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England return from the land of black mountains with darkness descending on their World Cup campaign.
In normal circumstances, this would be regarded as a useful away point against difficult opposition, but Roy Hodgson is already playing catch-up in Group H.
Given the advantage of an early goal and a very promising first-half display, his England team failed to advance a single step on the group leaders, Montenegro. They were simply overwhelmed after half-time and fortunate not to lose.
Thrown it away: Steven Gerrard's mood is clear to see as he throws his shirt into the crowd after the game
Frustration: Wayne Rooney cut a forlorn figure as England let slip an early lead to draw in Montenegro
Heads down: Captain Gerrard (left) and England traipse back to the halfway line after the equaliser
Match facts
Montenegro: Mladen Bozovic, Basa, Savic, Volkov, Djudovic, Zverotic, Vukcevic (Krkotic 63), Vladimir Bozovic (Delibasic 75), Novakovic (Damjanovic 46), Jovetic, Vucinic.
Subs not used: Blazic, Jovanovic, Kecojevic, Beqiraj, Igumanovic, Kasalica, Poleksic.
Goals: Damjanovic 76
Booked: Novakovic, Volkov, M Dzudovic, Delibasic
England: Hart, Johnson, Smalling, Lescott, Cole, Gerrard, Carrick, Milner, Cleverley (Young 77), Welbeck, Rooney.
Subs not used: Foster, Walker, Baines, Caulker, Lampard, Parker, Osman, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Defoe, Sturridge, Forster.
Goals: Rooney 6.
Booked: Welbeck, Johnson
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Attendance: 12,000
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Joe Hart made several stunning saves and Montenegro hit a post in a frantic goalmouth scramble. Montenegro's resurgence came as a shock. To those watching but, most troublingly, to England's players.
Part of this team was patched up, but it is really no excuse. With so many injuries, the makeshift central defensive pairing of Joleon Lescott and Chris Smalling always had the potential to be a point of weakness, and the midfield crumbled under pressure in the final half hour leaving them exposed and manic.
The presumption of qualification is questionable after this. Montenegro are tasty, but one imagines the powers of European football would negotiate this group without much trouble.
Holland put four past Romania on Tuesday night. Spain rallied to win in France. England, meanwhile, continue to make hard work of a country with a population the size of Sheffield and Rotherham, and will be on tenterhooks after this.
The challenge is straightforward enough, with two points separating the teams and Montenegro to visit Wembley. England win their remaining four games, to qualify as group winners.
Head boy: Rooney (left) rises highest in the penalty area to nod England into an early lead in Podgorica
Roo beauty: The striker leads the England celebrations after his early goal against Montenegro
The Road to Rio: England's remaining World Cup Qualifying Group H fixtures
England v Moldova - Friday 6 September Ukraine v England - Tuesday 10 September England v Montenegro - Friday 11 October England v Poland - Tue 15 October
Yet with a fixture in Ukraine and Montenegro knowing a draw may be enough at Wembley, these are tense times. Montenegro managed it, beautifully.
Insipid before half-time, it would appear coach Branko Brnovic earned his money during the break because he then sent out a different team, spiritually.
Montenegro came at England like men possessed and for all the veneer of calm and positivity, the visitors collapsed.
Tom Cleverley, so reliable in his link play in the first half, missed tackles as Montenegro broke, and suddenly there were white shirts scuttling everywhere in pell-mell recovery, all at full stretch as the crowd added to the frenzied mood.
Punished: Dejan Damjanovic (right) took advantage of England's inability to clear corners to grab the equaliser
Smoke alarm: Home supporters celebrated their equaliser by lighting flares at the City Stadium
Gerrard: We just stopped playing
England captain Steven Gerrard admitted they were deservedly made to pay for their second half lapse.
Gerrard told ITV1: 'We stopped playing after the break for 20 or 30 minutes and away from home you can't afford to do that.
'We stopped passing the ball and that's when we lost control and I think they deserved the equaliser.'
