Loss takes gloss off Hough-ton
STEPH HOUGHTON’S 100th England cap ended in disappointment with a shock defeat.
Phil Neville’s side had not been beaten at home since 2005. But Houghton (above) and her team were second best against Sweden, who had this game won inside 33 minutes thanks to goals from Sofia Jakobsson and Anna Anvegard.
It could have been a bigger losing margin for England, with Caroline Seger hitting a post at Rotherham’s New York Stadium.
The hosts dominated the second half but could not find a way through a stubborn Sweden defence as captain Houghton’s celebrations turned sour.
Neville said: “With 20 minutes to go, I was
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actually enjoying the fact that maybe we all should suffer.
“Sometimes in life you have to put yourself through a little bit of pain to get where you want to be. For the last 12 months everything has been going really smoothly and there’s a massive euphoria, and rightly so.
“But along the way, you’re going to get bumps. This feels like a bump in the road, and a jolt for us.
“Today was what we needed. I do think that we needed it, the whole of the FA women’s division.
“It’s just a little bump in the road to remind everyone no one is going to just give us the World Cup. We’ve got to keep working hard.”