earn draw.

Byline: SIMON STONE

ENGLAND boss Fabio Capello insisted he was calm at half-time despite the mistakes which handed Holland a 2-0 lead in last night's friendly at the Amsterdam ArenA.

England trailed at the break to goals from Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart, both the result of defensive errors.

But two second-half finishes from Jermain Defoe, introduced at the interval, earned England a 2-2 draw.

Asked what he said at the break, Capello commented: "Nothing. I just spoke quietly. It's pre-season. It's possible to make mistakes, but there are still 45 minutes to play."

The Italian admitted, though, his side had gifted Holland the advantage when first Rio Ferdinand and then Gareth Barry saw weak backpasses intercepted.

"(They were) two presents," he said.

"But I prefer to give gifts in the non-competitive games."

England looked impressive after the break, though, and Defoe ran on to a ball over the top to poke home his first and then converted James Milner's cross for the equaliser.

The Tottenham striker played down his contribution.

He said: "I said to the lads I would stand on the shoulder (of the defenders) and I got in behind them. I tried to stay onside and was glad to see it (the first) go in. The second was just a case of gambling. James Milner put a great ball into the box and I just gambled."

Capello managed to inject some life into his troops, with Defoe supplying the killer finish to passes from the excellent Frank Lampard and eye-catching youngster Milner, to take his personal tally to four England goals in two games.

Capello is far too experienced to be won over by the result, which is pretty creditable in itself given the hosts are ranked No3 in the world.

However, while defensive deficiencies were obvious, England's refusal to accept defeat from the most unpromising of situations bodes very well for the trials expected to lie in front of them in South Africa next year.

Capello did not quite say the result was unimportant but he did give the impression he was more interested in the performance, to find out whether his side had retained the lessons absorbed so well last season. However it was a shambolic opening period.

Ferdinand is among the best defenders in Europe. So his decision to turn a pass towards Robert Green without so much as a lift of the head in his goalkeeper's direction can only be put down to a mental aberration.

Unfortunately, then Barry sent Arjen Robben through and van der Vaart drove the rebound into an empty net.

CAPTION(S):

* WELL DONE: England''s Jermain Defoe celebrates scoring his side's second goal with Michael Carrick (left). Defoe stepped off the bench to earn Fabio Capello's side a draw after they had been two down * OH NO!: Holland''s Rafael van der Vaart scores his side's second goal during the international friendly match at the Amsterdam ArenA