James Beattie's first 45 minutes in an England shirt didn't go quite as he'd hoped, but with only one half in which to try and prove himself it was never going to be easy.

There wasn't too much wrong with his performance, in fact it was one of the highlights of the opening period, but Sven-Goran Eriksson's first half side far from covered themselves in glory.

In the days leading up to the game Beattie probably dreamed of scoring on his debut and inspiring his country to victory. It didn't work out like that, but it was through no lack of effort on Beattie's part.

He lost only two aerial challenges all night and, by the end of the half, Australia were doubling up on him when the ball came in the air.

On the deck he chased down every loose ball, every lost cause, held it up superbly well and didn't stop running until the referee blew for half-time. But Beattie wanted to mark his debut not just with a solid performance but also a goal.

And for him to get goals he needs chances - something he was sadly lacking last night.

His only two sights of the Australian net were when Tony Popovic put in a superb last-ditch challenge to deny him a tap-in from Michael Owen's cross and when he quickly hit an awkward first-time shot that went wide. But at half-time and with the entire England XI changed, you have to wonder whether any player really had the chance to prove they've got what it takes in international level.

At least Beattie can console himself that he was in the starting XI and not the so-called 'young guns' XI in the second 45 minutes.

Of course it's good experience; a player completely out of their depth should be exposed, but if they're that bad they wouldn't be in the squad in the first place.

Making your England debut in the knowledge that at half-time you're coming off must be a terrible millstone round the neck.

It must leave that niggling doubt in the back of the mind that you've got to produce something special or your chance may be gone forever, even if that's not the reality.

The players have clearly had a lot of domestic games and are now moving towards the business end of the season. The pressure on Sven from Premiership managers not to give their stars too much of a workout must be so frustrating for him.

But what's the point of playing the fixture at all if the new talent you blood doesn't have at least 70 minutes to shine?

Although questions may be asked as to whether he or Gary Neville should have got closer to Popovic for the Aussies' first goal, Beattie should be pretty pleased with his personal showing. There was no sign of nerves and the game he played was the same one that he's played at Saints to get him to this point.

He certainly deserves another chance. Let's just hope that next time it's for more than 45 minutes and not in such a disjointed side.