Wayne enjoyed his homecoming, whilst Sol was just glad to be back...

Wayne enjoyed his homecoming, whilst Sol was just glad to be back...

Young England star Wayne Bridge experienced just about all the emotions last night. After the highlight of his career in starting a match for England at St Mary's came the frustration of a night which failed to yield the three points for which everyone had been hoping. Not that Wayne was complaining.

Looking back on the occasion, he said: "It was an unbelievable buzz to walk out onto my home pitch for England - it was yet another high for me.

"I cannot put into words how thrilled I was to play but everyone was disappointed at the end because we did not win.

"We had a lot of chances but could not take them but we are still very positive. We know what we have got to do and we are confident we can do it and qualify for the finals.

"It was a shock to go behind twice but I would not say we under-estimated them at all. We saw how well they did against Turkey but we had enough opportunities to have won.

"It left me with mixed emotions really. It was a fantastic occasion and I was so thrilled to play and it is just such a shame we did not win."

The announcement that the hometown hero was playing drew a huge cheer from the new St Mary's record attendance of 32,095.

Bridge said: "It sent a shiver down my spine hearing that. It was a great moment.

"I only knew for definite that I was playing at six o'clock last night when the team was confirmed but I suspected I might have a chance because I played in midfield in training the day before.

"I did not mind where I played - I was just so pleased to be in the team. I made a couple of mistakes but generally I think I did OK.

"The manager just said 'well played' when I came off. Of course I was disappointed not to stay on for the whole game but pleased to have started."

The match also saw the return of Sol Campbell to the England side for the first time since the World Cup and his calm demeanour was just as valuable off the pitch as on it.

While there was a temptation to get carried away with the negatives of two dropped points, Sol simply pointed out that results like this, no matter which way you look at it, are par for the course in international football these days.

"You only have to look at Wales' result to see that good teams are getting beaten all the time," he said. "Most teams can play football these days."

That's not to say that Sol is happy with the draw - just that it needs to be put in the context of England's overall qualification campaign which, with four points from two games, has begun in solid fashion.

"Ask the question of whether we have made progress when we get to the European Championship finals," he went on. "Then we will see if England are improving."

Of Macedonia's freak first goal, Sol said: "There was nothing David [Seaman] could do about it.

"I don't think the guy meant to do that from a corner. It was whipped in with such pace and with such a lot of curl that it was like a shot.

"I wouldn't blame David at all, and nobody is pointing any fingers at him in the dressing-room.

"We all stick together. When we win it's all together and we're not going to start chucking blame around."