About 1,000 England supporters were unable to remain in Poland for yesterday's rearranged World Cup qualifier. Despite having travelled more than 1,000 miles for a game they did not see, you would have to conclude they were the lucky ones.

Those who shelled out for an extra day in Warsaw were forced to witness a listless display that featured many of England's age-old failings and suggested there has been no tangible improvement since this summer's European Championships, when Roy Hodgson was absolved of responsibility for his side's lethargic showings.

Hodgson is now 11 games into his reign and the honeymoon period, if it can be said to have existed at all, is well and truly over.

True, Wayne Rooney's first-half header, which was cancelled out by a second-half effort from Polish defender Kamil Glik, was sufficient to take England one point clear at the top of Group H.

But they will be back behind Montenegro by the time of their next competitive outing - the Balkan nation entertain San Marino next month - and March's trip to Podgorica has now assumed huge importance. Given that Montenegro won in Ukraine this week, England's players will have to play much better than they did yesterday afternoon to claim a victory.

The hope that had accompanied last month's emphatic win in Moldova has been extinguished by draws against Ukraine and Poland that should arguably have been defeats. Poland are in the doldrums themselves after a dreadful showing at Euro 2012, yet they were the better side for much of yesterday's encounter.

Things might have been different had either Rooney or Jermain Defoe converted the second-half chances that came their way, but England were fortunate to escape with a point and would have been completely flattered had they somehow scrambled a victory.

The standing water that caused Tuesday's postponement was nowhere to be seen, no doubt partly thanks to the belated decision to close the National Stadium's roof, but the pitch remained damp and heavy, blunting the pace of both side's passes and contributing to a match that lacked energy and tempo for large periods.

Yet while Poland's players gradually came to terms with the conditions, moving the ball around particularly effectively in the second half, their opponents were ponderous and leaden throughout, conceding possession cheaply and passing the ball far too slowly to penetrate the Polish defence.

Michael Carrick was particularly sloppy, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to see why Hodgson was so desperate to coax the Newcastle-born midfielder out of international retirement.

The lack of a natural holding midfielder has plagued England for what seems like an eternity, but whatever the question Hodgson is trying to answer, it is hard to believe that Carrick is the optimal solution.

Similarly, fielding James Milner and Tom Cleverley in the wide midfield positions does little to aid the dynamism of England's attacks, and while Milner got himself into a number of useful positions on the right-hand side, his final delivery left a lot to be desired.

The glaring exception to the general malaise in the visitors' ranks, particularly in the first half, was Steven Gerrard, and it was hardly a surprise that the England skipper was integral to the move that resulted in a 31st-minute breakthrough.

After seeing an earlier shot blocked on the edge of the area, the Liverpool midfielder burst between two Polish defenders to win a corner.

He delivered it himself, and after peeling away from his marker, Rooney glanced a header into the far corner of the net via a deflection off his shoulder.

The rest of Rooney's performance was lamentable, but at least the striker now boasts three goals in his last two England outings, a significant improvement on his recent record in competitive internationals.

His header gave the visitors a half-time advantage which was barely deserved, with Poland's first-half attacking faltering through a lack of composure in the final third.

Kamil Grosicki scuffed a ninth-minute shot from the penalty spot, Robert Lewandowski dragged a low shot across the face of goal after brushing aside an ineffectual challenge from Cleverley and Grosicki prodded wide on the stroke of half-time after beating Joleon Lescott to a Lewandowski flick on.

Poland's dominance became more pronounced in the second half, and Joe Hart had to be at his most alert to turn over a long-range effort from Ludovic Obraniak, who had caught the eye while playing for Bordeaux against Newcastle earlier this month.

Lukasz Piszczek fired into the side netting, but against the run of play, England wasted two opportunities that might have doubled their advantage.

Defoe skewed a back-post shot across the face of goal after the Polish defence failed to clear a Gerrard free-kick before Rooney lofted a hurried effort over the crossbar after Danny Welbeck's pull back had given him a clear sight of goal.

The miss proved costly as Poland claimed a deserved equaliser within a minute. Hart was at fault, failing to get anywhere near Obraniak's corner as he came charging off his line to enable Glik to steal ahead of Lescott to head home.

Glik came close with another header 11 minutes later and England's players spent most of the last ten minutes penned in their own half desperately clinging on for a point. They secured it, but it was a poor reward for the hardy band of supporters whose miserable week was hardly improved by the action that eventually unfolded in front of them.