England still haven’t conceded a goal in their World Cup qualifying campaign, with a young team cruising 5-0 past Northern Ireland to record their eighth clean sheet of the qualifying campaign.
The visiting England side led by a single goal going into the break, Lauren Hemp’s first-half scuffed shot leaving goalkeeper Jackie Burns staring into the sky as it slowly curled into the top corner.
They had been on top of the entirety of the first half, but they truly began to fire on all cylinders when they returned to the pitch. After seven minutes Ella Toone had sidefooted past Burns to get her goal for the evening and the result seemed to only be heading in one direction after that point.
If Hemp’s first had been described as a fluke, then there were few ways to describe the second other than well-taken. She tactfully rounded Burns to make it three and showed exactly why she is held in such high regard.
Northern Ireland (5-3-2)
- Burns – 4
- Magee – 4
- Nelson – 5
- McFadden – 6
- Burrows – 4
- Vance – 5
- Andrews – 4
- Furness – 4
- Callaghan – 4
- Magill – 5
- Wade – 4
Subs
- McKenna – 4
- McCarron – 5
- McGuinness – 4
- Caldwell – 4
- Hamilton – N/A
England (4-3-3)
- Earps – 5
- Bronze – 7
- Bright – 6
- Williamson – 6
- Carter – 7
- Stanway – 8
- Walsh – 8
- Toone – 9
- Mead – 7
- White – 6
- Hemp – 9
Subs
- England – 6
- Daly – 6
- Parris – 6
- Nobbs – N/A
Fellow Manchester City teammate Georgia Stanway then popped up and bagged her own brace, first tapping in after Toone had zigzagged her way through the hosts’ defence and then slotting in a second from inside the box when Hemp headed across goal to add England’s final stamp onto the evening.
This was a characteristic performance of a new England side, a side dominated by youth rather than the players of old. It was Leah Williamson’s first as captain and three youngsters came to the fore to supply the goals.
The sheer extent of the one-way traffic for the Lionesses was probably to be expected when previous clashes between these two sides are taken into consideration, but there’s a distinct difference between how Kenny Shiels’ side looked on Tuesday night and how they have seemed in the past.
In advance of this summer’s European Championship – the first international tournament the team have played in – those players who are not already playing professional football in England or Scotland began a seven-month-long training camp to boost themselves to a better level of football.
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Off the pitch, this night at Windsor Park will be one which goes down in women’s football history not just in Northern Ireland – but for the home nations on the whole. The 15,348 who were in attendance produced the largest crowd for a match in the country and it’s something which other associations can take inspiration from when it comes to growing the game in their country.
But for Northern Ireland specifically, this was a special night. The 2023 World Cup is now out of reach, but the Euros are already qualified for and the game is progressing.
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