The hosts were hugely dominant in the first half, with 17 shots and eight corners, but could not score; But Beth Mead's introduction sparked a flurry of goals; Lionesses go top of World Cup Qualifying Group D; 23,000 fans watched England Women's first competitive match at Wembley
Sunday 24 October 2021 07:41, UK
Beth Mead scored a scintillating hat-trick inside 14 minutes to help England move top of Women's World Cup Qualifying Group D with a 4-0 win against Northern Ireland on a historic night at Wembley.
England hit the woodwork twice in the first half, with Lauren Hemp close to scoring her first England goal with a shot after a driving run, and Alex Greenwood also rattling the crossbar with a stunning long-range effort as Kenny Shiels' obstinate visitors somehow kept it to 0-0 at the break.
Beth Mead and Beth England came on just after the hour in an inspired double switch from England manager Sarina Wiegman, and less than a minute later Mead finally broke the deadlock and sparked a flurry of goals.
Wiegman's side move to top of Group D, overtaking previous leaders Austria, to mark a near-perfect night on the Lionesses' first competitive match at Wembley.
England started a little nervously but quickly settled into holding a very high line, with 80 per cent possession in the first half, and created a succession of clear-cut opportunities but did not show the same cutting edge demonstrated in their previous two games.
Inside 15 minutes, Hemp was inches away from scoring her first England goal, driving infield, bursting into the box and rifling a left-footed shot towards goal, but saw her arrowed effort strike the bar and deflect away.
Greenwood was the next to strike the woodwork, slamming a wonderful 25-yard thunderbolt off the crossbar, before White nodded over from a great position four yards out as England racked up 17 shots and eight corners to Northern Ireland's zero and zero respectively before half-time but somehow did not score.
Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman took off defender Demi Stokes for Keira Walsh at half-time, going to a three-at-the-back system, and it nearly backfired as Lauren Wade powered down the left-hand side and put in a measured ball towards Caragh Hamilton, but Greenwood poked it away from her brilliantly.
After goalkeeper Jacqui Burns flapped at a corner, Northern Ireland couldn't clear and Mead took one touch to control the ball, and with only her second touch of the game pivoted acrobatically to flick an effort into the corner, before England then tapped in on the line from Hemp's chipped cross.
The electric Hemp created another, gliding past several would-be tacklers and providing a centre for Mead to volley into the bottom corner. Burns then smothered a through ball to deny Beth England, but Mead slid home the loose ball to leave the 23,000 fans at Wembley delighted.
Sarina Wiegman on ITV:
"I'm very happy, of course, with this score and how we were on the pitch. These are hard games, because they were defending hard the whole game and it was very tight.
"You have to just stay patient and all the players that came on made a difference, so that's very nice.
"The substitutes brought us more energy and pushed us higher on the pitch. I think it was [Mead's] first touch, and it wasn't even an easy one from the corner! It was so nice to score the goal and I'm impressed by this team, our team."
Hat-trick hero Beth Mead on ITV:
"I can't put [my emotions] into words - to score a goal at Wembley is genuinely an amazing feeling, to put the shirt on and score for this country.
"To come away with a hat-trick is a special feeling and I'm glad to help the girls get the three points today. The manager just told me to go out there and make a difference, so hopefully I did that today.
"We came on this pitch to do a job today and that's what we did. It's got to be up there [in my playing career], it's one of the proudest moments for me and my family."
England Women travel to Latvia for their next World Cup Qualifier in Riga on Tuesday October 26, with the game kicking off at 6.30pm.
October 26: Latvia vs England (kick-off 6.30pm)
November 27: England vs Austria (kick-off 11.45am)
November 30: England vs Latvia (kick-off 7pm)
April 8, 2022: North Macedonia vs England (kick-off TBC)
April 12, 2022: Northern Ireland vs England (kick-off TBC)
September 3, 2022: Austria vs England (kick-off TBC)
September 6: England vs Luxembourg (kick-off TBC)
