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Womens 2007 World Cup; match 18 Group A, 17/9/07 in Chengdu. Argentina v. England Argentina: R.Ferro, F.Mandrile, E.Gonzalez, C.Perez, G.Chavez, C.Huber (V.Cotelo 51), M.Pereyra, M.Quinones (E.Mendieta 75), F.Vallejos, A.Almeida (N.Gatti 62), M.Potassa. England: R.Brown, M.Phillip, F.White, A.Asante, C.Stoney, J.Scott, F.Williams, K.Smith (V.Exley 79), A.Scott (S.Smith 67), E.Aluko (J.Handley 79), R.Yankey. England knew what they needed from this game to qualify and set about securing the required two goal advantage from the kick off. Kelly Smith was quickly testing the Argentinian defence with a dancing run that was just about halted on the edge of the box and when the ball ran loose Eni Aluko sent in a low drive that was hit well enough but was straight at Romina Ferro who held on safely. Alex Scott was then harshly booked after going into a 50/50 challenge in committed fashion. It was continual pressure from England but the blanket Argentinian defence was not offering up chances at this stage. Casey Stoney had moved over to the right wing for a spell and before she could return to the left she was presented with a crossing opportunity and when the ball was sent in deep there seemed no danger until Eva Gonzalez, under no pressure, inexplicably sent a header flying into the top corner of her own net. Not only was this just the start England wanted it was designed to further demoralise the sorry Argentinians. Within a couple of minutes things got better for England and worse for Argentina. Another skipping run from Smith was just about blocked off by the Argentina defence and when the ball ran loose Jill Scott came storming into challenge and, as her opponent stood back, the ball went flying goalwards from 35 yards and somehow dipped below the dreadful lunge of the goalkeeper. So with ten minutes played England had been gifted the two goal lead that would assure qualification. It was hard to see what could possibly happen in the remaining 80 minutes to deny England their primary objective from this competition. England continued to press and when Aluko was crudely fouled Fara Williams took the free kick quickly to send Rachel Yankey running into the area unopposed. From the left hand side of the box Yankey sent in a low drive that Ferro could only shovel out but there were no England players in position to take advantage. Nobody in the England side was hungrier for a goal than Aluko who came desperately close to finding the net in the 16th minute. Turning onto a pass from Mary Phillip the striker unleashed a ferocious drive that beat Ferro all ends up but cannoned back into play from the face of the bar. Argentina made their first foray into England territory for Fabiana Vallejos to try her luck from 40 yards but the save was easy for Rachel Brown. Alex Scott, playing in the forward line again, went on a clever run before shooting too close to Ferro before sloppy play by England allowed Argentina a better shooting chance but Clarisa Huber's effort again presented no real problem to Brown. Argentina's defence had shown themselves especially uncomfortable dealing with crossed balls in their two previous games and England almost profitted in this area twice in quick succession midway through the half. Yankey sent in a good inswinging corner to the far post and Stoney, arriving late, was just unable to convert from close range and then Yankey sent in an even more dangerous centre when another corner came back to her and this time Faye White was the player inches away from making contact in the jaws of goal. Yankey then won England a free kick on the left hand corner of the box from which Stoney whipped in a fine ball that glanced off the head of Gonzalez to flash narrowly past the far post. The unconvincing officials managed to miss the touch and awarded Argentina a goal kick. The next free kick went Argentina's way and Gonzalez was happy to try her luck from 45 yards out. The attempt surprised Rachel Brown who banged into the post as the ball sailed a yard or so over the crossbar. England were struggling to create chances as the game approached half time but Kelly Smith was still a source of menace whenever she got on the ball. From 30 yards Smith drove low into the side netting and then dummied cleverly for Aluko who turned sharply to draw a foul from Catalina Perez who was booked for her grappling challenge. Smith saw her free kick deflected by the wall but there had been encroachment by the Argentinians and after Gonzalez had been cautioned England had another chance. This time Fara Williams shot into the wall but when the ball came back to Smith she drilled in a tremendous drive which brought an excellent plunging save from Ferro down by her left hand post. Smith was taking over completely and played in Aluko after a lovely run through the centre but the England striker took her eye off the ball as Florencia Mandrile lunged in to challenge. The half ended with Fara Williams sending in her first long range effort of the game and this one was from a more realistic distance and did force a save, albeit a straightforward one, from Ferro. Half time