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7 hours ago
3
Key events
76 mins: A smart pass through the Ukraine defence almost reaches Kelly but a last-ditch challenge prevents a chance for the winger.
Le Tissier realises the futility of short corners and sends one deep but defeats everyone.
74 mins: Park has looked lively since coming on, eager to beat players one-on-one.
72 mins: I would send on Beever-Jones at this point but that’s just me.
70 mins: Hemp drives down the left and her reward is a corner. I think Wiegman needs to ban the short corner because they are utter rubbish as England repeatedly lose the advantage.
68 mins: That is a 40th England goal for Mead, which ain’t bad.
GOAL! England 3-0 Ukraine (Mead, 67)
Greenwood walks away and Mead bends the ball into the bottom corner, as the goalkeeper barely moves.
66 mins: Kelly almost has an immediately impact but her cross is deflected away.
On the opposite flank, Hemp cuts in and wins a free-kick after being pulled back. Greenwood wanders over to take …
64 mins: Stanway wins a corner on the right after her cross is diverted behind. Le Tissier is once again given the honours and takes it short to Mead. It isn’t the most dynamic corner and the ball ends up back with Hampton.
Kelly is on for Charles, which is bold, and Park for Stanway.
62 mins: TWO BALLS ON THE PITCH! WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?!
Kelly and Park are getting ready to enter the fray. Hopefully it will inject some energy into the forward line.
60 mins: Hemp finds space inside the box and has a chance to cross but her effort is too close to the goalkeeper and repelled.
Russo is the next to have a chance but her rising drive from 18 yards is straight at the goalkeeper.
58 mins: Not much in the way of rhythm in this second half performance from England. A few too many disconnects across the pitch.
56 mins: There are still plenty of yellow shirts defending the edge of the Ukraine box, making it very difficult for England to break through. Hemp is the latest to be crowded out.
54 mins: Ukraine reach the England box and Hlushchenko fires wide. At least it was a vague indication of intent.
52 mins: England have a corner on the right. What will Le Tissier do without James to play it short to? Lumps it into the box and finds Charles who flashes a header wide.
Boklach takes a bizarrely long time on the ball and is chased down by Mead but the mistake is not capitalised on.
50 mins: Russo has a snapshot from inside the box but it is blocked.
Moments later Greenwood lines up a free-kick from the other side of 30 yards but it is straight at the wall.
48 mins: No surprise but it is all England at the moment. I will predict five second half goals.
46 mins: Some half times changes …
Hlushchenko and Radionova are on for Ukraine. Kohut and Kunina off.
Mead and Greenwood enter the pitch for England, Morgan and James off.
Second half
Here we go again!
Spain are winning 3-0 in Iceland. No concerns of any shocks tonight.
Tom Garry
It’s been one-way traffic. If you think this game is one-sided, just wait for October’s play-off first round tie against a League C team! The fans at the Hill Dickinson seem to be enjoying it, nonetheless. There are two little pockets of Ukraine fans who are also in good voice, too, as the sun sets to my left over the Mersey.
Tony Mason emails: “I must take issue with your statement that the cost of tickets to see England at Wembley was “incredibly expensive”. This is a misconception. The cheapest England tickets at Wembley are and have been since the “new” Wembley opened are about the same price as a League 1 fixture. Slightly more than I pay to see Notts County. There are also many of the cheapest tickets so you don’t even need to be waiting on a Ticketmaster queue to get them.
“Also, although Wembley isn’t the best positioned ground in the country it isn’t that hard to get to from much of the country. From Nottingham I would get home after an evening kick-off at about 00:30. My mate travels in from Bristol and it is about the same. Granted, we drive but coaches do run from the major cities.
“Having said that, it is always nice to see them around the country.”
I’ve just put in for the best available ticket for the Czechia game in October and it’s £120. You can, in fairness, get tickets for £35 but I really wouldn’t want to travel three hours to then sit at the top in the corner. That’s just me.
Half time: England 2-0 Ukraine
This has not been much of a contest, well any contest whatsoever. The main surprise is that England have not managed to get more than two but ahead very much out of sight thanks to Carter and Stanway.
45 mins: One minute added on.
44 mins: Hemp receives the ball around 20 yards out, spins a defender and fires a shot but flies over the bar.
43 mins: James curls a free-kick from the edge of the box just over the bar.
41 mins: A band is trying to whip the crowd up with Sweet Caroline, the most overplayed song in history.
39 mins: With confidence renewed, Hemp whips in a cross from the right into a dangerous position but no one is there to get on the end of it.
GOAL! England 2-0 Ukraine (Stanway, 37)
The Lionesses needed that. Russo sneaks around the back and slides the ball across to Stanway who slides home at the back post.
36 mins: James loops in a cross from the left which Boklach comes to claim but it takes her two attempts to get the ball under control.
England and the atmosphere have gone quite flat.
34 mins: England have a corner on the right. Le Tissier and James combine once more but it is a slow burner, with the ball belatedly being sent into the box by Walsh, only to be easily collected by the goalkeeper.
