Saturday, December 14, 2024

England 3-1 Germany: How Lionesses won inaugural Arnold Clark Cup

England Women 3-1 Germany Women: How Lionesses won inaugural 2022 Arnold Clark Cup

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Written by Sam Kauffmann.

Two late goals from Millie Bright and Fran Kirby saw England clinch a 3-1 win over Germany – to win the first-ever Arnold Clark Cup.

Ellen White opened the scoring for the Lionesses after 15 minutes but Germany equalised towards the end of the first half, courtesy of a glorious free-kick from Lina Magull.

England, however, retook the lead deep into the second half through Bright, before Kirby sealed the victory with one of the last kicks of the game.

It was enough to cap off a brilliant tournament for the Lionesses, who lifted the Arnold Clark Cup trophy in front of a 13,463-strong crowd at the Molineux Stadium.

White started off the scoring for the night with a tap in from inside the six-yard box, after a deflected pass fell straight to her feet. She calmly finished to score her 49th goal for England – matching Sir Bobby Charlton’s achievement.

Both sides continued to have chances throughout the half, none of which really troubled either keeper.

Five minutes before the half-time whistle, Germany’s Lea Schüller cut inside on the left wing to beat Lucy Bronze which consequently drew a foul from Alex Greenwood, who was shown a yellow card for her actions.

Magull then disposed of the resulting free kick brilliantly with a shot that went in off the crossbar, leaving the English keeper rooted to her spot.

England continued to push on for a winner, but it wasn’t until after some brilliant work from Lauren Hemp that they were able to find it.

The move started from well inside the England half, with the ball being passed through the German side to Hemp, who drove through the heart of the defence and took a shot. Her effort was saved in the box, only for it to come out to Bright who slotted away her second goal of the tournament.

Kirby then finished off a perfect night for Lionesses’ fans to conclude the tournament – which featured Spain and Canada, as well as Germany and England. The Chelsea midfielder powered through and scored a brilliant solo goal in the last minute to truly finish the game off.

The referee blew the whistle immediately after the kick-off, which signalled England’s victory.

 

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