'Top class' Hart is England's hero

INTERIM manager Gareth Southgate thanked "outstanding" Joe Hart for saving England from a first qualifying defeat in seven years on a difficult night in Slovenia.

The Three Lions' run of 14 straight qualifying wins ended in Ljubljana, but things could have been worse was it not for the inspired display of their goalkeeper.

Putting a difficult Euro 2016 behind him, Hart - unfancied by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and farmed out on loan to Torino - had to be at his best against the side ranked 67th in the world to secure a fortuitous 0-0 draw.

The 29-year-old produced a string of top saves, topped by somehow pushing a Jasmin Kurtic header onto the crossbar and flicking it away on his way down.

"I had a long chat with him earlier in the week just to talk about what does he looks at his best," interim England manager Southgate said of Hart.

"The two words he started with were 'calm and composed' and I thought that's what he has been in the two matches we've had.

"His decision making has been excellent, his use of the ball with his feet has been very, very good.

"And, you know, two or three of his saves tonight were absolutely outstanding, so I think he showed the level that he's capable of. He was top, top class."

Hart's display saved his team but could not hide their lacklustre display in Slovenia, where captain Wayne Rooney's arrival off the bench with 17 minutes remaining was unable to spark a late winner.

England were ponderous for large portions of the match but the draw on the back of Saturday's straightforward 2-0 win against Malta keeps them top of Group F following a disruptive fortnight in the wake of Sam Allardyce's abrupt departure.

Frustrations boiled over as the match came to a close, with Jesse Lingard reacting angrily to Aljaz Struna in an incident that saw both players booked.

"I'm told it was just he's reacted to someone raising their hands at Marcus (Rashford)," Southgate said.

"That's something he has got to cut out because there's a danger you get a red card in this sort of game, where there's inconsistencies in a lot of the decisions then there's even more of a risk."

Slovenia boss Srecko Katanec also downplayed the incident - "it's a part of the game, the guys were a little tense" - and preferred to focus on his side's impressive display.

"I am very happy with the way the guys performed," the Slovenia coach said.

"We fought hard to get this point and maybe we deserved even more.

"We had a few 100 per cent chances that didn't connect and we needed just a little bit more luck."

Meanwhile, two goals in four first-half minutes saw Germany coast to a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Northern Ireland in Hanover.

Julian Draxler's opener and Sami Khedira's header both came inside the first 17 minutes and Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill may have feared the worst.

However, the visitors regrouped and did not concede again, ensuring they emerged from a clash with the World Cup holders with their heads held high.