EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP A HELPING HAND FOR LIONESSES

England on brink of quarters after ref U-turn

FRAN KIRBY and Jodie Taylor fired England to the verge of the Euro quarter-finals – but Mark Sampson’s team needed the help of the officials to clinch victory.

After Kirby gave England a dream start, Taylor made the game safe five minutes from time when Jordan Nobbs played on Demi Stokes’ pass and the hat-trick heroine against Scotland clipped home her fourth goal of the tournament,

But England breathed a huge sigh of relief when referee Carina Vitulano, who had ruled out Millie Bright’s header for offside earlier, was brave enough to take her assistant’s advice and change her mind after awarding a penalty to Spain for hand-ball by Ellen White.

The score at that stage was 1-0 to England but the assistant referee recognised that White had miscued the ball first and could not have meant to handle.

While England were rampant against Scotland, they had to dig deep in the end to grind out this crucial victory.

Yet, with the rain pouring down, they could have been home and hosed inside five minutes.

One goal to the good after

Kirby had converted from White’s through-pass inside two minutes, Bright had a header from Nobbs’ free-kick disallowed for offside – even though TV replays showed it was a legitimate goal.

England spent the rest of the first half chasing Spain in the rain, getting just 24 per cent possession by half-time.

But it was still a great result for boss Sampson, who had named an unchanged line-up for the first time in his 55 games in charge.

Sampson (above) had upped the ante before the gamed by suggesting the Spanish players were inclined to “fall over” and surround referees for decisions.

There were some hefty tackles on England’s players, with Irene Paredes cautioned for sliding into Taylor.

Spain, 13th in the world rankings but England’s biggest threat in Group D, were dominant in possession.

But they had only one effort on target before the interval, when Alexia Putellas’s shot was easily saved by Karen Bardsley.

The second half continued in the same vein, England defending deep as Spain passed and probed.

Hearts were in mouths as White handled while trying to clear but, thankfully for England, common sense prevailed, allowing Taylor to deliver the coup de grace in the closing moments.

England now lead Group D with maximum points from two games and can seal their place in the last eight by avoiding defeat against Portugal on Wednesday.