England 5 Italy 1: Hemp nets twice with Wubben-Moy also on target as Lionesses trounce Italy
LAUREN HEMP bagged a brace as England showcased their set-piece supremacy in a 5-1 trouncing of Italy.
A first senior Lionesses goal for Lotte Wubben-Moy was among the finishes that saw her side end their warm-up for the Euros qualifiers in style.
GettyLauren scored twice for England in a dominant first-half shift against Italy[/caption]
GettyLotte Wubben-Moy’s header provided the Lionesses with a second minute lead[/caption]
GettyRachel Daly pounced on a misplaced pass to score after coming on as a second-half substitute for England[/caption]
Tonight’s duel in southern Spain saw a four-game unbeaten run for Italy abruptly halted by their goal-hungry rivals.
The dominant attacking shift took England’s goal tally up to 12 across the two friendlies.
And the team will be eyeing similar success in their bid to reach next year’s Euros with qualifying fixtures for the tournament starting in April follow a draw for the matches on March 5.
While a rare error saw Italy get a consolation, the team were at times unravelled by the Lionesses’ aerial dominance from corners.
Two of Hemp’s finishes came from set-pieces with the forward close to nabbing a hat-trick.
Before the game Wiegman spoke of expecting a physical challenge from Italy following the Lionesses’ 7-2 mauling of Austria.
Their rivals have seen some promising signs of improvement following gaffer Andrea Soncin taking charge last September.
Recent results include a surprise 3-2 defeat of World Cup winners Spain in the Women’s Nations League in .
But any expectation of Wiegman’s side being stunned in a similar fashion were blown away inside 34 minutes.
Wubben-Moy’s cushioned header following a corner kick caught Italy’s defence cold giving England a second-minute lead.
And they went 2-0 down 20 minutes after with Hemp’s strike bobbling past goalkeeper Laura Guiliani following a misplaced clearance from another corner.
Italy struggled to get forward early on but almost took advantage of a Niamh Charles’ back pass with Michela Cambiaghi looking to shoot before the whistle blew for the ball going out of play.
They went 3-0 down with Hemp outjumping her marker to head home before Cambiaghi pulled one back with a slotted finish after in front of Charles.
GettyLauren James provided an assist for Ella Toone to net England’s fourth goal[/caption]
The second half saw Italy up their game in attack with Cambiaghi close to getting her head on a delivery from a 59th -minute corner.
But Ella Toone’s strike following and an impressive run and cross from Lauren James to take the score to 4-1.
And Rachel Daly’s second goal across England’s two friendlies topped off a commanding win.
