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England 2 Spain 1
England and Barcelona forward Toni Duggan had laboured the point to her clubmates - five of whom featured for Spain here - that England would gladly “take 30 per cent possession and two goals”. But by the end of a half in which England had enjoyed 40 per cent of the ball they were well on course for their most compelling performance of Phil Neville’s reign. That it took them sixty second-half seconds to double their tally, Ellen White nonchalantly chipping into the top corner, spoke volumes.
By his own admission this has not been the easiest of England camps for Neville, to the extent that he confessed he could not wait for it to be over, so palpable was the anxiety dripping from his players so close to the World Cup. No better was this embodied in his side’s turgid performance in their 1-0 defeat to Canada on Friday, a result that a team boasting nine changes - Duggan and right back Rachel Daly were the only survivors - worked to make amends for.
Swindon Town’s County Ground held its breath to herald the moment, on 35 minutes, Beth Mead scurried into White’s fizzing delivery across the face of goal, sliding a finish from close-range into the far corner. It was a lead for which England were largely good value, even allowing for the sticky second-half spell in which Spain regained their foothold and had too many opportunities to level.
For the opening ten minutes England had been unable to get within a hair’s breath of the Spanish and were reduced to chasing recently disappeared shadows. In the absence of captain Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze and Carly Telford, all spared with precautionary injuries so close to the World Cup, Spain hogged the ball, all swagger and shuffles, in their one-sided game of playground football. Their pre-match rondos had been completed in a flurry of backheels and watching England’s steadily climbing possession count - 16 per cent inside the first 15 minutes, 35 per cent by 22 minutes, then 38 per cent by 34 minutes - was akin to loading web pages in the days of dial-up Internet.
In the face of Spain’s early floating and gliding England had to find a form of combat with a little more guile, and to their credit they used their sparing possession wisely. England’s debutant goalkeeper, Manchester City’s 19-year-old Ellie Roebuck, and Jill Scott cannily managed England’s breakaways.
Duggan, who by all accounts aided Neville with his team talk such is her knowledge of her Barcelona team mates, was inevitably influential and her link-up play with Manchester City’s Georgia Stanway was vital in transitioning England from grizzly and combative out of possession to artful and inventive with it. Mead’s weaving run set up Georgia Stanway to be kept out from distance before Mead failed to switch Scott’s cross to her favoured foot in time to finish from close-range.
For all their early dominance Spain could not claim to have been particularly dangerous - their most dangerous first-half moment, a fizzing cross from Mapi Leon, was intercepted ably by Millie Bright - but they had reasserted themselves by the time the Mexican Wave began to tear through the England stands.
Mariona Caldentey tore down the left to force the corner and within a staccato of passes Marta Corredera let England off the hook by sending the shot into the stands.
Yet England would not be so lucky when Caldentey, skinning Daly down the same flank, skipped towards goal with an eerie nonchalance and picked out Aitana Bonmati inside the area to prod home. From then Spain reverted to type and passed England into submission but Neville’s defence held firm despite numerous scares. They were almost beaten, however, when substitute goalkeeper Earps’ clearance found Bonmati only for her to fire wide.
Match details
England: Roebuck (Earps 45); Daly (Bonner 67), Williamson, Bright, Greenwood; Scott, Moore (Staniforth 54), Stanway (Walsh 67); Duggan (Ubogagu 54), White, Mead (Parris 82)
Subs not used: Bardsley (g), Taylor, Carney, Stokes, McManus
Bookings: Scott
Spain: Panos; Corredera, Paredes (Andres 52), Pereira, Leon (Ouahabi 52); Losada (Sosa 79), Meseguer (Torrecilla 39), Sampedro (Bonmati), Putellas; Caldentey, Hermoso
Bookings: Leon
Subs not used: Quiñones (g), Jiménez, Torrejón, Latorre, González, García, Guerrero
Attendance: 13,449
Referee: Stephanie Frappart (Fra)