1 month ago
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Despite being on the receiving end of a 7-0 hammering by England in their international friendly at the King Power Stadium in England yesterday, Reggae Girlz head coach Hubert Busby Jr acknowledged that his team was found wanting defensively, but believes there were positives to take away.
Ella Toone (10th and 45th+) netted a brace for England, while Lucy Bronze (32nd), Georgia Stanway (59th), Alissa Russo (71st), Aggie Beever-Jones (85th) and Beth Mead (90th+6) got one each, to give England the perfect send-off to the 2025 Women’s Euro tournament, which begins this week.
With the Reggae Girlz missing key regular players such as striker Khadija Shaw, goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, Deneisha Blackwood, Drew Spence and Jody Brown, the Reggae Girlz were dominated by their opponents for almost the entire contest, but Busby saw some positives.
“Apart from the result, there are some positives to take away. [It is] another valuable lesson for the players coming through.
“Performance-wise, I think there are still areas in terms of our defensive mindset as it pertains to second balls.
“It is one of the things we discussed. We talked about the ability to win contacts and winning the second balls.
“We did a good job winning the first balls but not a great one winning the second ones, and against a top-four ranked team in the world, you are going to get punished for those things.
“But we had a lot of young players getting valuable minutes. We had another strong performance by Liya Brooks in goal, and a lot of players are stepping up and staking a claim to be in the squad,” he commented.
Busby said they had some good moments in transition, and showed marked improvements on attacking set plays. They did put the ball in the net in the 21st minute, but it was called back for offside.
However, with England preparing for the Women’s Euros, Busby pointed also that it was clear towards the end of the match that both teams had different objectives in mind.
“In transition, we were better in moments. One of the things we want to improve on is set plays and I think it has improved.
“It’s unfortunate, the goal was disallowed. That’s a momentum shifter and changer in the game. Moments like that change games. I think it was quite harsh to take that (goal) away.
“Overall, I am really pleased with a lot of players, but towards the end you could see one team was getting ready to finish off their season, while the other is obviously off to the Euros.
“So the last 25 minutes was difficult. But I am proud of the players for trying to finish off the game to the best of their ability,” he stated.
England broke the deadlock after just seven minutes, when Toone’s well-placed effort beat Brooks from 18 yards.
Kayla McKenna scored what she thought was an equaliser for the Reggae Girlz, but the goal was ruled out for offside..
England extended their lead when Bronze headed home in the 32nd minute.
Toone would make it 3-0 before the break with a precise curler off the left boot.
Stanway made it 4-0, 20 minute into the second half, when she fired a shot into the top corner, from inside the box.
England got their fifth when Russo headed a cross from Lauren James past Brooks in the 71st minute.
Jones made it 6-0, turning home a cross in the 86th minute before Mead sealed the win with a low shot past Brooks in time added.
English (US) ·