September 30, 2000
England 2 Finland 1 on Thursday September 28, 2000, at Leyton Orient AFC, London as Fulham pair win Olympic Gold and help England win

by Colin A. Aldis

Although on the other side of the world, two players due to play for Fulham were picking up gold medals, while two of their new team-mates were helping England defeat Finland in a friendly International in vastly different surroundings.

This was the first senior meeting between the two countries for a day short of 10 years, and the independent rankings showed that England were marginally ahead, with a history of 2 wins and 3 draws in a series dating back to July 1979.

On a pleasant autumn evening in east London, Finland grabbed an early lead (the 3rd game in a row, England have conceded a goal in the first six minutes) thanks to a superb run on the right and cross from the lively Anna Virolainen. The ball found the head of HEIDI KACKER, due to a hesitant England defence, and she glanced it against the left post and into the goal for a dream start.

Although Finland had a couple of chances, which went wide, England gradually gained some composure, and this was fully restored by amemorable goal in the 16th minute. Marieanne Spacey was given time on the left to curl the ball into the penalty area, beyond the far post, and KAREN BURKE hit a fantastic volley into the left corner of the net, to make it 1-1. Finland then had a spell of pressure, but after the half-hour mark, England started to take control of
proceedings. The home team should have gone ahead, when Marieanne Spacey went clear, but allowed Johanna Lindell the chance to dive
down a push the ball off her toe. Although, a prolific scorer for her club, (Arsenal) one of the all time greats of English football has not found the net for England since the World Cup match against Canada in 1995. This is not as harsh as it first appears, as Marianne Spacey took time out the game to have daughter Sophie, and returned to the squad, along with Karen Walker, when Hope Powell changed from player to coach.

In the 37th minute, the winner arrived, with Angela Banks also breaking clear, but again the Finnish keeper dived full-length to push the ball away, giving England a corner on the right. Sue Smith curled the ball to the edge of the goal area, and it was headed down to the poaching ANGELA BANKS, who neatly flicked the ball into the net from just 3 metres.

After the break, England created most of the chances, and were able to make several changes, giving some useful minutes of experience to some of the younger players. This was a confident boosting performance with the two home and away UEFA matches against Ukraine looming.

Finland will meet neighbours Sweden to try and reach the 2001 UEFAfinals, again on a home and away basis.

It would be a major boost for England to reach the finals, after missing out in 1997, and the 1999 World Cup, but there appears to be some doubt that they will host the tournament, which is usually held in one (or 2) of the participating countries