Poland | 1-1 | England |
Eadie (og) 12 |
| Fern Whelan 90+4 |
2007 UEFA Women's U19 Championship
Group B
5pm (4pm local time), Wednesday 18 July 2007
Fylkisvollur, Reykjavik
England captain Fern Whelan grabbed a late, injury-time equaliser to earn a point against Poland in their opening UEFA Women's U19 Championship Group B game Reykjavik.
The Poles had gone in front with only 12 minutes gone when Blackburn Rovers defender Jayne Eadie scored an own goal. But Everton midfielder Whelan saved the day for Mo Marley's team when she applied a clinical header to Sophie Walton's 94th-minute free-kick.
England arguably deserved their lucky break having fallen behind against the run of play – Eadie chesting the ball back to her goalkeeper Danielle Hill who, wrongfooted, could only watch it roll past her and into the net. England resumed on the front foot but wasted chances towards half-time as Ellen White and Walton both failed to trouble Poland goalkeeper Anna Bocian.
Poland emerged from the interval emboldened by their advantage, and on their U19 finals debut began to take the contest to their more experienced opponents. However, they were unable to make the most of their greater share of the possession and, as the match neared the 70th-minute mark, the Poles conceded the initiative back to England.
Marley played her part too, switching to a three-player defence to enhance her team's attacking options. They were almost rewarded when Jessica Clarke shot towards an open goal on 83 minutes, only for Natasha Dowie to apply a late touch and cause the referee's assistant to raise the offside flag.
Poland's reprieve was temporary, however. When Walton's free-kick was nodded back across goal deep into stoppage time, Whelan made an intervention that proved happily decisive for her side.
Poland
1 Anna Bocian, 2 Anna Tymińska, 4 Marzena Grzelińska, 5 Dominika Machnacka, 14 Justyna Polak, 8 Natalia Chudzik, 11 Emilia Bezdziecka (3 Katarzyna Sołtys, 90), 15 Katarzyna Jackowska (18 Katarzyna Krupa, 71), 17 Katarzyna Daleszczyk, 10 Agata Tarczyńska, 9 Magdalena Mateńko (13 Symela Ciesielska, 74)
Subs not used: 12 Karolina Klabis, 6 Natasza Górnicka, 7 Anna Królikowska
England
1 Danielle Hill, 2 Jayne Eadie (12 Chelsea Weston 67), 3 Sian Larkin, 4 Sophie Walton, 5 Fern Whelan, 6 Sophie Bradley, 7 Jessica Clarke, 8 Danielle Buet, 9 Ellen White, 10 Natasha Dowie, 11 Claire Rafferty (17 Remi Allen, 62)
Subs not used: 13 Rebecca Spencer, 14 Elizabeth Edwards, 15 Kelly Lawrence, 16 Jade Moore, 18 Faye McCoye
Referee Danijela Markovic (SRB)
Assistant referee Vivian Peeters (NED) Zuzana Kovacova (SVK)
Fourth official Katalin Kulcsar (HUN)
UEFA Women's U19 Championship, Finals - Full Match Schedule
For more information on the tournament, visit UEFA.com