Grace Clinton scores dream debut goal as Lionesses dominate Austria 7-2 in friendly
The Lionesses put on a dominant display against Austria in their friendly match on Friday, with Grace Clinton stealing the show on her debut. The 7-2 victory was a promising start to England’s preparations for the upcoming Euros qualifiers. Clinton’s goal came early in the match, just three minutes in, after a swift counter-attack led by Alessia Russo and Beth Mead.
Mead, who had an outstanding performance, went on to score a brace alongside Russo. The duo’s partnership was on full display as they combined effectively to trouble the Austrian defense. Despite Austria managing to find the net twice, they struggled to cope with England’s pressing game.
The result of the match meant that England remains undefeated against Austria, recording their tenth victory over their rivals. Sarina Wiegman, the Lionesses’ head coach, spoke before the game about experimenting with her squad and moving on from the disappointment of missing out on the Paris Olympics playoffs.
Austria’s nightmare start continued as England punished their mistakes at the back. Clinton added a second goal for England in the 19th minute, just moments after hitting the post. However, Austria pulled one back from a corner kick, with Virginia Kirchberger heading home to make it 2-1.
Any hopes of an Austrian fightback were quickly extinguished by Mead’s stunning curled shot, which beat her club teammate Manuela Zinsberger in goal. In the second half, Wiegman made several changes to her lineup, bringing on players like Jess Carter and Jess Park. Russo added her second goal of the match before being substituted for Rachel Daly.
Carter contributed to the drubbing with a flicked finish past Zinsberger late in the game. However, Kirchberger managed to catch England off guard again from a set-piece, outjumping Esme Morgan to score Austria’s second goal. Mead then fired in England’s sixth goal with a minute of normal time remaining. Daly completed the scoring with a one-on-one finish in injury time.
The victory sets the Lionesses up well for their next challenge, a friendly match against Italy on Tuesday. Wiegman will likely continue to experiment with her squad as she fine-tunes her preparations for the Euros qualifiers, which will begin in April.