On November 23rd the England Womens team played at Wembley Stadium for the first time as they took on Germany. Mytchett Athletic ran a free prize draw to give away tickets. One lucky winner, Mark Howells, shares his story.
England vs Germany, by Mark Howells.
Having won the Mytchett Athletic FC tickets to see the Women’s England football team perform for the first time at Wembley, even the typical windy, dreary, rainy November day couldn’t dampen our spirits and expectations. My son, Ethan Howells, chose Mytchett FC Eagles U9s teammate and friend, George Roome, and his dad to join us. All were extremely excited about the prospect of watching the game. Ethan, in particular, as it was his first time visiting the national iconic stadium.
On arriving, Ethan was blown away by the size of Wembley and his face was an absolute picture when he first set his eyes on the Wembley turf. Arriving in good time we found our seats which were in a fantastic spot just 6 rows back from the pitch, offering a great view of the whole stadium and players.
Over 45,000 fans spilled into Wembley (the biggest crowd ever to see a women’s England football match!), which instantly created a wonderful atmosphere. As the players emerged from the tunnel, the crowd roared and applauded the England team. Guest singer and former X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, along with the players, fans, Ethan and George, proudly sang the national anthem before kick-off. As an added celebration to the women’s team playing at Wembley for the first time, England captain, Karen Carney, was also awarded her 100th cap for the national team!
The game started, and within what seemed to be seconds, England went on the attack with a shot from one of the player’s cannoning off the cross-bar! Ethan and George were up out of their seats thinking that it was a goal! Sadly, not on this occasion, but it was a great start from the team and the Germans were on the back foot straight away. However, as the game went on, Germany, as they do in so many other sports, began to dictate play and it wasn’t long before they went ahead. A second goal followed quickly and within 10 minutes, England were 2-0 down, slightly shell shocked and chasing the game. The Germany women’s team had come to spoil the party! However, this did not stop the England ladies from showing true passion and determination as they pressed and pressed for a goal to get them back into the match. The game was end-to-end and we all felt that the next goal would determine the outcome of the match. Unfortunately, it was the German’s that got it with another counter-attack just before half-time which effectively killed the game as a contest.
The second half started franticly with England trying exceptionally hard to give the crowd something to cheer about, but as with the pitch drenched with rain, the Germans appeared to be just soaking up the play. Mexican waves went around the stadium much to the delight and enjoyment of the boys. Even with so much effort and coming so close to scoring, England couldn’t quite get a goal to get them back into the match and the game finished 3-0 to Germany. As a spectacle though, it was a superb game of football and the talent on show was at a very high standard. As we left the stadium, Ethan, George and us dads knew that we wouldn’t forget this experience.
Many thanks to Mytchett Athletic FC for making this such a memorable day!