DARREN Ambrose last night thanked the Portman Road crowd for the reception they gave him but admitted he was surprised and disappointed not to get more playing time in front of his old home Town fans.

By Derek Davis

DARREN Ambrose last night thanked the Portman Road crowd for the reception they gave him but admitted he was surprised and disappointed not to get more playing time in front of his old home Town fans.

Ambrose played the last 14 minutes of the England Under-21s 2-2 draw against Moldova in the European Championship qualifier.

At 22, and with two goals in nine previous England appearances, Ambrose thought he would start at Portman Road.

He said: “I'm surprised I didn't start. I'm the oldest here with the most experience. There are a lot of good players in the squad though but even so I was surprised and disappointed not to start.

“I would have loved to have had more time in front of this crowd.

“They gave me a fantastic reception when I came on and I thank them for that. This is a special place for me. It is where I started and where I made my name for myself.

“If I had longer I felt sharp and lively and might have been able to do more. As it was they broke away and scored. It was end-to-end at the finish and a point was a good result by the whistle.”

Theo Walcott gave England the lead on his Under-21 debut and man of the match David Nugent netted England's second but equalisers from Serghei Alexeev and Alexandr Zislis meant it ended all square.

“We got off to a good start with a good header from Theo and we could have had a few more. Moldova kept battling and took control for a while and we were fortunate to come away with a point.

"We now have to go to Switzerland and perform better. We know we need to win there now to stand a chance of going through.”

Manager Peter Taylor was not happy with the timing of the fixture, which he claims suited the Moldovans more as the Premiership players in his squad had not had any competitive action so far this season.