England Fail to Make Semis
Last updated : 12 June 2005 By Gary Fish
England have been knocked out of Euro 2005 after losing to Sweden at Ewood Park.
The hosts, needing just a draw to secure a place in the semi-finals, went behind after just three minutes as Anna Sjostrom glanced in from close range.
England have suffered at set-piece play throughout the tournament, and the demon struck again.
Failure to deal with a Sweden corner, England found themselves with a mountain to climb as Sjostrom - with her back to goal - managed to divert a shot in past England keeper Rachel Brown despite calls from the England ladies of foul play by Sjostrom.
As England tried to restore pride, Rachel Yankey had a shot comfortably saved from close range as she ran onto a pass from the ever-influential Kelly Smith, while Birmingham City’s Eniola Aluko was close to scoring a bizarre equalizer as an attempted clearance by Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl struck the youngster on the head and the ball bounced agonisingly wide.
The second half started in scrappy fashion with England having it all to do, however, had to be wary of the Swedish threat with Brown bravely coming out and gathering at the feet of Victoria Svensson as she ran through on goal.
As the game went on, England rarely troubled Lindahl, and despite being so close to a semi-final place on Wednesday, England now find themselves out of a competition, some felt they could have won.
