Published 10 April 2023 4 min read
Women's U23
Report: Belgium 0-0 England WU23s (4-5 on pens)
Shootout victory for Mo Marley's Young Lionesses in Genk
England women’s under-23s were held to a 0-0 draw by Belgium on Easter Monday, before ending their April internationals with a penalty shootout victory.
Mo Marley’s team couldn’t find a breakthrough against their hosts in Genk, following on from last week’s 3-2 win against Portugal.
It was a tight game at the Cegeka Arena with little between the two teams throughout the 90 minutes.
Young Lionesses’ ‘keeper Lucy Thomas had to be alert to tip over a high bouncing ball to keep the Belgians at bay ten minutes into the second half.
And it was Aggie Beever-Jones who came the closest for England, as her deft touch in the area from substitute Freya Gregory’s cross drifted narrowly wide.
As agreed beforehand, in the event of a draw the game would go to a penalty shootout, and it proved equally close from the spot. Anna Patten, Beever-Jones, Laura Brown and Gregory scored as it went to sudden death before Molly Pike stepped up to score the decisive winner.
Mo Marley’s team couldn’t find a breakthrough against their hosts in Genk, following on from last week’s 3-2 win against Portugal.
It was a tight game at the Cegeka Arena with little between the two teams throughout the 90 minutes.
Young Lionesses’ ‘keeper Lucy Thomas had to be alert to tip over a high bouncing ball to keep the Belgians at bay ten minutes into the second half.
And it was Aggie Beever-Jones who came the closest for England, as her deft touch in the area from substitute Freya Gregory’s cross drifted narrowly wide.
As agreed beforehand, in the event of a draw the game would go to a penalty shootout, and it proved equally close from the spot. Anna Patten, Beever-Jones, Laura Brown and Gregory scored as it went to sudden death before Molly Pike stepped up to score the decisive winner.
England: 13 Lucy Thomas (Birmingham City), 21 Ella Morris (Southampton), 5 Anna Patten (Aston Villa, on loan from Arsenal) (c), 17 Georgia Eaton-Collins (Leicester City), 12 Asmita Ale (Tottenham Hotspur), 4 Ruby Mace (Leicester City, on loan from Manchester City), 14 Missy Bo Kearns (Liverpool), 7 Angela Addison (Charlton Athletic), 8 Laura Blindkilde Brown (Aston Villa), 9 Aggie Beever-Jones (Everton, on loan from Chelsea), 23 Grace Clinton (Bristol City, on loan from Manchester United)
Substitutes: 11 Freya Gregory (Aston Villa) for Addison 61, 10 Ruby Grant (BK Häcken) for Kearns 83, 20 Molly Pike (Leicester City) for Clinton 83
Substitutes not used: 1 Kayla Rendell (Southampton), 2 Jorja Fox (Brighton and Hove Albion, on loan from Chelsea), 3 Poppy Pattinson (Brighton and Hove Albion), 6 Kiera Skeels (Charlton Athletic), 19 Missy Goodwin (Leicester City), 15 Anouk Denton (West Ham United), 16 Charlotte Wardlaw (Lewes, on loan from Chelsea), 18 Mel Filis (West Ham United), 22 Fran Bentley (Bristol City), 24 Grace Ayre (Durham)
Head coach: Mo Marley
Substitutes: 11 Freya Gregory (Aston Villa) for Addison 61, 10 Ruby Grant (BK Häcken) for Kearns 83, 20 Molly Pike (Leicester City) for Clinton 83
Substitutes not used: 1 Kayla Rendell (Southampton), 2 Jorja Fox (Brighton and Hove Albion, on loan from Chelsea), 3 Poppy Pattinson (Brighton and Hove Albion), 6 Kiera Skeels (Charlton Athletic), 19 Missy Goodwin (Leicester City), 15 Anouk Denton (West Ham United), 16 Charlotte Wardlaw (Lewes, on loan from Chelsea), 18 Mel Filis (West Ham United), 22 Fran Bentley (Bristol City), 24 Grace Ayre (Durham)
Head coach: Mo Marley
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