England’s Aggie Beever-Jones, Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway scored in a 3-0 victory over 10-player Australia in a friendly on Tuesday at Derby’s Pride Park, as the European champions bounced back from their 2-1 loss to Brazil on Saturday.
In the first meeting between the two teams since England dispatched Australia in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, Beever-Jones struck in the 20th minute when her free kick hit the wall and Bronze passed the ball back out to her for a powerful shot into the top corner.
Bronze doubled their lead in the 40th minute when she latched onto a pass from Ella Toone and struck from near the penalty spot. The fans serenaded Bronze, who turned 34 on Tuesday, with “Happy Birthday to You!”Â
England were awarded a penalty at the death after Katrina Gorry’s sliding challenge on Missy Bo Kearns. Stanway coolly fired home from the spot for a decisive England victory.
Australia were reduced to 10 players in the 19th minute when Alanna Kennedy was shown a red card for tugging down Alessia Russo.Â
Source: CNA
