MATCH REPORT: LIVERPOOL LADIES 0 READING FC WOMEN 3

Liverpool Ladies fell to a 3-0 home defeat to Reading F.C. Women on Friday night in Widnes.

A stunning volley from former Liverpool midfielder and England's most capped player Fara Williams put the Royals ahead inside twenty minutes, while Remi Allen doubled the lead before half-time.

The Reds started the second half the brightest of the two sides, looking more and more likely to drag themselves back into the game before Brooke Chaplen netted a killer blow fifteen minutes from time.

Reading have invested heavily in their squad over the last twelve months and it showed in their starting line up; a midfield containing Williams, Jo Potter and Jade Moore, Kirsty Linnett supported by Brooke Chaplen (who loves a goal against the Reds) up front and Mary Earps in goal.

As such, the visitors started on the front foot with Satara Murray called into action early on, intercepting a through ball at the edge of the 18-yard box. Then it was Sophie Ingle blocking a strike, the rebound of which Siobhan Chamberlain did well to push around the post.

From the resulting corner Allen fired an effort in that ricocheted off the post and another set piece minutes later was put wide by Williams.

Liverpool began to find their feet and showed promise attacking down the left flank, Bethany England moved out wide ahead of Alex Greenwood and the duo linked up well.

England's sheer determinedness to win the ball and keep it in over on the touchline allowing the on-loan Chelsea forward to swing a ball in towards Charles who missed connecting with the cross by seconds.

Next it was Greenwood's turn to put the ball into the ball, playing a low diagonal ball for Natasha Harding to flick on towards Charles yet the Royals defence managing to clear.

Shortly before Reading took the lead England was again causing problems on the left. Once more winning the ball deep in the Royals half and battling her way into the box, cutting the ball across to Harding who was off balance and unable to steer her effort on target.

Just as it seemed a goal was coming for the Reds, Harding and Caroline Weir attempting a one-two that was intercepted just outside the area, they found themselves behind. The ball landing to Williams who sweetly struck an unstoppable volley into the back of the net.

Undeterred the Reds continued to press with Weir stopped by a crucial challenge, Gemma Bonner denied at the near post after striking a low shot at Earps and Harding also beaten to the ball by the 'keeper after chasing a Greenwood cross.

However, almost against the run of play, Reading doubled their lead as Allen tapped the ball over the line at the far post.

Out for the second half Liverpool looked revitalised and were very much on top, forcing their visitors on the back foot yet the Reds struggled to turn the pressure and possession into goals.

Two minutes into the half Weir skipped past her marker to curl a left footed effort at goal that crashed back off the post. The Reds midfielder also delivered an impressive set piece that reached the head of Sophie Ingle but her headed landed in the arms of Earps.

England and Harding both had chances to pull a goal back as well. England forcing her way into the box yet seeing her strike go the wrong side of the post and Harding the benefiter of a lightning-quick move from the Reds down the left, her strike on target and Earps agonisingly tipping it around the post.

Jess Clarke replaced Charles on the hour mark and immediately introduced herself by letting a shot fly from distance that went wide of the goal, while England saw a header from Laura Coombs' corner cleared off the line.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock and as the Reds looked to force their way up the right wing, Reading won the ball back, quickly countering and Chaplen netted a killer third goal from outside the area.

As the game drew to a close there was a major positive for Liverpool as full-back Martha Harris made a welcome return from a long injury lay-off. Harris taking to the pitch as though no time had passed and throwing herself into a series of tackles, preventing the Royals from closing in on goal once more.

Overall a disappointing night for all involved with Liverpool Ladies, however important to remember that this is just the second game of a long season. Let's get behind the Reds.

LIVERPOOL LADIES: Chamberlain, Murray (Harris), Bonner (c), Stoney, Greenwood, Ingle, Coombs, Weir,  Charles (Clarke), England, Harding

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Bethany England

REPORT: SUNDERLAND LADIES DS 2 LIVERPOOL LADIES DS 1

​Liverpool Ladies Development Squad began their 2017-18 league campaign away at Sunderland Ladies on Sunday afternoon.

