NEWCASTLE past 1 Sunderland present 1. A game between England's national team and the leading side from Africa, settled by two players strongly connected to the North-East.

Just as Andy Carroll's first international goal looked to have secured England a creditable victory in an unusually competitive friendly, Asamoah Gyan swooped in the 90th minute to send more than 15,000 Ghanaian supporters inside Wembley into raptures.

Picking the ball up on the edge of the area, Gyan wriggled inside Joleon Lescott and curled a precise side-footed finish into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

It was cruel on England, who had impressed in patches, but was no more than the Sunderland striker deserved for an energetic display that will have been familiar to regulars at the Stadium of Light. When he plays like this, as he did for much of last summer's World Cup finals, Gyan looks like one of the foremost strikers in the world.

Perhaps one day the same will be said of Carroll, who has surely booked his place in England's next fixture, a June qualifier with Switzerland.

Wayne Rooney will be suspended for that game, and provided he remains fit in the remainder of the season, there is every chance of former Newcastle striker Carroll partnering ex-Sunderland marksman Darren Bent against the Swiss.

Indeed, throw in one-time Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, who set up Carroll's first-half strike, and you have quite a collection of England stars who have packed up and left the North-East.

The region's current crop of players cannot quite match their achievements at the moment, although Sunderland striker Danny Welbeck made a surprise appearance as an 81st-minute substitute in last night's game, joining Gyan, John Mensah and Sulley Muntari, who lined up in the Ghanaian ranks.

Welbeck was promoted from the Under-21s as a replacement for the injured Aaron Lennon, and replaced Ashley Young to make his senior bow.

Intriguingly, the 20-year-old, who was born in Manchester to Ghanaian parents, has been the subject of considerable recent interest from Ghana's footballing authorities.

His future is not yet set in stone, as FIFA's rules enable players to feature in a friendly international for one country only to commit themselves to competitive matches with another at a later date, but the England hierarchy will no doubt have taken the opportunity to assure Welbeck that he is an integral part of their future plans. Flexibility or no flexibility, it is hard to imagine the 20-year-old switching sides now.

Capello's entire approach to last night's game had half an eye on the future, and while the England boss retained the 4-3-3 formation that worked so effectively during Saturday's 2-0 win in Wales, he changed seven of the players that had played in the Millennium Stadium.

It was a particularly big evening for centre-halves Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka, stand-in skipper Gareth Barry, who faces a huge battle to wrestle his place back from Scott Parker, and Carroll, who will have left Wembley the most content of the quartet.

While his all-round play still hinted at a lack of match fitness, the emphatic manner in which the striker dispatched his goal suggests he is already at home at international level.

There was also a rare opportunity for Downing to confirm his international credentials, and the Middlesbrough winger, who lined up on the right rather than the left, was England's man-of-the-match.

He might well have opened the scoring in the 11th minute, only to blaze wastefully over Richard Kingson's crossbar, but his link-up play with Aston Villa team-mate Ashley Young repeatedly caught the eye.

One 15th-minute move in particular unlocked the Ghanaian defence, but after Downing had rolled a square ball to Young across the face of the 18-yard box, Kingson acrobatically turned the winger's side-footed shot over the crossbar.

Young, who had a major hand in both of England's goals at the weekend, could not have done a lot more on that occasion, but sadly the same could not be said for his efforts midway through the opening period.

Downing's incisive pass released James Milner behind a static Ghana defence, the former Newcastle midfielder squared for the unmarked Young, but the forward somehow contrived to bundle the ball against the crossbar from no more than four yards.

Thankfully, though, Young and Downing combined again two minutes before the break to create the opening that enabled Carroll to score his first international goal.

Young's lifted ball released Downing, the Teessider laid the ball off for Carroll, and the Tynesider drilled a fierce low shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

The strike gave England a half-time lead, although their advantage owed much to Joe Hart, who produced two excellent saves, first denying Dominic Adiyiah after Muntari's through ball had taken Leighton Baines out of the game, then parrying a volley from the same player after he had ghosted around the back to meet Muntari's free-kick.

With more than 15,000 visiting fans roaring on every Ghanaian attack, the evening boasted an edge that is not always apparent in England friendlies, particularly at Wembley.

It might have become even more lively had Muntari not wasted a decent opening by shooting well wide six minutes into a second half that was peppered with a predictable slew of substitutions from both sides, or had John Pantsil not seen his shot deflect narrowly over the crossbar shortly after.

England continued to create chances of their own after the break, with Kingson producing his second fine stop of the evening to turn Milner's long-range effort around the post, but there was to be a sting in the tail in the 90th minute.

Gyan has scored ten goals already for Sunderland. His 11th goal of the campaign, though, was celebrated rather more manically than the rest.

Matchfacts

Goals
1-0: Carroll (43mins, took Downing lay off in his stride and drilled a left-footed strike into the bottom right-hand corner)
1-1: Gyan (90mins, wriggled past Lescott in the area and curled into bottom left-hand corner)
Bookings: D Boateng (61mins, foul), Ayew-Dede (63, foul), Milner (74, foul)
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) – Allowed a number of hefty challenges to go unpunished but generally controlled things well 6
Attendance: 80,102
Entertainment: ****

ENGLAND (4-3-3):

Hart: Made two crucial first-half saves from Adiyiah to ensure one goal was enough to secure an England win 7

G Johnson: Not quite as effective as he had been in Cardiff, but still lively on the overlap before disappearing at the break 6

Jagielka: Kept things tight at centre-half before the break, and displayed his versatility by playing at right-back in the second half 6

Cahill: Has come of age this season and maintained his progress with an impressively secure performance 7

Baines: Offered a threat on the overlap, but was lucky to avoid censure for a reckless first-half tackle on Vorsah 6

Wilshere: Another unflappable display from the youngster, who should be an England regular for many years to come 7

Barry: Returned to the heart of midfield and, while lacking Parker's energy, performed creditably enough 6

Milner: Provided a timely reminder of why his energy and commitment can be a valuable asset at international level 7

DOWNING: Supplied an excellent lay off for Carroll's winner and always posed a threat cutting in from the right 8

Carroll: Didn't look fully match fit, but displayed commendable composure to convert the one opportunity that came his way 7

Young: Maintained the excellent form he displayed in Cardiff and was involved in most of England's best moves 8

Subs

Lescott (for G Johnson, 46mins): Was turned far too easily inside the area as Gyan scored Ghana's dramatic equaliser 4

Defoe (for Carroll, 59mins): Never really had much of a chance to make an impact in the final half hour 5

Jarvis (for Wilshere, 69mins): Deserved his debut after a strong season with Wolves, but didn't really do much 5

Welbeck (for A Young, 81mins)

Subs (not used): Green (gk), Carson, (gk), Parker, Jarvis, Welbeck, Crouch, Bent.

GHANA (4-2-3-1):

Kingson 7; Pantsil 7, Vorsah 6 (Jonathan Mensah 46mins 6), John Mensah 6, L Addy 4 (Opare 46mins, 5); Annan 5 (D Boateng 46mins 5), Muntari 6 (Ayew-Dede 59mins 6); Agyemang-Badu 6, K Asamoah 6 (Inkoom 84mins), Adiyiah 7 (Tagoe 69mins 5); GYAN 8.

Subs (not used): Sowah (gk), Adjei (gk), D Addy, Kumordji, Clottey, N Asamoah.

Man Of The Match
STEWART Downing – The former Middlesbrough midfielder produced one of his best performances in an England shirt.