Spain too hot for Northern Ireland

Spain scored two goals in each half to beat Northern Ireland 4-0 and move into second place behind England in UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifying Group 1.

Command performance
Ignacio Quereda's side were in charge from start to finish in Montecillo de Aranda and opened the scoring on 15 minutes when striker Laura Del Río found a gap in the visiting defence. Ten minutes later they doubled their lead through forward Sonia Bermúdez.

Substitutions
The game followed a similar pattern to the first half after the break and Quereda took advantage of Spain's superiority to make several substitutions – replacing Aybar Noflia, Mari Paz Azagra Navascues and Sonia with Sandra Vilanova Tous, Veronica Boquete Giadans and María Paz Vilas. It was one of the replacements, María Paz, who struck the third goal, unopposed, just before the hour. Fifteen minutes later Ruth García headed past goalkeeper Emma Higgins to complete the scoring.

Second place
Spain sit second in Group 1, ahead of the Czech Republic on goal difference and having played a game more. The six group winners qualify directly for next year's finals while the six runners-up and the four third-placed teams with the best record against the top four in their group enter play-offs for five remaining berths.