After going a goal down in the first half the young Reds fought back with Cassia Pike impressively converting Lizzie Earle's corner in the 62nd minute.

A string of fine saves from the Sunderland goalkeeper denied Liverpool the chance to take the lead however and the hosts struck the killer blow fifteen minutes from time to take all three points.

Before going a goal down Liverpool were defending well, Lucy Roberts a stand out and clearing a dangerous cross out for a corner that was headed over the crossbar. Then Roberts twice blocked efforts in from outside the area in quick succession - the second allowing the Reds to counter yet Pike was stopped at the opposite end.

In the initial stages of the game Liverpool's chances were coming down the right through Simran Jhamat and Lauren Thomas. 

Jhamat performing a fine turn on the halfway line to race forward, her cross was intercepted by the 'keeper and Thomas swung in a ball that was attacked by Pike and Annabel Blanchard - eventually falling to Bo Kearns who saw her stinging drive blocked.

After Sunderland took the lead - a free kick eluding everyone in the box to sail into the top corner - the Reds had opportunities to level the score before half time.

Earle's pressing earned her a shot on target that fizzed wide of the post, while good work from Jhamat out wide carved out a chance for Blanchard who was denied at close range by the 'keeper.

Liverpool came out fighting in the second half; Earle winning possession early on and her cross intended for Blanchard headed clear by the centre half, then Naomi Heartly's ball out of defence reached Pike whose cross skimmed the head of Jhamat.

The introduction of Levi Rathburn and Paige Cole injected some fresh legs into the side, Rathburn on the pitch a matter of minutes before unleashing her first shot of the game from distance - a good strike going inches wide.

Shortly after the hour mark Liverpool scored the equaliser they deserved as Pike arrived at the back post to volley home Earle's delivery from a corner.

And only for a string of great saves from the Black Cats goalkeeper the Reds would have gone ahead; Rathburn's shot parried, Cole's tipped over the crossbar and Blanchard again denied after being slipped through by Rathburn.

With fifteen minutes to play the hosts regained their lead, this time staunchly defending it to hold onto the three points on the opening day of the season.

LIVERPOOL LADIES: Carberry, Thomas, Heartly, Roberts, Boydell (Cole), Parry (Willis), Kearns (Rathburn), Earle (C), Jhamat, Pike, Blanchard

MATCH REPORT: EVERTON LADIES 0 LIVERPOOL LADIES 2

Perseverance was key for Liverpool Ladies on Friday night as they defeated Everton Ladies 2-0 in the opening game of the 2017-18 FA Women's Super League season.

Natasha Harding opened the scoring in the 69th minute after Alex Greenwood's set piece caused chaos in the Everton area, while Niamh Charles scored her first senior goal for the club in injury time to seal the three points.

On-loan forward Bethany England made her debut leading the line for the Reds, supported by Harding, Jess Clarke, Caroline Weir and Laura Coombs.

Satara Murray made a welcome return to the back four alongside Gemma Bonner, Casey Stoney and Alex Greenwood; with Sophie Ingle ahead of them and Siobhan Chamberlain in goal.

Liverpool dominated their Merseyside rivals from the opening whistle, showing glimpses early on of the attacking flair that made them a threat in the Spring Series.

Coombs was in the thick of the action throughout, proving a handful and racing box-to-box. Early in the half the Reds number eight chased a long ball from England only for the defence to scramble it away at the edge of the box.

Despite playing up front England was also dropping deep, showing great vision just ten minutes in to play a pass forward that was flicked on by Harding and picked up by Weir; the Scotland international smashing the ball at goal and seeing Everton goalkeeper Lizzie Durack tip her effort over the crossbar.

A stand out player in the aforementioned Spring Series, Greenwood was providing a great outlet down the left wing for Liverpool linking up with Harding ahead of her and allowing the Reds to consistently push in from the left.

