The England manager & captain, Mark Sampson and Steph Houghton, were full of praise for the fans who came to back them at Brighton. We thought they were fab too & spoke to some of them. Can you spot yourself?
Almost 9,000 fans came out to watch England play Montenegro at Brighton and Hove Albion FC’s Amex Stadium on Saturday. They didn’t want to see Mark Sampson make his home debut as England boss or Steph Houghton walk the team out as new England captain on the telly. They wanted to be there in the flesh and they certainly made their presence felt. “We want 10,” they yelled when goal number 9 went in. England weren’t able to oblige but it was hard not to go home satisfied. She Kicks’ CATHERINE ETOE caught up with a few of the fans before and after the game to get their predictions and their verdict on the match…
Having gone out to watch England in the Cyprus Cup Nic Stonebridge and Carol Wallinger from Stockton on Tees and Katie Hume from Wigan (centre, with Ted) reckoned they were in for a treat. “They look a lot more relaxed and there’s more attacking and positive play,” said Carol of Cyprus. So what were they hoping for in Brighton? Just a high scoring game, a Lianne Sanderson hat-trick, a Steph Houghton “world class goal” and a “good performance from everyone.” Well, they mostly got what they wanted…
Mia Reid and Karis Lake from Maidenhead Girls FC certainly did and they both went home happy. “It was really good,” said Mia. “I liked it best when they were scoring goals – we didn’t expect to see so many.”
Nancy, Grace, Roisin and Matilda from Dynamo Girls in Saltdean did. “It will be 6-0,” predicted Grace before kick-off. England duly obliged in the 55th minute but then went three goals better.
Long-time England followers and Pompey Ladies fans Angela Barham and Sharon Whittington would’ve liked even more goals though. “It’s a shame we didn’t get 10,” said Angela. Sharon was delighted with the performance but reckoned the crowd had done their bit. “It’s like football used to be and it’s good to see more and more men coming,” she said. “It’s been a brilliant day out.”
Ley Hodgson and Oonagh Nelson from Preston agreed. “It’s been the best crowd,” said Ley. “They were very noisy and really got behind the players.” Oonagh hoped to see 11 goals fly in but was impressed with Montenegro at the final whistle. “They were nice at the end and ran around the pitch clapping.”
As for Nic, Katie and Carol’s post-match verdict: “Brilliant – we are going to win the World Cup.”
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