Wednesday 23rd November 2012at the Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Rovers FC
Women's Euro 2013 Qualifier
England (1) 2
Jess Clarke 41, Ellen White 51
Serbia (0) 0
Admission £5, Programme £3, Attendance 4112
England:1 Karen Bardsley, 2 Alex Scott, 3 Rachel Unitt, 4 Jill Scott,
5 Sophie Bradley, 6 Casey Stoney(C), 7 Jess Clarke, 8 Fara Williams (Substituted 15 Steph Houghton 77 mins), 9 Ellen White (Substituted 18 Rachel Williams 87 mins), 10 Karen Carney,
11 Rachel Yankey (Substituted 12 Kelly Smith 70 mins)
Unused Subs- 13 Siobhan Chamberlain, 14 Laura Bassett,
16 Dunia Susi, 17 Fern Whelan
Serbia:1 Milena Vukovic, 2 Danijela Trajkovic, 5 Lidija Stojkanovic(C),
7 Jovana Sretenovic (Substituted 6 Indira Ilic 65 mins),
8 Aleksandra Savanovic, 9 Danka Podovac, 10 Milena Pesic (Substituted 20 Marija Ilic 73 mins), 11 Vesna Smiljkovic,
15 Violeta Slovic, 16 Marija Radojicic, 18 Jovana Damnjanovic
Unused Subs - 3 Zorica Karadzic, 12 Ana Ivanov, 17 Olivera Markovic, 19 Nevena Damjanovic, 21 Kristina Krstic
A 'must win' game for Hope Powell's England Ladies side tonight in this Group 6, Euro 2013 Qualifier at Donny Rovers.Doncaster is an absolute pain in the backside to get to at the moment.
On going roadworks on the A1 are causing a total gridlock that way ... and the delays were compounded tonight by a lorry crashing on the alternative Bawtry Road route.
This probably accounts for most of the crowd turning up at the last minute, or even after the scheduled 7.30PM kick off time.
Thankfully I used to work round these parts and I know a way in to town that circumnavigates the back of an industrial estate ... it was great fun to zoom along uninterrupted, around an empty access road, while just yards away hundreds of frustrated motorists, glumly sat in static queues of traffic, wondering if they would ever get home from work tonight.
UEFA had decreed that there would be no alcohol on sale in the ground tonight and the bars were all closed, so there wasn't really very much to do before the game.There is alcohol on sale at every other bloody England game I go to, so why not tonight?
I was driving anyway, but a nice warm bar to sit in and read my programme would've been more fun than sitting in an empty stadium for almost a hour until everybody else turned up.
There were a group of pitiful free-loaders hanging around the players entrance seeing if they could blag any tickets that might be going spare, they were the same ones who usually do exactly the same when Rovers are at home.
That isn't an indictment of Doncaster football fans I hasten to add, every team has them, so called 'loyal never miss a game fans' who never actually put a penny into the clubs they claim to support.
Three Lionesses ... the pride of England :-O
And wherever you go you can spot these people a mile off, they're all cut from the identical trogdolyte cloth and are a spitting image of each other ... hideous and loathsome little creatures, merely put on this earth to generate dandruff, buy the clothes nobody else wants off the Tesco sale rail and utter but two words from their ugly misshapen faces, 'Any spares!?'
Tickets were only a fiver tonight anyway, half that for concessions and Rovers fans, yet still the drooling underbelly of society were clamouring for freebies.
Some people have no class and no shame.
The 'England band' didn't have far to travel tonight (they're Wednesdayites) and unfortunately they came over South Yorkshire from Sheffield, with their bloody musical instruments in tow.
But thankfully they located themselves over in the far corner from us.
Opinion is divided about the band, amongst the Wembley regulars at England first team games.
Some people think they should 'bloody shut up' and that there is no place for trumpets and drums at football matches, others just don't like them being there and hate the racket they make, but I'm going to sit on the fence on this subject and say my own opinion falls in between those two 'opposing' schools of thought ;-)
Apparently the kids like them ... hmm, go and play in youth clubs then!