England had Liverpool's first chance heading Clarke's cross the wrong side of the post and fifteen minutes in seen another header land in the hands of Durack. The Havard graduate was quick to redistribute possession for the Blues leading to a chance for new signing Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, who must have thought she'd netted on her debut only for Stoney to waltz in and clear the strike off the line.

Everton were the home side in Widnes on the evening and grew into the game, new captain Dan Turner swinging in a threatening cross that Jodie Brett attacked yet was unable to connect with while former Liverpool forward Claudia Walker was lively throughout.

As the half drew on the Reds were awarded two free kicks in quick succession in similar areas, Coombs sending the first wide and Weir's dipping a second too late to go over the crossbar.

Everton's Gabby George also flashed an effort wide following a set piece while at the other end England tapped the ball to Weir under pressure, Weir finding Harding who curled a shot in on goal that was collected by Durack.

The biggest chance of the first half came ten minutes before the break as Weir curled in a free kick from near the half way line, Clarke won the header which crashed off the bar and Durack somehow managed to keep England's diving header from crossing the line.

Out for the second half and the Reds continued to be patient as they probed for the opening goal, Greenwood cutting in from the left to cross to England who couldn't direct her header on target and Coombs playing a one-two with Weir before firing a strike from distance over the bar.

England could count herself unlucky not to be on the scoresheet as she went close again after getting on the end of another Greenwood cross; Greenwood also almost setting up Harding - whose shot was caught by Durack - and Weir who couldn't get on the end of yet another cross in from the left.

Eventually the chances would turn into goals, it was of course Greenwood who sent in the free kick that was bandied around the Everton box - Bonner's effort cleared off the line by Turner to land at the feet of Harding who fired the ball into the back of the net. Fan-favourite Harding celebrated passionately pointing at her shirt to the erupting Liverpool supporters in the crowd.

Two substitutes combined to seal the win, Scott Rogers first sending on Niamh Charles to replace Clarke and Ashley Hodson for England.

Charles first watching as Durack punched her shot away after going one-on-one with the 'keeper who also got to Hodson's strike in injury time, however Charles arrived to slot home the rebound and secure the three points for Liverpool.

LIVERPOOL LADIES: 

Chamberlain, Murray, Bonner (C), Stoney, Greenwood, Ingle, Coombs, Weir, Clarke (Charles), Harding, England (Hodson)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH [as voted for by followers of @LFCladiesfans]

Laura Coombs

NEXT UP

Liverpool Ladies v Reading Women | 7pm Friday 29th September | Select Security Stadium, Widnes

REPORT: CHESTER FC WOMEN 0 LIVERPOOL LADIES DS 5

The Reds fielded a Development Squad side that contained nine graduates from the club’s Regional Talent Centre; while the first team were also in attendance, partaking in a meet and greet with supporters prior to kick off.

The tie was perfectly poised at the break as Liverpool took in a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Chester own goal, yet goals in the second half by Aimee Everett (2), Courney Willis and Bo Kearns secured the win.

For the opening twenty minutes of the first half there was little in the way of clear cut opportunities for either side, as both defences were quick to smother any danger.

Paige Cole did well under pressure to keep possession for Liverpool in the early stages, this almost leading to Lizzie Earle slipping Aimee Everett through on goal only for Chester goalkeeper Emily Walker to get there first.

At the opposite end of the pitch Chester’s front line were also looking to breach the Reds defence. First ‘keeper Emily Ramsey was quick of her line to stop an attack in its tracks and then Lucy Roberts and Cole combined to spurn another.

Liverpool full-backs Cole and Meg Boydell were first to register shots on target; Cole making a fine run to cut in from the left yet her effort was held by Walker and Boydell mirroring the chance only for her strike to be blocked by a defender.

The Reds began to edge further and further forward as Willis teed up Kearns whose volley was pushed around the post, then Kearns nearly found Walker but the defence quickly recovered to scramble the ball away.

With under ten minutes to go until half-time Liverpool took the lead, Willis swinging in a corner that was touched over the line by a Chester player.

Buoyed by going ahead Liverpool almost doubled the lead immediately from the restart, Earle racing in on goal and denied one-on-one by Walker – who minutes later also intercepted Earle’s pass intended for Simran Jhamat.

