England Lionesses Roar to Victory
The girls are on their way to the semi-finals! For the first time in 43 years England have beat France and will face Euros hosts Holland in the next round.
After a truly exhilarating and relentless 96 minutes of football, England clinched the 1-0 win with a sweet strike from Jodie Taylor set up brilliantly by Lucy Bronze. The pressing up front caused France a lot of problems and eventually the pressure crumbled goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi's confidence and the ball streamed into the net behind her.
France's counterattack proved a threat to the girls, with some very narrow misses from Élodie Thomis and Marie-Laure Delie. England were extremely lucky at times that the ball didn't sneak past the goal line, but with enough bodies in the way, the few seconds of a goalmouth scramble eventually led to a much needed clearance. Eugénie Le Sommer's performance was especially sharp, snatching the ball and weaving in and out of the stunned England defenders, putting a lot of pressure of both of the England keepers.
The linking passes between the England girls were wonderful to watch and kept France on their toes - although at times play became sloppy and the ball failed to reach another player in white. I'd have that down to Mark Sampson's questionable managerial skills this evening, using only one of his three substitutes to replace an injured Karen Bardsley with Siobhan Chamberlain. In the final fifteen minutes of the game legs looked as though they'd been replaced with marshmallow and England were clearly running on adrenaline alone to see the end of the match out.
The team powered through the full 90 minutes plus the huge six added on at the end - goalscorer Jodie Taylor's energy showed no signs of fizzling out but the strain in her face was blatant. Fran Kirby and Millie Bright were amongst those pressing and pressing with a narrowly missed header early on by Bright. Captain Steph Houghton also produced a solid defensive performance, clearing articulate balls away from any danger.
I think it's a careless tactic to avoid making any changes just because the system is working. Despite the lead only being slim, the girls were ran down to the bone. I'd have liked to have seen Toni Duggan brought on to assist Taylor and alleviate some of the work and a fresh pair of legs in the back in the form of Alex Greenwood.
Duggan and Greenwood played a great game against Portugal, with Duggan slotting home the first goal for the Lionesses. Her drive and pace on the ball would've be vital today and Jodie Taylor's workload would have been minimized, potentially bagging them another goal or two. Sampson should feel blessed if all the girls who started today are in fit condition to take on Holland on Thursday. With only a small window between the two fixtures and his frustrating lack of substitutes, it'll be a stroke of luck that nobody is too burned out to play.
Moving on though, England have one more hurdle to face before reaching the final of the Euros and I have every confidence they can do just that. Although tonight's performance wasn't England's best, it was certainly their most rewarding as the entire team rushed together to celebrate their win. Rest up now girls, we go again on Thursday!
After a truly exhilarating and relentless 96 minutes of football, England clinched the 1-0 win with a sweet strike from Jodie Taylor set up brilliantly by Lucy Bronze. The pressing up front caused France a lot of problems and eventually the pressure crumbled goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi's confidence and the ball streamed into the net behind her.
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| credit; FA |
France's counterattack proved a threat to the girls, with some very narrow misses from Élodie Thomis and Marie-Laure Delie. England were extremely lucky at times that the ball didn't sneak past the goal line, but with enough bodies in the way, the few seconds of a goalmouth scramble eventually led to a much needed clearance. Eugénie Le Sommer's performance was especially sharp, snatching the ball and weaving in and out of the stunned England defenders, putting a lot of pressure of both of the England keepers.
The linking passes between the England girls were wonderful to watch and kept France on their toes - although at times play became sloppy and the ball failed to reach another player in white. I'd have that down to Mark Sampson's questionable managerial skills this evening, using only one of his three substitutes to replace an injured Karen Bardsley with Siobhan Chamberlain. In the final fifteen minutes of the game legs looked as though they'd been replaced with marshmallow and England were clearly running on adrenaline alone to see the end of the match out.
The team powered through the full 90 minutes plus the huge six added on at the end - goalscorer Jodie Taylor's energy showed no signs of fizzling out but the strain in her face was blatant. Fran Kirby and Millie Bright were amongst those pressing and pressing with a narrowly missed header early on by Bright. Captain Steph Houghton also produced a solid defensive performance, clearing articulate balls away from any danger.
I think it's a careless tactic to avoid making any changes just because the system is working. Despite the lead only being slim, the girls were ran down to the bone. I'd have liked to have seen Toni Duggan brought on to assist Taylor and alleviate some of the work and a fresh pair of legs in the back in the form of Alex Greenwood.
Duggan and Greenwood played a great game against Portugal, with Duggan slotting home the first goal for the Lionesses. Her drive and pace on the ball would've be vital today and Jodie Taylor's workload would have been minimized, potentially bagging them another goal or two. Sampson should feel blessed if all the girls who started today are in fit condition to take on Holland on Thursday. With only a small window between the two fixtures and his frustrating lack of substitutes, it'll be a stroke of luck that nobody is too burned out to play.
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| The Lionesses celebrate a well deserved win credit; The Telegraph |
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