6th December 2012: Denmark 2 – 3 England
7th December 2012: Norway 1 – 1 England
Bodo, Norway
The England Futsal Team warmed the chilly sub-Arctic conditions following two excellent performances in Norway against Denmark and Norway. Bodo, situated in the heart of the Arctic Circle played host to three evenly matched teams as they all began their preparations for next month’s UEFA Euro qualifiers in earnest.
Immediately prior to these matches, UEFA had completed the draw for the Euro Qualifiers which will see England travel to Lithuania to play Cyprus and the Lithuanians for the opportunity of progressing to the Main Round for the first time in the England Futsal team’s history. Although a tough group, England know that if they build on the promising levels shown here in Bodo, they will stand a good chance of qualifying.
England had played Denmark on two occasions earlier this year with the honours shared with both teams winning a game each. Pete Sturgess’ men knew what to expect of the resilient Danes, and that it would be a fiercely competitive match, and particularly more so after the Danish team had suffered an 8-3 defeat the previous night against the Norwegians. Smarting after the humiliation of the night before, the Danes started the game brightly at a high tempo. But the English players withstood the early pressure and settled into the game, dominating possession and carving out some excellent chances, with Nick Colley coming closest after hitting the bar.
Sam Murphy had yet another strong game for England, and midway through the first period he picked up the ball deep in his half and showed exquisite skill and technique as he danced through the Danish defence to score an outstanding solo effort. This was quickly followed by Captain Luke Ballinger scoring a second after a fumble from Haagh, the Danish goalkeeper, presented England’s top goalscorer with an easy finish. Further chances came and went for a dominant England team, particularly with Murphy missing a far post tap-in from a yard out. Stuart Cook and debutant Alex Campana were a handful for the struggling Danish defence, and it was Cook who deservingly slotted a third after a lightning counter-attack that left him one-on-one with Haagh.
Denmark regrouped at half-time and came out better focused and organised, yet England continued to break through and create excellent chances to extend their lead. Much of England’s positive play coming through Wallace Lopez-Cepero, but England would rue not capitalising on their chances to put the game beyond Denmark’s reach after Mikkel Kjaer struck a wonder goal that flew into the top corner. The dynamic of the game changed, with England struggling to retain possession and Denmark demonstrating a newly found belief that led to a scrappy second goal. England managed to see out the game 3-2, but the scoreline was closer than it needed to be.
Norway ranked over 40 places higher than England in the World Rankings had looked powerful, well organised and a formidable challenge for the English after their 8-3 dismantling of the Danish. But Sturgess and his coaching staff carefully prepared a game plan that could withstand the inevitable pressure that would be applied by Norway. England defended deeply ensuring that there was no way for Norway to break through, whilst being alive for potential counter-attacking opportunities. Under incredible Norwegian pressure, the England players retained a focus and precision to their defensive work, and continued to look menacing on the counter-attack.
Norway had the majority of possession, but it was England that created the best goal-scoring opportunities. Dave Jennings came closest after his shot from distance hit the post and rolled across the line just evading Alex Campana. But Jennings didn’t miss shortly afterwards when a Norwegian attack broke down and Jennings was able to break free and calmly slot past the goalkeeper.
Norway looked rattled as their direct playing style was having limited results against a strong and determined tactical defensive display from England. And Sturgess’ men continued to create the better chances, with Rooke, Ballinger and Cook all having glorious opportunities to extend England’s lead. Norway looked increasingly short of ideas, until they opted for the last resort of using the fly-goalkeeper, and with only 51 seconds remaining Stian Sortevik’s (the Norwegian fly-keeper) long-distance shot deflected off Sam Murphy, wrong-footing Curtis Holmes and looping into the back of the net.
Heartbreak for England, who had looked the better side and had come so close to causing a major upset in the Futsal world. But England will take many positives out of these results in their preparation for the Euro qualifiers, although one of the major lessons is the importance of taking their chances when they arise. The England team will have another opportunity to fine-tune prior to the Euros when they head to Malta at the start of January for a stern test against Georgia, Greece and Malta.