and all's well. Half Time: Argentina 0 England 2 England came out eager to rubber stamp their place in the quarter finals and Yankey drifted nicely past a couple of defenders after being fed by Stoney and Ferro had to make another decent save high at her near post from the wingers' fierce drive. Ferro was called into action in quick succession by a Kelly Smith corner and an Aluko centre and just about coped. England's early pressure was then rewarded when Smith sliced through the defence before tumbling in the area as Perez had a tug at her shirt. Not only was it an England penalty but Perez had to go after the referee showed her a second yellow card. Fara Williams waited patiently before sending the keeper the wrong way with the spot kick. With a three goal lead and a player advantage England were now basically assured of their quarter final place and would be looking to negotiate the rest of this game without any dramas. Unfortunately a couple lay just around the corner. The Argentinians gifted possession to exactly the wrong person midway inside their own half and saw Kelly Smith burst into the box before unselfishly squaring to the unmarked Yankey who drove her shot straight at Ferro. Just before the hour Gonzalez punted a free kick to the edge of the England penalty area and when Maria Potassa sat down at the feet of Faye White the referee awarded a ridiculously soft free kick. Gonzalez came forward to whip a fine shot into the corner of Rachel Brown's net and England's lead was back down to two. Worryingly this was the third goal conceded by England from free kicks just outside the box in this tournament and gives the whole squad something to think about ahead of the knockout stages. Within moments the suspect Guyanan referee had dealt England another blow. Fara Williams was trying to escape a couple of opponents in midfield but was sent flying by a blatant barge and brought down the other Argentinian as she fell. Amazingly the referee deemed this a foul by the England player and also produced a yellow card, Fara's second of the tournament, therefore ruling her out of the quarter finals. I don't know if England can challenge this decision but it would be absolutely farcical if Williams has to miss the biggest game of her life because of complete incompetence from the official. Gonzalez fancied another shot from the free kick but, from 45 yards out, her effort was safely watched wide by Brown. England then regained their three goal advantage. Jill Scott, Williams and Alex Scott were involved in a patient build up before Yankey injected the pace with a surge to the byeline and when she drilled in a low centre to the near post Kelly Smith executed a sweet finish with her left instep, dragging the ball back past the bemused keeper. Smith produced a similarly cute flick to release Jill Scott in midfield who slid a good ball through for Yankey whose low centre was this time scooped over her own crossbar by Gabriela Chavez at full stretch. England should have had their fifth goal when Mary Phillip was allowed to saunter deep into Argentinian territory before feeding Kelly Smith. Smith eased her way to the byeline before squaring the ball back to Aluko. Her shot was weak but a defender poked the ball back across goal to Yankey who could only direct the ball back across goal and wide, stretching on her right foot. Faye White was then presented with a decent chance by another lovely pass from Kelly Smith but her touch was heavy in unfamiliar territory and a defender was able to get across and block. With just over ten minutes remaining Kelly Smith got her second of the night when she swooped in to score after Ferro could only palm out a low shot from Yankey and England's star player was then withdrawn as protection ahead of the quarter finals. Rachel Brown made a sloppy pass from her goalmouth straight to Potassa but was in position to save easily from the resulting shot but the action remained almost exclusively at the other end. All three England substitutes, Vicky Exley, Jody Handley and Sue Smith, were involved in a good left wing move and when the keeper came and punched Smith's centre out Williams was following up for a well hit drive that just cleared the bar from 25 yards. Exley forced a good save from Ferro with a downward header from Stoney's corner and when Stoney then chipped a ball into the area for the Doncaster Belles midfielder she was taken out by a ridiculous kung fu style challenge by Gonzalez. The referee gave England their second penalty of the night but decided to let Gonzalez off her second yellow card and Exley clipped a fine penalty just inside the post to round off the scoring. This represented a job well done by England not just on the night but in the group altogether and they now have five days to prepare for the quarter finals. Full Time: Argentina 1 England 6 England: R.Brown 5, M.Phillip 6, F.White 6, A.Asante 6, C.Stoney 8, J.Scott 7, F.Williams 8, K.Smith 9 (V.Exley 7), A.Scott 6 (S.Smith 6), E.Aluko 7 (J.Handley 5), R.Yankey 7. Star Player: Kelly Smith Too strong for the Argentinians. Too good for the Argentinians.
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