The nature of the match clearly did not matter to the visitors as they celebrated at the end as if they had won - and they would have done if Milan Jovanovic's dipping left-foot volley had been inches lower and not crashed against the crossbar with goalkeeper Joe Hart well beaten after 83 minutes.
A defeat would have been harsh for the home side despite a poor performance because they created most of the chances in a largely forgettable game and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty by German referee Manuel Grafe when Jovanovic clearly handled in the penalty area six minutes earlier.
That performance in Cape Town in June was arguably England's worst for a generation, and this was not much better as their passing was poor, their work-rate patchy and their approach play pedestrian.
He countered the threat from England's young exciting wide men Ashley Young and Adam Johnson who started brightly but faded with two defenders blocking their avenues, and when England did get forward, their defenders were equal to them.
The result was of huge significance for Europe's youngest soccer nation against the world's oldest.
Even allowing for that, England's resources are far greater than Montenegro's - but that was never in evidence on Tuesday.
England midfielder Gareth Barry told reporters afterwards: "It was disappointing and frustrating and they made it very tough for us.
"We didn't have the space to break them down, we kind of expected that. We tried to get the ball wide, but they closed us down.
"If that shot had gone in, they would have walked away with three points, but on the other hand, we still have seven points out of nine and we still have qualification in our own hands.
