England followed up their 4-3 defeat to Germany on Friday with a narrow but important 2-1 win against South Africa in Coventry.
Coach Sarina Wiegmann made eight changes to her starting 11 on Friday after Germany lost to the Olympic bronze medalists, who took advantage of England’s poor defense and scored three goals in the opening 30 minutes.
Captain Leah Williamson took the lead in the 12th minute and Grace Clinton doubled England’s lead. However, Williamson allowed Thembi Katlana to score the goal back after a defensive error.
England have kept just four clean sheets in their last 19 matches, highlighting a serious problem for Wiegmann as England prepare to defend their Euro titles in Switzerland next summer.
“After the first half I thought it would be easier,” Wiegman told ITV. “We played well in the first half and had some stronger moments.
“We were a bit too sloppy, but we created some chances from corners. We scored a very good goal. In the second half, we got the goal but we were a bit sloppy. They were smart on the counter-attack, but we It was difficult for me.”
“We need to keep trying, keep playing our football, keep playing forward. We just felt like we had a transition moment and they really jumped on us. We just have to talk it out and move on.” ”
Williamson made up for his dismal defending against Germany and calmly slotted a goal into the bottom corner to earn his 50th cap for England.
Against Germany, Williamson was sent off as part of a struggling backline. She has been under intense scrutiny since returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in January. Although the captain’s performance improved, problems with positioning and communication remained.
Grace Clinton’s goal gave England a narrow victory over South Africa.
Bradley Collier/PA Image (via Getty Images)
Eleven minutes later, Clinton extended England’s lead to two points with a header. Manchester United teammate Maya Le Tissier kicked the ball in for Jess Park, but it was Clinton who managed to connect with the ball and score the Lionesses’ second goal.
The reigning European champions’ performance was much better than last week, but defensive weaknesses continued to cause problems for the team as they repeatedly lost the ball in dangerous areas. South Africa’s poor finishing gave England some lifelines.
But many times England go unpunished. Williamson, whose performance deteriorated in the second half, gave the ball near the halfway line, and Katlana made no mistake, slotting the ball past Mary Earps and scoring the goal. This was South Africa’s first goal against England.
The Lionesses struggled in the final 30 minutes as Bayana Bayana began to expose their defensive weaknesses.
Kgatlana, who continued to cause England problems, forced substitute Lucy Bronze into a crucial block before winning the ball in the back of the net moments later. However, he was ruled offside in the build-up.
It was a nervy end to a night for England who looked even weaker as the final whistle approached. However, the damage was kept to a minimum and they breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 victory.
The Lionesses will return to club football until November, when they will take on the United States Women’s National Team in a highly anticipated matchup, but Emma Hayes has not played since leaving Chelsea and leading the United States Women’s National Team to Olympic gold this summer. He will be returning to England for his first match.
