UNO News Net: CANADA 2015 Women's World Cup: England seal progress with Colombia win 2-1

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

CANADA 2015 Women's World Cup: England seal progress with Colombia win 2-1

Karen Carney of England celebrates scoring

17 Jun 2015

Two first-half goals proved enough for England to secure a 2-1 victory over the already-qualified Colombia and move into the knockout stage.

An early Karen Carney strike and a Fara Williams penalty gave the Three Lions victory, setting up a match-up against Norway.

The game was largely a well-balanced contest with Colombia showing glimpses of the kind of quality which resulted in their famous win over France on the last matchday.

England were always dangerous on set-pieces and Casey Stoney headed over the crossbar following a corner.

Almost immediately, a Steph Houghton free-kick was parried by goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda but only into the path of Carney, who tucked away the rebound.

Later in the half, a goalmouth scramble only came to an end when the ball struck the hand of Carolina Arias, allowing Williams to coolly stroke home from the penalty spot.

There was still time in the half for Arias to have a gilt-edged opening, but Karen Bardsley made an impressive block.

A strong crowd in Montreal enjoyed a quality, end-to-end contest and a strong showing from Colombia, but there was only to be one more goal to cheer as Lady Andrade lofted the ball into the net over the exposed Bardsley during injury time.

Live Your Goals Player of the Match: Fara Williams (England)