Hat-trick hero Danielle Carter reflects on dream debut

Tuesday 22 Sep 2015
Danielle Carter is congratulated by team-mate Fran Kirby

Danielle Carter reflected on a magical England debut, as her hat-trick paved the way for a comfortable 8-0 win over Estonia.

The 22-year-old opened the scoring after just two minutes, and completed her hat-trick in the second half.

She turned home Gemma Davison’s cross to make it 7-0 and rounded off the rout with a third goal from the edge of the box after being played in by fellow debutant Isobel Christiansen.

Estonia 0-8 England

UEFA Women's Euro 2017
Group 7 qualifier
Monday 21 September
A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia

Carter said: "I dreamt of this as a kid. I wanted to score one, I never thought I’d get as many as three. It’s a dream come true.

"The first goal settled me down. Obviously I was very nervous at the start of the game, but getting that goal early on helped me calm down and helped the team build momentum."

Jo Potter, Fran Kirby (2), Jill Scott and Christiansen were also on target in the Lionesses’ opening Euro 2017 qualifier – their first match since they won bronze at the World Cup in the summer.

Estonia are the lowest ranked side in Group 7 – but that did not detract from Carter’s big day.

She added: "It was really enjoyable. Mark [Sampson, England head coach] just told me to enjoy it and let my ability do the rest.

Watch the goals from Monday's win in Tallinn

"Estonia did cause us a few problems but we were resilient at the back and we managed to keep a clean sheet.

"We knew we had to get the job done, and the term we were using was ‘we need to turn the oven on’ – we definitely did."

England's second Euro qualifier is against Bosnia & Herzegovina at Bristol City FC on Sunday 29 November.

Tickets are on sale now priced £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £10 and group booking discounts apply.

Tickets can be purchased via TheFA.com/tickets or by calling 01179 630 600.

By Glenn Lavery In Tallinn, Estonia