Liverpool dominated proceedings in the second half, threatening from the opening whistle as good build up play between Boydell, Jhamat and Kearns led to Kearns being flagged for offside. 

Five minutes into the half and seconds after being denied by a good save, Everett doubled the lead by slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.

Hungry for more goals Kearns put Jhamat through in the box and Jhamat, who scored on her Reds debut in the friendly against Fylde, selflessly squared the ball to Everett which the defence managed to clear.

Willis extended the lead to 3-0 with 56 minutes played, firing a ferocious left-footed effort in from a tight angle.

As the game reached the closing stages both Earle and Kearns rattled the crossbar, Boydell shot narrowly over and Millie Fitzpatrick headed inches wide. 

There would be time for two more goals, former u16 captain Kearns capping a good performance by providing an assist to Everett for the fourth and then scoring herself in the 89th minute - eluding the ‘keeper with a lovely strike from 25-yards for the game to finish 5-0.

Liverpool Ladies: Ramsey, Boydell, Heartly, Roberts, Cole, Parry, Kearns, Earle ©, Jhamat, Willis, Everett (Fitzpatrick)

REPORT: OLYMPIQUE LYON 6 LIVERPOOL LADIES 0

In the opening game of the Toulouse International Cup reigning UEFA Champions League winners Olympique Lyon defeated Liverpool Ladies 6-0.

Following an hour-long delay due to missing oxygen - that led to incredible scenes of a man running the oxygen canister into the stadium for it to be carried in held aloft by tournament official - there were early flashes of Lyon's predatory instincts in front of goal once the game got underway.

Ada Hegerberg, who by her standards had had a quiet European Championships for Norway earlier in the summer, stalking Reds captain Gemma Bonner as the skipper safely seen a through ball into the arms of Siobhan Chamberlain.

When Liverpool were able to string a series of passes together they looked to build on their confidence, Laura Coombs a stand out in the middle fighting for every ball and constantly looking for opportunities to drive the ball forward.

One such run from the number-eight was halted in it's tracks by France captain Wendie Renard while a long, threatening ball forward intended for Natasha Harding was instead won by Sarah Bouhaddi.

Alex Greenwood was also getting forward up the left flank; winning a header inside the Liverpool half that Jess Clarke was able to steer back into her path as she bombed up the wing yet her cross was headed away before it could reach a red shirt.

Lyon took the lead inside ten minutes and from the first set piece of the tie, a move that was initially cleared off the goal line by Ashley Hodson yet Hegerberg fired Lyon ahead after Camille Abily swung the ball back into the area.

Liverpool continued to enjoy flashes of possession however the half would turn into an array of 'almost chances' for the Reds; a long throw from Kate Longhurst knocked on by Clarke for Harding to give chase, another Longhurst throw nearly culminating in Weir picking out Hodson and Bonner a millimetre away from beating Renard to a Greenwood corner.

Harding and Weir also combined to offer Clarke a shot at goal - one caught by Bouhaddi - while Weir saw a free kick sail over the crossbar.

Meanwhile at the opposite end of the pitch Lyon looked more and more likely to double their lead, Mylaine Tarrieu skipping in from the left and looking to slip the ball to Hegerberg but Chamberlain off her line to gather.

Hegerberg would make it two at the midway point of the half, converting a cross that had been sent in from the right.

From there Liverpool had to defend resolutely to ensure it remained two going in for the break. Coombs twice cleared up as the Reds came under pressure at the back from sustained attacks and Chamberlain holding onto Eugenie Le Sommer's stinging volley on the stroke of half-time.

Liverpool manager Scott Rogers, heading into his second full season as Reds boss, made one change for the second half with Niamh Charles in for Ashley Hodson in a straight swap.

Charles was immediately involved in the thick of the action, turning away from her marker to battle past a number of Lyon shirts and the England youth international was unlucky not to find Weir after her hard work.

