SCOTTON SCORCHERS JFC SHOWS SUPPORT FOR LOCAL LIONESS AND HER TEAM!!
On Thursday 15th September, a number of SSJFC Girls travelled to Meadow Lane – home of the Oldest Football League Club – Notts County FC. It was here they came to support the England Ladies (#Lionesses) who were playing in their last home match in the Euro 17 Qualifiers. The opposition – Estonia... Kick Off 7.05pm!
Mark Sampson’s squad were aiming to round off their qualifying matches with a win... with the likes of Steph Houghton, Danielle Carter, Lucy Bronze, Jill Scott and our own (or should I say Harrogate’s own) Rachel Daly in the squad!
Prior to kick off, a mark of respect was shown by the 7000+ crowd, in memory of Sylvia Gore and Zoe Tynan.
Gore was heavily involved in the Women’s game in England, helping players reach their dreams to progress them through the system. Tynan recently passed away at the tender age of 18, having won caps for her country in the Under 19s.
A minute’s applause was held for them – and some fans were clearly touched with emotion! One even said ‘Come On England...do it for them!!’ So we took our seats – and after the National Anthems were played, the game started!
England’s intent was clear at kick off – half a dozen of the players lined up on the halfway line, ready to rush forward towards the blue of Estonia.
Within the first 90 seconds, England had two corners! Clearly out of the blocks...
And GOAALL!!! It was never going to take long – 9 minutes in fact!
Danielle Carter collects a low cross in the box some 12 yards out, one touch and hit it into the bottom corner! 1-nil England!! Could she replicate the Hat-Trick in Estonia??
England was dominating the game, slick passing, good movement and wait....GOAALL!!! Nikita Parris collects the ball, lifts a shot against the bar – but there was the tall frame of experienced Lioness Jill Scott, who nods the ball over the line!! 2-nil England!!
As a mark of respect, Jill Scott kissed her black armband instantly – the Lionesses were certainly doing this for Gore and Tynan!!
The SSJFC girls along with their parents and the other 7000+ fans were ecstatic!! There was a real ‘carnival’ atmosphere inside the ground – not just loud, but Mexican waves and the sound of the famous ‘England Drummers’ – what they can do in Rio, we can do too!!
Estonia just couldn’t handle the Lionesses – slick passing, great movement, good link up play between Scott and Parris – then GOAALL!! 3-nil England inside 20 minutes!! Danielle Carter doesn’t break a stride to hit the back of the net! Is that Hat-Trick really on??
England took the foot off the pedal, allowing Estonia a bit of possession, but surely that was the game won!!
HALF-TIME!! Time to get our voices and breath back – so we took a few photos down by the pitch!!
It was also a thrill to see Harrogate’s own Rachel Daly warming up on the pitch!! #proudmoment
The team returned to the pitch, and England kicked off! Were we going to see more of the same?? Indeed we were – Nikita Parris beats the keeper with a low shot across goal, but the ball is fractionally wide and hits the post. But then - just over 56 minutes played... and there she is Hat-Trick Hero Danielle Carter!! 4-nil England!! Karen Carney’ free-kick into the box is palmed down poorly by Estonia’s keeper – one touch and DC drills the ball into the middle of the net!!
And then the moment our SSJFC girls had waited for – substitution by Mark Sampson – and on comes Rachel Daly!! Our girls screamed her name loudly!!
England restarted the match and continued to dominate!
Close!!... Great link up play between Rachel Daly and Jordan Nobbs, but her cut-back is behind everyone! Demi Stokes then leads another Lionesses attack – swinging in a great cross only for Estonia to clear!
But wait... a big call by the referee. There’s an infringement and it’s a penalty to England! The experienced Lioness, Karen Carney steps up and coolly hits the net! 5-nil to England!! Surely that’s it but England still continued to press and keep possession.
FULL-TIME!
ENGLAND LADIES 5 – ESTONIA LADIES 0
A fantastic display by all the Lionesses and a great experience of an International Match day for our SSJFC Girls! Rapturous applause for our quite simply, brilliant England Ladies!! #Lionesses! #MadeUsProud!
Congratulations on qualifying for Euro 2017!!
Scotton Scorchers JFC is proud and with you!!
COME ON ENGLAND!!!
GO SCORCHERS!!
