England produced a lacklustre performance against tournament debutants Haiti in their opening match of the Women's World Cup but held on for a narrow victory in Brisbane.
Billed as a potential landslide, expectations were upon England to deliver against a team who had no experience at world tournaments, starved of experience on the pitch with their oldest member only 26 years of age amongst an incredibly young Haiti side. The odds were overtly tipped in the European champions favour but England's trending goal drought - zero goals in their last three matches, two nil-nil draws following a defeat in Brentford against the Aussies - continues to be a catalyst for the nerves. In the end, England rode their luck. Haiti's counter attacks were swift and frequently discombobulated England's back four, twice seriously testing the rock that is Mary Earps. England were fortunate for VAR to TWICE award Georgia Stanway the opportunity to convert from the spot at the second time of asking after the first was ruled invalid for a goalkeeping infringement. The single goal was enough for England to scrape by with maximum points for group progression but, with the utmost respect to Haiti, England were far too fickle with obvious weaknesses - in transition, patience and defensive unification - that will be sorely punished by leading teams.
The harshness of the English media will do nothing but highlight the disappointing scoreline; though it was far from a pitiful display. Chloe Kelly and Lauren hemp terrorized on the wings, peppering the Haitian box with sumptuous crosses. Alessia Russo's strength, power and work ethic amalgamated to an exceptional display bar the goal she deserved: constantly tracking back, holding the ball up for England to flood forward, intelligently positioning herself in danger areas. If not for the goddess-like form of Theus between the sticks the scoreline would boast a much larger tally.
No comments:
Post a Comment