England 0-1 Spain: SheBelieves Cup – as it happened – The Guardian, Theguardian.com
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Read Suzanne Wrack’s match report from Texas
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Right, that’s all from me. A poor display overall from England, who played well in the first half but barely turned up for the second. Phil Neville’s side has now lost seven of its last matches and is in a difficult moment, but in the first-half performance and particularly the impact of Chloe Kelly off the bench this defeat at least a few redeeming qualities. Bye!
It’s frustrating. I think for periods of the game we were on top, you know Spain are a technical side and it’s all about keeping the ball. It was disappointing for them to score off a set-piece, we’ll have to look at that. Everybody’s been quick to criticize us over the last six months. We’re a new team, we’ve got young players coming through, and it’s important that when we get the chance to be in camp together, we’ve got to keep our standards high.
We’re in it together, that’s what we’ve always said. It’s not about one person. We have to be held accountable for our performances. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes, we’re just not getting the rub of the green at the moment. It’s important that now we digest what we’ve done over the last nine, 21 days and get back to what we do best, and that’s winning games for England.
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and Chloe Kelly out for praise. The latter in particular seemed to lift the team when she came on with 35 minutes to go. So there is youthful promise, but overall this was a poor performance.
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I am frustrated. I’m a bit angry. Not good enough, the second half performance. I thought first half we controlled the game, and in the last five minutes we showed some urgency for the first time in the second half. That second-half performane was nowhere near good enough. There’s been some massive pluses from the tournament [talks about Telford and Parris] but ultimately we will be judged on our results. I’m not going to hide behind the fact that this was a tournament where we wanted to experiment with the players. Ultimately we’ll be judged on our results and they haven’t been good enough, and I take full responsibility for that.
The questions should be asked, because I expect better than what we got in the second half. Even in the first half when there were positive bits, I still expect better. I’ll go away, I’ll reflect, and I’ll take it from there.
That’s a cracking header! Hermoso takes a corner from the right, and Putellas runs clear of McManus a little too easily, earns herself a free header and thumps it into the top corner from yards!
()() Alexia Putellas of Spain celebrates after scoring the first goal. Photograph: Omar Vega / Getty Images
What a chance for Spain, and what a face-save from Telford! Moraza wins the ball on the halfway line, bursts past McManus, cuts inside Houghton, bears down on goal, and then hits her shot into the face of the advancing England keeper!
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Moraza curls in a decent cross from the right, but Telford palms it away from the two Spanish forward, and collects at the second attempt.
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The game hasn’t fully reignited after half-time, but England are notably spending more time in possession.
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