Report: England WU17s 2-0 Greece

England WU17s boosted their hopes of qualifying for this year’s UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championships with a 2-0 victory over Greece.

Only the top team qualifies for the eight-country 2024 UEFA Women’s U17 EURO finals in Sweden in May and today’s win means the Young Lionesses are now two from two.

Natalie Henderson’s side started the elite round of qualifying with a 3-0 win over hosts Serbia on Sunday and goals from Denny Draper and Isabella Fisher helped them defeat Greece on Wednesday morning.

It means England go into Saturday’s final group game with Italy (12pm GMT) knowing victory will guarantee their place in Sweden this summer.

The Young Lionesses dominated the first half, with both Vera Jones and Laila Harbert forcing the goalkeeper into saves before the deadlock was broken.

The opening goal came midway through the first half courtesy of two of Sunday’s goalscorers, as Chelsea’s Lola Brown delivered a corner which was nodded in by Leicester City striker Draper.

England continued to pose the greater threat in the second half and almost added a second when Erica Parkinson nudged the ball past the goalkeeper but it was cleared off the line.

Then as the final quarter of an hour approached, Greece goalkeeper Eirini Manoukaraki made two fine saves in quick succession, initially denying Harbert when one-on-one and then Fisher from the resulting corner.

But Fisher wasn’t to be denied moments later when she converted Harbert’s cross with a low finish.

England WU17s currently top Group A6 on six points, although second-place Italy could leapfrog the Young Lionesses later today when they play their game in hand against Serbia.

England: 13 Rebekah Dowsett (Watford/Leicester City), 2 Nelly Las (Leicester City), 3 Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), 4 Laila Harbert (Arsenal/Watford) ©, 6 Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Oxford United), 7 Erica Parkinson (FC Valadares), 8 Omotara Junaid (Arsenal), 9 Denny Draper (Leicester City), 10 Vera Jones (Barry Town), 11 Lola Brown (Chelsea), 15 Niamh Peacock (Arsenal)

Substitutes: 19 Isabella Fisher (Arsenal) for Draper 46, 14 Emily Cassap (Sunderland) for Jones 46, 16 Abby Kay (Chelsea) for Junaid 67, 17 Eva Gray (Arsenal) for Las 67, 20 Eva Hendle (Chelsea) for Parkinson 81

Substitutes not used: 5 Simone Sherwood (Leicester City), 12 Sophie Harrison (Arsenal), 18 Mia Endacott (Plymouth Argyle)

Head coach: Natalie Henderson

Goals: Denny Draper 25, Isabella Fisher 77