With the first clear cut chance of the second half Lyon extended their lead to three. UEFA Women's Footballer of the Year nominee Dzsenifer Marozsan had been flown in by helicopter from Monaco following the awards yesterday and made her first impression on the game minutes after being introduced by setting up Le Sommer, who side footed the ball into the back of the net.

The French side continued to look hungry for more goals, Le Sommer looking for Hegerberg who at this point was after a hat trick but would thrice be denied by Bonner.

On sixty minutes Marozsan and Le Sommer made for a deadly combination once more as the German played in the French forward for Lyon's fourth goal, and Le Sommer teed up Melvine Mallard for the fifth.

A welcome introduction came with eight minutes remaining as the Reds European Champion Shanice van de Sanden took to the pitch, the Dutch winger announcing her return with a shot at goal as she wriggled away from the central defender yet Bouhaddi held onto her strike.

There was time for one more Lyon goal, Marozsan herself getting amongst the scorers with an unstoppable free kick in the eighty-seventh minute.

In Lyon the Reds came up against tough opponents, yet it must be noted that for Liverpool this was just their third game of pre-season following wins over Fylde and Watford. 

The Reds were beaten by a worthy victor earlier this evening - a side widely considered to be the best in women's football - and as such it is a result that is not worth obsessing over, however one that will provide, as Siobhan Chamberlain tweeted, lessons worth learning for Liverpool's young squad. 

LIVERPOOL LADIES: Chamberlain, Longhurst (Johnson), Bonner (C), Stoney (Fletcher), Greenwood, Ingle, Coombs, Weir, Clarke (van de Sanden), Hodson (Charles (Rathburn)), Harding

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Laura Coombs

THE FINALE: A DUTCH SCOUSER

Hello, welcome to my blog on the UEFA Women’s Euros final between Netherlands and Denmark. I was there to support the Netherlands and the properly boss Mandy van den Berg and Shanice van de Sanden and it was the best.

I’d like to begin this blog with a disclaimer by saying first and foremost I am a supporter of Liverpool and have documented over the years ambivalent feelings towards following the English national team. With friends from all over the country I’m convinced this is a ‘Liverpool’ thing, I have friends that support Liverpool that aren’t from Liverpool yet can get wholly behind England yet friends from Liverpool that support Liverpool predominantly aren’t too fussed either way.

In short: I am Liverpool through and through and like to see England do well. That would be the best description. 

Anyway with that out the way, I planned my trip to this summer’s European Championships based on what players I wanted to see; Liverpool players, ex-Liverpool players and Italy.

The first game was the opener, Netherlands v Norway in what was a truly unbelievable atmosphere, a great city and with incredible support. It was completely infectious. Next we went to see Italy, where there was a much smaller crowd yet still in with the Italians again I felt like I could get behind Italy trying to claw a victory back from Russia - particularly when Elena Linari was joined on the pitch by Cristiana Girelli and Barbara Bonansea.

Then it was England. And England were brilliant. A rampant 6-0 win over Scotland of all teams, a Jodie Taylor hat trick, a Lucy Bronze masterclass. 

The only Liverpool player to feature that day however - Caroline Weir - was on the receiving end of the 6-0 defeat and I felt more sorry and sad about that.

Following that and the England games and performances that came next, I couldn’t see past anyone but England winning - Germany, France, Norway then Sweden all out… surely it was England’s year!

So I wanted the Netherlands to do it. Having been there for two of their group games, watching Shanice van de Sanden week in and every other week out for Liverpool and knowing how genuine her and Mandy van den Berg are. I wanted them to win, I love the underdogs.

I tweeted as much - in my defence prior to the Netherlands knocking England out - “My dream is to watch Shanice & Mandy in the final and for Mandy to lift the trophy”.

Which brings me up to the final.

With the final on the other side of the Netherlands we had an absurdly early start, which wasn’t helped by my complete inability to sleep the night before due to excitement. 

My alarm rang at 2:30am and I was up, showered and out of the front door by 3:30am, headed for John Lennon Airport to start what would be one of the best days of my life. There’s no embellishment or exaggerating going on there, it was hands down top three (don’t forget I’ve seen Liverpool win the league twice).

