With the Euro Cup just around the corner, Cyprus Cup is looked at as the perfect platform for the European Women Football teams to launch their campaign. And England did just that as it took on Italy in the opening fixture of the Cyprus Cup as twelve teams’ battle it out to win the annual event. England faced Italy last year in the same tournament as both teams battled out for the third spot with Italy emerging as the winners.
England emerged as the winners of this tie which saw plenty of goals scored during the ninety minutes. England drew first blood through Jordan Nobbs who was making her debut for the Whites but then went on to concede two goals as Elisa Camporese gave Italy the equalizer and then the lead. Though Italy played well, England managed to claw their way back into the game as Steph Houghton managed to score the equalizer for England and then Jess Clarke scored a late goal to give England a late comeback.
Hope Powell, England’s manager believed that the tournament would provide the team with a good platform to start preparing for the Euro Sup. She was pleased with the ultimate result of the competitive match and was glad that the team stuck to the game plan and did what was needed to ensure that they beat Italy. She said that her team was disciplined throughout the match and kept the ball moving well and showed great character to comeback from a goal down to win the match. She said that the defence had been a bit shaky in the match and hence was disappointed that the team conceded two goals and gave away the lead. But then the team came together and showed their true character as they came out of the match as the deserved winners.
England will now face Scotland who lost their opening game to New Zealand one nil. The two teams last faced each other two years ago in the same tournament where Scotland thrashed England two goals to none. Powell admitted that the game will be a tough one as Scotland are an extremely physical team as compared to the Italians who are more technical. While commenting about New Zealand, she said the team plays with a lot of intensity and energy and hence can be quite destructive in the counter attack.
What remains to be seen is how England perform at the Cyprus Cup as this will undoubtedly lay the foundation for the Euro Cup that comes up in a couple of months.
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