England hosted Italy at Vale Park as the Lionesses look to prepare and fine-tune before the Euro 2017 tournament later this year. Jodie Taylor put England on the board in the 70th minute but Italy equalized in the 73rd minute, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Richard Laverty provides some key talking points from the match below.
Millie Bright Staked her Claim for a Center Back Spot
Despite being listed as a midfielder in Monday’s Euro 2017 squad announcement, Millie Bright once again lined up at the back alongside Steph Houghton as Mark Sampson continued with four at the back against Italy.
Bright was unfortunate to be involved in a collision which left Italian midfielder Alice Parisi with a suspected broken leg but the Chelsea youngster didn’t look out of place, regularly making strong challenges and putting herself about in a way any good defender should.
The incident with Parisi seemed to leave her a bit shaken for a few minutes but she regrouped and even started playing inch-perfect cross-field balls for her teammates.
Nobbs and Carney May Not Work Together
Questions could certainly be asked as to why the two most creative players in the England squad lined up on either wing but it may be that one needs to be sacrificed to improve the overall team.
Both showed moments of brilliance during the 90 minutes but whenever one of them did cut inside to get into the middle of the pitch, it forced the other into a position they’re not entirely comfortable with.
While Karen Carney may be more familiar with a winger role than Jordan Nobbs, we won’t see the best of either in those positions but can both be accommodated in the middle? It feels a bit the like the Frank Lampard/Steven Gerrard issue that haunted the men’s team for many years.
There Are Other Issues Bar Goals
There was a certain amount of optimism as England lined up for its first home match of the year against a side that conceded 15 goals in just four games at last month’s Cyprus Cup.
But after 90 minutes, the same issues were evident; bar a moment of brilliance from Jodie Taylor, England couldn’t find the back of the net. After Italy’s equalizer, Toni Duggan smashed wide with the whole goal to aim at before Alex Greenwood headed wide while unmarked minutes later.
But goals weren’t the only issue. Several times in the first half the final ball wasn’t there. Nobbs put too much on a ball through the middle for Taylor and Lucy Bronze made a mess of a simple pass down the channel from a well-worked free kick.
Unfortunately, England also couldn’t rely on their defense to seal the game. One thing that has kept Sampson’s side in games lately has been the ability to keep clean sheets but errors from Greenwood and Houghton ensured Italy took away a draw.
But Duggan Did Remind Mark Sampson What She Offers
Although the night ended with a bad miss from the Manchester City striker, Toni Duggan’s work rate and movement was good up to the point she was substituted with a couple of minutes to go.
Though the headlines go to Taylor for her superb strike (the Arsenal striker had been quiet until that point), Duggan was industrial in her ability to drop deep and move out wide to cause the Italian defense issues.
It’s still a year since Duggan found the net for England but it felt like a gentle reminder of why Sampson does value Duggan’s presence and the energy she can offer in big games.
Moore Has a Crucial Role, but Not in These Games
In a similar way to Duggan, Jade Moore again showed why Sampson values her contribution in midfield in the big games too.
Moore performed as expected, breaking up play in the middle of the park and getting stuck into her opponents but do England need more an element of control in the middle against lesser opposition? With Izzy Christiansen benched and Nobbs and Carney forced out wide to accommodate Moore and Jill Scott, you get the feeling that solid midfield unit could/should be sacrificed in favor of getting our more creative players through the middle against stubborn opposition.
Either way, Moore will still provide crucial qualities when it comes to matches against the France’s and the Germany’s, but England needed more drive through the middle on Friday night.