Euro 2016: Bitter pill to swallow, says Roy Hodgson

That's how England manager Roy Hodgson described the last-gasp Russian equaliser

Marseille: England manager Roy Hodgson called the last-gasp Russian equaliser that pinned back his team in their Euro 2016 opener on Saturday "a bitter pill to swallow".

Roy Hodgson

Eric Dier's sublime 73rd-minute free-kick appeared to have given England the win in Marseille before Russian captain Vasili Berezutski's looping header in injury time made it 1-1. "The late goal was a bitter pill to swallow but we can take encouragement from this performance," Hodgson said.

"If we swallow this pill we can be hopeful of going forward and that this kind of misfortune won't happen again. When you concede late in the game it feels more like a defeat than a draw.

Russian players celebrate their equaliser while England's goalkeeper Joe Hart (left) and Dele Alli (right) show their frustration during the Euro Group B match in Marseille on Saturday. Russian captain Vasili Berezutski’s injury-time equaliser held England 1-1. Pic/Getty Images

"You can guess really, the same emotions as the players. To say that I'm bitterly disappointed is an understatement.

"Their goal was an incredible cross and of unbelievable quality." Dier, 22, who was making his major championships debut, said England had let their concentration slip.

"We controlled the game, played out from the back, pressed and countered. "We had it all apart from controlling it at the end," he said.

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