ENGLAND 0-0 NIGERIA
To stay in the competition England needed to ensure at least a point against Nigeria in the second game of their U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign reports KATIE MISHNER.
The game was played at a much slower pace than seen from both teams in the opening games in Group C, perhaps a combination of the Zarqa heat, an artifical pitch and a different style of play could explain this.
It was a frustrating tie for both sides which was reflected by the 30 free kicks given in the match, 16 awarded to England and 14 to Nigeria. The Flamingoes arguably edged the game on the offense by creating 32 chances but they only managed five on target which is a testament to England’s sharp defence.
The Young Lionesses came out with a new game plan in comparison to their all guns blazing approach to Korea DPR, this time round they conserved energy, instead of running at the defence they made a lot of passes, which often beat the strength and pace of the opposition.
Nigeria had certainly done their homework keeping tabs on England’s attacking duo Georgia Stanway and Alessia Russo, preventing England from being able to create clear cut chances in the first half. The opposition had plenty of shots, notably Catherine Kenneth’s long range shot from that dipped in front of keeper Ellie Roebuck but she handled the second bounce with ease by pushing it over the bar.
England went close from a Russo corner but Nigeria did well to put their bodies in front of the ball, blocking Hannah Cain’s volley. It was not without controversy as England called for handball but play continued.
After the break the Young Lionesses looked brighter going forward with Cain making a break from Nigeria’s defensive error but just missing the target.
Nigeria piled on the pressure forcing England to sit deep but Lotte Wubben-Moy’s defence were more than capable of handling the heat with their well drilled marking and clearances, keeping the threat of goal low from the earned multiple corners the threat of goal was kept low due to a we
Despite Nigeria’s intensity England manage to string together clever passing sequences that created momentum in the final minutes, Georgie Stanway went close as a result but the angle was too tight for the number 10 to get a clear strike on goal.
Alhtough disappointed, Sheffield midfielder Hannah Cain was pragmatic after the final whistle: “We knew it was going to be a battle from the start so we prepared for it in training camps by doing things like boxing, to get us in that physical condition.
“I think we matched them well and we had a lot of opportunities, we just didn’t take our chances. We know that we need to win [the next game] to stay in the competition so we’ll look at today’s game and see how we can go into Brazil”.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
England’s Connie Schofield battles Nigeria captain Rasheedat Ajibade for the ball (image via FIFA WWC Twitter)
England’s final group stage match will take place on Saturday 8th Oct, at Al Hassan International Stadium in Irbid, kick off 2pm (GMT).
