I’m stood close to the top of the Stretford End, the famous home section behind one of the goals where the Manchester United faithful usually try and roar the ball into the back of the net. Today however, there are people of all ages here – not just the usual LADS ‘getting the [Stone Island] badge in’ or tourists clutching megastore bags – but equal numbers of men, women and children waving England flags, blowing air horns, flapping paper rattles and just generally making a nuisance of themselves. This wouldn’t do in men’s football – but this isn’t men’s football. It’s the opening game of the Women’s 2022 UEFA European Championships and I’m at Old Trafford to see hosts England take on Austria.
Earlier, I had made my way to Trafford Bar Metrolink, with the tram filling up with increasing numbers of England supporters at each stop. When I arrived, the streets were already awash with people, and it was a good one-and-a-half before kick-off! I popped into the pub immediately opposite the station, The Tollgate, which I would imagine would be difficult to do on a usual Old Trafford matchday. I get served straight away but in fairness, there was a decent enough number of people in there too, many of whom are women sporting the new England women’s away kit, which is orange (a reference to the Dutch manager, Sarina Wiegman, perhaps?)
This new kit caused chaos amongst viewers during England’s recent friendly with The Netherlands as The Dutch wore their white away shirts! Not only that – but get this – their manager, Mark Parsons, is English! So, we had a situation in which England, managed by a Dutchwoman, wore orange – traditionally the colours of The Netherlands – and The Netherlands, managed by an Englishman, wore white – traditionally the colours of England! Confusion aside, I like the orange away kit – aside from it looking striking (which you would imagine would be ideal if you want to pick out a teammate!), it’s a departure from what the men’s team have and therefore gives the women’s team something that I hope all women’s teams eventually strive for – their own identity.
My seat is in the upper echelons of the Stretford End, and it takes me an age to get there – the last time I was this high, I was on a plane to Tenerife. The DJ is whipping up the crowd with some nightclub classics – Whitney Houston's 'I Want To Dance With Somebody' gets a raucous reception and sing and dance along. Sadly, Old Trafford doesn’t sell pints of whisky to cope with such things, so I stew in my despondency. Looking around, the number of women here becomes more apparent as they get up and boogie with each dance classic that plays – and it truly is great to see them attracted to see a football match in an atmosphere that’s far more comfortable for them. Even the average of men’s matches can see idiots in the crowd bawling out obscenities and aggressive nonsense, so it’s refreshing to see such an upbeat atmosphere. However, for me, the standout positive to so many women being here, is that there was no queue for the Gents.
The opening ceremony was decent enough – mercifully short, as most football tournament opening ceremonies are – but there was some slick dancing (I’ve seen Strictly Come Dancing, once, so I know what I’m talking about), and flag waving before the unfurling of banners detailing all teams and host cities (Wigan & Leigh lol), before a plethora of pyrotechnics went off, earning wonderous ‘ooohs’ from the crowd as they exploded into the sky (the fireworks, not the crowd).
The teams come out, anthems are played, and the match kicks off – and the crowd continue with the jovial atmosphere that was building up before. Air horns, clapping and waving of paper rattles accompanying England chants. Both sides play it tidily, as the ball sticks to the floor. One thing you might notice when you first watch a women’s game is that physicality isn’t as prevalent as it is in the men’s – you don’t often see a target woman stuck up front waiting for balls to be lobbed up at her, for example. As a result, the players seem to be more versatile – a great example is on display here, as Rachel Daly, who plays as a centre-forward for her club side in the US, is playing as a left-back for her country tonight. Another example is right-back Lucy Bronze, who had a spell playing in central midfield for England in recent years. Not saying this doesn’t happen in the men’s game, but certain positions and roles require certain attributes, so you don’t often male players playing in such differing positions.
The pivotal point of the match occurs 16 minutes in, as forward Beth Mead springs the Austrian offside trap and proceeds to lob the ball over the goalkeeper and in. But is it in? A defender seemed to get back in time to hook it off the line (and onto the bar before it bounced away) – I don’t know if the ref got a signal on her watch from the goal line technology that’s presumably installed, but the decision goes to V.A.R anyway – and it’s given. The Austrians aren’t pleased, but they don’t have any basis to argue!
After a somewhat tense start, with both sides exchanging periods of possession without creating much in the way of chances, we’re hoping England can settle down now and play some of the rapid back-to-front attacking football they’ve shown under Wiegman so far. To ‘help’ push them along, the supporters decide to start a Mexican Wave, and I notice people start to inch towards the edge of their seats in anticipation of it hitting where we’re sat. It arrives and everyone joyfully stands up – except me, of course. It’s all good fun and all, but it’s an English tradition to not join in with this kind of collectiveness, so I’m too set in my ways/miserable to join in.
The first half was decent enough – England dominated the ball after the goal, but Austria still look handy on the break. Lauren Hemp did have a great chance when put through one-on-one, but the Austrian keeper pulled off a good save, throwing her arm at the ball to divert it over. A finely poised game, then; hopefully we’ll see more goals – these are thoughts that I’m pondering while taking my sweet time in the men’s toilets, thanks to the plethora of space that’s afforded to me. As it turned out, nothing much happened in the second half, as both sides continued to struggle to create anything – the best chance being an Austrian shot from the left that England keeper, Mary Earps, was well-placed to turn around the post.
England largely managed to control the second half and despite looking threatening from set pieces, Austria couldn’t fashion any more chances. It was a hard-fought win for the hosts, who will be looking to be far more fluent in their play as the tournament progresses – they’re certainly capable of a lot more. You know what they say about tournament football – you have to ‘grow’ into it; start from a low base and work your way forwards. I hope for the sake of the tournament – and England in general – that we do indeed see this in the next few weeks.
The vast majority of the 68,000 crowd go home happy though – England have three points on the board, which is all that matters. As it turned out, this was a record crowd for the women’s European Championships, some 27,000 more than the previous record set in Germany in 2013. The prices have been fantastic and there have been some great deals for families attending – which has been criticised by some, which I find odd. Imagine criticising cheap ticket prices for a football match in 2022, especially considering the unaffordability of top level – and even some EFL clubs – in the men’s game. The crowd today exemplified what supporting a football team should be like – everyone enjoying the atmosphere, getting involved with songs, cheering on their team in tense desperation; it’s what watching football should be about.
They can leave the Mexican Wave alone though, no room for that.
England 1
(Mead, 16)
Austria 0
Attendance: 68,871
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