It took just 41 seconds after kick-off here for “football’s coming home” to break out in the stands. In the eyes of women’s football fans, never mind Sunday, it “came home” two years ago, and England took another big step towards ensuring they will be in Switzerland next summer to defend their title by outclassing the Republic of Ireland.
It was Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp who was truly coming home on Friday, as the winger from North Walsham returned to Norwich, where she began her career at the club’s centre of excellence, and the only slight disappointment for the fans, on an otherwise excellent night for the Lionesses, was that their local heroine was not on the scoresheet. Nonetheless, Hemp, like many of her teammates, was in strong form as the World Cup finalists outclassed their opponents.
Buoyed by their crucial victory in France last time out and the much improved performance that had accompanied it, Sarina Wiegman’s team arrived in a confident mood, greeted by eager fans whose enthusiasm was not remotely dampened by the inclement conditions. The non-stop sound of air horns echoing around a packed Carrow Road may have, at times, given off the vibe of a send-off friendly fixture immediately prior to a major tournament, but the reality was that this was a vitally important game for the defending European champions, in their penultimate qualifier. Only a win would do.
Inside five minutes they had already asserted their authority, putting together the definition of a team goal. After Jess Carter took a throw-in inside England’s half, there were 29 passes in the build-up to the goal and every single Lioness touched the ball. Eventually, Beth Mead set up her Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo with a deft touch into the box that enabled a composed Russo to take the ball around Courtney Brosnan and open the scoring. Wiegman’s smile indicated exactly how pleased she was to see the passing drills undertaken at St George’s Park coming to fruition.
The manager had made four particularly interesting selections in her starting lineup. On Thursday, she had admitted that the “hardest” decision she faced was in goal. Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton – who produced a world-class save to help secure June’s win in France – got the nod ahead of Mary Earps, suggesting the No 1 spot is no longer safely in the hands of the BBC sports personality of the year. Maya Le Tissier was given a chance at right-back, Alex Greenwood started at centre-back ahead of Millie Bright and Jess Park was favoured in the midfield over Ella Toone. Le Tissier was sharp and focused. Greenwood, typically stylish in possession. Park, adventurous. But it was the movement of the front three – Mead, Russo and Hemp – who were causing Ireland’s back three no end of problems.
Eileen Gleeson’s side, travelling to East Anglia without any points from their previous four games in this qualifying group and already guaranteed to have to settle for a place in the playoff process later this year, could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Yet, on a night when the world champions, Spain, were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by the Czech Republic and the eight-time European champions Germany succumbed to a 3-0 loss away to Iceland, England could not take anything for granted and the Irish came through the early storm to settle into the game.
The visitors’ work rate was admirable, but their hopes of producing a shock result was severely hampered early in the second half when Liverpool centre-back Niamh Fahey cynically pulled back Hemp’s shirt and conceded the clearest of penalties, which was emphatically converted by Georgia Stanway to double England’s lead. Greenwood had scored one spot-kick and missed another in April’s fixture in Dublin – which ended in a 2-0 win for the Lionesses – but Stanway sent Brosnan the wrong way to score for a second consecutive game.
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England could, and probably should, have scored more goals, and they were frustrated in stoppage when, after a long throw, substitute Julie Russell volleyed in a late consolation. Nevertheless, the Lionesses have kept qualification in their own hands.