Mead makes England happy

A goal from Arsenal’s striker gave the ‘Lionesses’ the victory in the debut of the tournament

England debuts with victory before an audience that carries it on wings

England opened with victory against Austria (1-0) in the opening match of the Women’s European Championship in which she acts as hostess thanks to a bit of Mead and to the warmth of the spectators who filled the stands of a historic fief like Old Trafford.

The spectacular atmosphere and the daring of the rival, who appeared without complexes ready to surprise, seemed to intimidate a hostess at the start who took a few minutes to get fully into the match.

When he did, his dominance was apparent. With quick transitions and depth on the flanks, the English gradually locked the Austrians in their box and created dangerous chances.

The first came from Hemp, who headed off a well-placed, accurate cross from Bronze. It was the appetizer of the goal that put the 1-0 on the scoreboard. Its author was Mead, who captured a good bounce pass from Kirby and beat the goalkeeper on her way out, not without suspense.as it was necessary to review the action to certify that the ball had crossed the goal line before a defense touched it to deflect it.

That advantage put a rock in Austria’s backpack and relieved England of pressure, which continued to let loose in attack and threaten to extend the lead. Thus, White caressed the post with a header when he had everything in his favor to score and Zinsberger had to work hard to deny a target to Hemp on the last play of the first half.

After passing through the changing rooms, the offensive momentum of the English women did not decrease, but their clarity did in the final meters. For this reason, approaches abounded but opportunities were scarce without Austria finding solutions to disturb the rival area, with the exception of a Dunst shot to which Earps responded with a good save.