England survive despite defeat

England survived a 4-3 loss to Switzerland in Kävlinge to scrape through to the semi-finals of UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship courtesy of their second-placed finish in Group B.

Three doubles
Faye Dunn's early goal and two from Katy Ward were not enough for England as Corina Theiler and Nicole Gassmann both struck twice to earn the Swiss their first points of the tournament. Norway's 3-1 loss to Denmark left them tied on three points with Switzerland and England, who advanced on goal difference to a last-four meeting with Group A winners Germany.

Inclusion justified
Dunn, who scored in the 2-1 defeat by Denmark after coming on as a substitute, started this game and justified her inclusion with the opening goal after six minutes following a through-ball from Kelly McDougall. England were showing the sort of form which saw them account for Norway 3-1 in their opening game and they appeared to be cruising when Ward's low effort made it 2-0 just 14 minutes in.

Lead wiped out
Despite losing both their previous games - 3-1 to Denmark and 2-1 to Norway - Switzerland have impressed in their maiden appearance in a major competition and they showed they are not in Sweden merely to make up the numbers by quickly eradicating England's advantage. Gassmann halved the deficit in the 20th minute before Theiler, who was also a scoring substitute last time out, levelled the game five minutes later.

Stunning goal
The large crowd were being treated to a fine exhibition of attacking play and it got better when Ward spun on the edge of the area and rifled a shot high into the net for one of the goals of the tournament in the 45th minute. The second half, however, belonged to the Swiss as they scored twice without reply to end their campaign on a high.

Scoring charts
Theiler joined Claire Morel of France and Germany striker Barbara Müller at the top of the goalscoring charts when she converted a penalty in the 62nd minute after Corinne Yorston had felled Sylvia Hügli. Gassmann then put the seal on an enthralling fightback when she struck Switzerland's fourth goal in the 89th minute.

Joyful news
Despite playing out the game of the championship so far in front of a crowd of 1,873, both teams looked dejected at the final whistle as they faced the prospect of an early trip home. England's despair soon turned to joy, however, as news filtered through from Ängelholm that Norway had been beaten.

'Tough groups'
England coach Mo Marley felt the demands of top-level competition told on her players towards the end of the game. "The level of competition has been very high," she said. "Both groups are tough because it's only the top teams who have made it this far so you expect tough opposition. The players had tired legs at the end as it was physically demanding for girls of that age."

'Proud' Swiss
Béatrice von Siebenthal, the Switzerland coach, was pleased with her side's showing. "We can be proud because we gained three points and scored five goals," she said. "Switzerland now has a football culture and you could see that today. I hope things can carry on like that."