Italy

2-1

England

 

Duggan


Women's U19 International Friendly
Wednesday 21 November 2007
Centro Sportivo "Il Noce", Parma, Italy 

Head Coach Mo Marley insists there were plenty of positives to take from England U19s' 2-1 defeat to Italy on Wednesday.

The Young Lions took the lead through Toni Duggan after she linked well with Ellen White, but the hosts came back and scored twice after England struggled at set-pieces.

"We started well and had loads of possession," recalled Marley. "We deserved to take the lead but it was disappointing to let them back in the game. We had done a lot of work on set plays. To be fair to Italy, both their goals were great strikes.

"It's a game we could have won but there were lots of pleasing things. It's good that the players can see what areas of their game they need to work on. We got frustrated with the referee - that's something we need to stop."

The defeat was England's second in succession - they lost 3-1 to France at the end of October - but facing high calibre opposition in both games will only benefit Marley's charges.

The Coach is also a believer in looking at the bigger picture and the squad get-togethers are not just an opportunity to play a match, but to train and plan for future challenges, which in this team's case is Phase Two of the European Qualification - the draw for which will be made in December - and next November's U20 World Cup.

"It's been a fantastic trip," said Marley. "We gave them medical advice, physiological advice and moved their technical and tactical development on a bit.

"It's been great preparation and education for the Europeans and the World Cup. We have given them an action plan to work on. It's a really exciting time, not just for the players but the staff too."

England: Helen Alderson, Jayne Eadie (Faye McCoy, 83 mins), Sophie Bradley (C) (Chelsea Weston, 57 mins), Gemma Bonner (Claire Rafferty, 57 mins), Georgie Giddings, Michelle Hinnigan, Brooke Chaplen (Remi Allen, 57 mins), Sophie Walton, Jess Clarke, Ellen White, Toni Duggan.

Subs not used: Sophie Le Gross, Francesca Williams, Jade Moore.