Tickets were only a fiver tonight anyway, half that for concessions and Rovers fans, yet still the drooling underbelly of society were clamouring for freebies.
Some people have no class and no shame.
The 'England band' didn't have far to travel tonight (they're Wednesdayites) and unfortunately they came over South Yorkshire from Sheffield, with their bloody musical instruments in tow.But thankfully they located themselves over in the far corner from us.
Opinion is divided about the band, amongst the Wembley regulars at England first team games.
Some people think they should 'bloody shut up' and that there is no place for trumpets and drums at football matches, others just don't like them being there and hate the racket they make, but I'm going to sit on the fence on this subject and say my own opinion falls in between those two 'opposing' schools of thought ;-)
Apparently the kids like them ... hmm, go and play in youth clubs then!
England started the liveliest and were obviously out to make amends for the injury time goal Vesla Smiljkovic scored, that had denied them three points in Serbia in Belgrade in September, when the two sides drew 2-2.But after chances went begging from Ellen White and Karen Carney, Smiljkovic almost undid England again, when her pinpoint cross found Jovana Damnjanovic, but Karen Bardsley saved well.
Land of 'Hope' and glory
Six minutes after half time, England scored again. Yankey crossed into the box, was knocked back across the face of the goal by Clarke to Carney who's shot was saved by Vukovic, but White was on hand to knock the ball home from the rebound.
The game was now effectively over and as England pushed to try improving their goal difference in the group, Serbia lost their way even more in a game England were already dominating.
I can only recall the visitors having one attempt on goal in the second half, when Marija Radojicic blazed a speculative effort over the bar.
The near miss spurred England into action and Rachel Yankey, White, Carney and Jill Scott all went close.
Just before half time, England's always lively and hard working Jess Clarke, started and finished a move with White and Yankey and drilled the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out.
Right on the stroke of half time the Serbia keeper Milena Vukovic got down well to turn a shot from Rachel Unitt round the post. Vukovic had pulled off a couple of top class reflex saves, but at other times her handling and positioning had looked a bit suspect and she was a bit fortunate that the half time score was only 1-0.
Just before half time, England's always lively and hard working Jess Clarke, started and finished a move with White and Yankey and drilled the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out.
Right on the stroke of half time the Serbia keeper Milena Vukovic got down well to turn a shot from Rachel Unitt round the post. Vukovic had pulled off a couple of top class reflex saves, but at other times her handling and positioning had looked a bit suspect and she was a bit fortunate that the half time score was only 1-0.
Six minutes after half time, England scored again. Yankey crossed into the box, was knocked back across the face of the goal by Clarke to Carney who's shot was saved by Vukovic, but White was on hand to knock the ball home from the rebound.The game was now effectively over and as England pushed to try improving their goal difference in the group, Serbia lost their way even more in a game England were already dominating.
I can only recall the visitors having one attempt on goal in the second half, when Marija Radojicic blazed a speculative effort over the bar.
England's performance warranted a bigger margin of victory, but it was the three points that mattered more than anything, because England are now second in the group, two points behind Holland, who they still have to play on home soil in June, having already drawn 0-0 against the Dutch in Zwolle last month.
Current Group 6 table:
Holland - Played 4 Points 10
England - Played 4 Points 8
Serbia - Played 5 Points 7
Slovenia - Played 4 Points 1
Croatia - Played 3 Points 1
Holland - Played 4 Points 10
England - Played 4 Points 8
Serbia - Played 5 Points 7
Slovenia - Played 4 Points 1
Croatia - Played 3 Points 1
England remaining Group 6 fixtures:
All venues still to be confirmed
13th March - Croatia (A)
17th June - Holland (H)
21st June - Slovenia (A)
19th September - Croatia (H)
All venues still to be confirmed
13th March - Croatia (A)
17th June - Holland (H)
21st June - Slovenia (A)
19th September - Croatia (H)
