England U19s cruised to a 5-1 victory over Austria at St. George’s Park to leave them within a result of qualifying for this summer’s European Championships. Ava Baker, Mari Ward, Vivienne Lia, Michelle Agyemang and Jessie Gale all scored for the Young Lionesses.
The Young Lionesses came into this encounter brimming with confidence after their dismantling of Belgium just three days before.
Lauren Smith made just one chance to the side that had won so comprehensively on that occasion with Michelle Agyemang coming in for Princess Ademiluyi up front.
It was the visitors who started well in blustery conditions that seemed to be causing England some early issues. In fact, they had the first real opportunity of the match when Alisa Ziletkina tested Katie Cox with an angled shot.
Before the Austrians knew it, however, they were 2-0 down thanks to two quick-fire goals from the hosts. The first came after Laila Harbert found Lola Brown in the box. The Chelsea player turned her defender to find space for a low cross, picking out the run of Baker at the far post who made no mistake. Just four minutes later, they had another when Lucy Newell nodded down a corner in the box for Ward to turn home.
It was Austria’s turn to rally and it was not long before they found themselves back in contention. Winning a corner down the left, Sarah Gutmann rose highest at the far post to head the delivery past the helpless Cox.
It was a lifeline that sent a spark through the side as their press troubled England in possession, forcing a series of errors. The Young Lionesses were not without their chances, however. Baker saw a driven effort cleared off the line before Agyemang came close, the ball just eluding her outstretched boot. They did, however, give themselves breathing room just before the break when Lia struck spectacularly from distance to restore their two-goal cushion.
England came out in the second half and dominated throughout. They added a fourth through an instinctive Agyemang finish after good build-up from Baker. They then rounded off the scoring in the 78th minute thanks to a rather fortuitous calamity of errors. Substitute Erica Parkinson blocked a clearance that rebounded to Agyemang. The forward battled for the ball and as she tripped, she managed to poke it into the path of Gale to send home.
It was a result that left England on the brink of qualification for this summer’s European Championships. If Belgium beat Ukraine later on Saturday, they would secure it with one game to spare; if not, they just needed a point from their final match on Tuesday afternoon.
Stand Out Moment
With half-time looming, Lia found herself in space about 25 yards from goal. Brimming with confidence, she took aim, producing a sublime curling effort that dipped over the helpless Ritter in the Austrian goal. It was a stunning strike from the England youngster, her third of the tournament so far.
Stand Out Performance
Lia was at the heart of England’s offense, dominating the left side and attacking at will. The Austrian defence struggled to handle the 18-year-old, particularly in the first half as she caused them endless problems. Her goal was the icing on the cake of a performance that illustrated just how much confidence she has at the moment.
Quote of the Day
To be able to say that we’ve scored 11 goals in 2 games is a huge testament to the work that we’ve put in as a group… To open up teams, to finish in different ways from set pieces and open play; I am very proud of the detail the players have taken on. We’re exciting going forward and that’s kind of fun.
Lauren Smith, England
Teams
AUSTRIA U19s
Lara Ritter; Selina Albrecht, Florentina Satra (c), Sarah Gutmann; Valentina Illinger, Sophie Rapf, Greta Spinn, Marie Speiss; Tina Krassnig, Almedina Sisic, Alisa Ziletkina
Subs: Sarah Trinkl; Maja Kekeis; Sophie Hoke; Hannah Fankhauser; Lara Höcherl; Jasmin Reiterer; Lena Breznik; Cynthia Adamu; Leonie Tragl
Manager: Markus Hackl
ENGLAND U19s
Katie Cox; Nelly Las, Katie Reid, Lucy Newell (c), Mari Ward; Laila Harbert, Lexi Potter; Lola Brown; Ava Baker, Michelle Agyemang, Vivienne Lia
Subs: Eve Annets; Erica Parkinson; Princess Ademiluyi; Lauryn Thompson; Lily Murphy; Rachel Maltby; Zara Shaw; Jessie Gale; Cecily Wellesley-Smith
Manager: Lauren Smith