The supply lines to Stevan Jovetic and Mirko Vucinic, so expertly closed before half-time, were opened like floodgates and Montenegro poured through.
Just as England and Wayne Rooney had signalled intent from the opening moments of the first-half, so Montenegro quickly seized the upper hand after half time.
There were three minutes gone when Jovetic headed into the side-netting, a close call that many in the crowd mistook for an equaliser.
On the hour, a poor headed clearance from Lescott was returned by Vucinic but wildly, and over the bar, yet the impetus was all with Montenegro now.
No penalty: Danny Wellbeck goes down in the penalty area under pressure from Stefan Savic
Clear to see: Welbeck was clipped from behind in the penalty area by former Manchester City defender Savic
Insult to injury: Not only was Welbeck not awarded a penalty, he was also booked for diving
Jovetic broke but overhit his cross, although he nearly got lucky as Hart struggled to recover from the unexpected trajectory and a shot 10 minutes later saw the ball almost squirm in off Hart's legs as he patted it down.
With every passing minute, Montenegro gathered steam and a goal seemed inevitable. A goalmouth scramble ended with the ball striking a post – the identity of the potential scorer lost in a tangle of legs and torsos - but next time England were not so lucky.
Dejan Damjanovic actually had three swings at it before converting with 13 minutes remaining and by then England looked broken.
Close call: Rooney stretches but just fails to turn a cross into the back of the net
High jump: England goalkeeper Joe Hart catches the ball under pressure from the home side
Brnovic was proven right. Not that England are arrogant or a long-ball team, but that they feel pressured and are capable of wilting under stress. It certainly seemed that way.
England were not over confident, but over-run. Indeed, it could have been worse. Hart was almost caught out when a Steven Gerrard clearance rebounded off Vucinic and fell out of the sky like detached masonry.
Had that gone in, England's destiny would have been out of their hands. Then again, it could have been better, too.
In the final minute, Gerrard almost scored with a free-kick that saw goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic live up to the first two syllables of his surname. And who knows what would have happened had Danny Welbeck got the penalty he deserved after trip by Stefan Savic just before half-time, rather than a booking for diving.
Disgraceful: Skipper Gerrard is pelted with objects from the crowd as he prepares to take a corner
Target: Glen Johnson was another player who had objects hurled at him near the touchline
The worry for Hodgson will be another Jekyll and Hyde display. For 45 minutes, England were very good indeed, and Rooney outstanding.
In the stadium in which he endured one of his most painful nights for England - a petulant kick resulting in a sending-off that not only changed the game but removed him from the opening matches of the 2012 European Championship finals - Rooney arrived as if determined to show the locals the side of him they would not have recalled from that night.
As so often happens with the big players on the big occasions, there was early notice. Rooney collected the ball on the right and quickly computed that goalkeeper Bozovic was in two minds about whether to come out or stay home. Spotting an opportunity, he dinked the ball over his head, a beautifully weighted chip that had Bozovic beaten but struck the foot of the far post.
Give us a wave: England manager Roy Hodgson (left) salutes the travelling supporters in Montenegro
Flying the flag: England and Montengro fans (below) lap up the atmosphere at the City Stadium
England were keeping the tempo high and the pressure on, however, and when Glen Johnson struck a shot from 20 yards which Bozovic flicked over the bar, a very English set-piece showcased the positives in what the Brnovic would call England's long-ball game.
Being good at corners and free-kicks is not the same as taking route one from back to front, but prowess at dead balls is often lumped in with the direct style of play. England's goal was a thing of beauty, however. Gerrard whipped in a corner that met Rooney's head as if directed via satellite.
It was in all the way and Rooney steered it expertly into the corner. Gerrard sprinted over and leapt into his arms. It was Montenegro who should have been feeling the stress of circumstance now.
Instead, they rallied and England had few answers, so Hodgson must now find them if this campaign is to be salvaged. England play in Rio de Janeiro in June, but as of this moment, the Brazil that matters seems a very long way away.
Fiery: A TV broadcaster speaks to camera as a flare is set off by a fan in the streets before the match
