As England get ready to make history at Wembley in less than a months time, I look back at the first time I saw the women's national team play live. On 1st April 2010, during qualifying for the 2011 Women's World Cup, in the 1-0 win against Spain.
I had been following the women's team for a while by this point, especially during the successful run to the final of the European Championships the previous year, but hadn't yet been able to see the team play in person. I picked out the match vs Spain in London as it wasn't far to travel and managed to convince by Dad to come with me, although as a Crystal Palace fan he wasn't particularly happy about going to The Den, Millwall's ground!
A first half goal, scored by then Chicago Red Stars midfielder Katie Chapman, lead England to a narrow but deserved victory over their toughest opposition in the group. But I remember that the match wasn't as comfortable as it seemed. Looking back, the performance from Spain showed they were developing and was probably a warning of the difficulties England would face a few years later at the 2013 European Championships, where Spain won 3-2.
The home side controlled the first 45 minutes and created several good chances to take the lead. Boosted by the return of Kelly Smith, who hadn't started an international match since the Euro 2009 final defeat to Germany, England mounted many strong early attacks but couldn't score. However, they were lucky not to concede a penalty when Rachel Brown brought down Adriana in the 27th minute. But nothing came of it and, two minutes later, England were in front. Chapman did well to control Jess Clarke's cross around the penalty spot, then swivelled to fire a 12-yard volley inside the far post.
Spain came out after the break much improved and made it a tougher 2nd half for England, with both sides having good opportunities to score. Rachel Yankey almost doubled England's lead five minutes into the half but Tirapu, in the Spanish goal, managed to scramble the shot away. Spain pressed for an equaliser, forcing Brown into a 61st minute save after a fine 20-yard effort from Sonia. Adriana got closest, her 25-yard free-kick flying just wide three minutes from time, but England held out for the win.
The result maintained England's dominance in Group 5 and kept in tact their 100% record. They ended the campaign with 7 wins from 8 games, only dropping points in a 2-2 draw away to Spain a few months later. Chapman's neatly taken strike, which came shortly before announcing her retirement from international football before the World Cup, was her 8th international goal and made my first England Women's match a memorable one.
Teams
England: Brown, A. Scott, Unitt, Chapman, F. White (C), Stoney, Clarke, F. Williams, Aluko (E. White 69), K.Smith (J. Scott 59), Yankey (S. Smith 84)
Spain: Tirapu, Torrejón, Vesga Ruiz, García, Sonia (Perez Gonzalez 80), Boquete, Adriana, Sandra (C) (Meseguer), Escribano, Olabarrieta, Ibarra (Willy 74)
England: Brown, A. Scott, Unitt, Chapman, F. White (C), Stoney, Clarke, F. Williams, Aluko (E. White 69), K.Smith (J. Scott 59), Yankey (S. Smith 84)
Spain: Tirapu, Torrejón, Vesga Ruiz, García, Sonia (Perez Gonzalez 80), Boquete, Adriana, Sandra (C) (Meseguer), Escribano, Olabarrieta, Ibarra (Willy 74)