At the airport I met up with Deb, Ley and Oonagh and had a vegetarian breakfast (my sister would be proud of me) yet swapped the fried eggs out for bacon (maybe not so proud).

The flight was delayed a little and I think the pilot came out at some point to explain way but at that stage I could barely keep my eyes open, I don’t even remember take off all I remember is waking up as we were coming down to land.

From Amsterdam we had a two-hour train journey to Hengelo, where we threw our bags in and headed straight for the fanzone in Enschede. I had been impressed by the fanzone in Utrecht but this was four times the size. An ocean of orange that filled two city centre squares and then some. 

We found some FC Twente supporters - a choir no less - and sang them our Shanice van de Sanden song, drawing a round of applause and I signed up to be a ‘Young Red’ because I collect football scarves and wanted a Twente scarf. If you were over 16 membership was €100, under 16 €20 so I told them I was 15 because I didn’t want a €100 scarf.

After meeting Ianthe myself and Deb went to do the fan walk from the fanzone to the stadium, it was a crazy 90 minutes of orange singing and dancing; resembling a pride march yet completely orange and with those epic Dutch dance along hits.

There’s a video Ley and Oonagh took from the train that shows a fraction of how long the orange parade was that I’ll link here, but it doesn’t do it justice it must have been at least a few miles long.

Every five minutes the bus leading the parade would stop and someone on a megaphone would shout out instructions that were obviously in Dutch so we just had to follow the crowd and hope for the best. Most of the time they just wanted us all to get down on the floor, count to ten and then all jump up and around. My favourite though was the dance were you literally just bounce from left to right, right to left and then jump around, it’s deliriously brilliant and fun.

As we walked the streets were also lined either side with people of all ages that had come out their houses to watch and wave flags, filming everything on their phones.

The atmosphere was like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life, if you could bottle it and sell it you’d be the richest person on the planet.

It was insane and it just built and built and built, the closer you got to the ground and the more people that were milling around, it was insatiable and electric. We met back up with the others at the stadium and basically headed straight in, I was able to hang my flag up by tying it to some railings.

The teams did their thing warming up and then it was time for the closing ceremony, a woman representing each nation taking part in the tournament came out waving that nation’s flag and - it was fantastically entertaining - did ‘battle’ with the other nations. So for example Denmark and Germany’s flag wavers had a blag fight that ended with Germany running to the side and throwing her flag on the floor.

This continued until there were only two flags left standing, Netherlands and Denmark of course, and in fact I’ll have to state here that the only disappointment of the entire day came after the game when the two flag wavers came out once more yet no flags were thrown or battles fought!

Once the game began it was apparent that this was a Denmark team that were taking a wholly different approach to proceeding than the side that showed up in Rotterdam. Pernille Harder was whizzing about here, there and everywhere causing all kinds of trouble for the Dutch defence while at the other end the tried and trusted front three of Lieke Martens, Vivienne Miedema and Shanice van de Sanden were doing the same.

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know I have the tendency to get carried away and describe everything as the best, but as this game drew on it was hard not to get carried away by the level of attacking prowess that was on display. It was superb to watch. 

First as Denmark took the lead when Kika van Es stuck a rogue leg out and Nadia Nadim stepped up to smash the ball home from the penalty spot, to van de Sanden setting up Miedema for an equaliser and Martens creating a goal from nothing to put the Netherlands ahead before Harder struck to level the score once more.

Once the half time whistle went you could almost hear this collective ‘and breathe’ from everyone within the stadium, my heart was racing and it felt like my mind couldn’t quite keep up with what was unfolding in front of me.

I’ve even watched the game back since I’ve been home, Kelly Smith describing it on Channel 4 as the “best 45 minutes of football I’ve ever watched” and Eni Aluko calling the action on display “a great advert, not just for women’s football, but for football.” It’s hard to disagree with them.

The game, thankfully, appeared to slow a little in the second half although after Sherida Spitse netted from a free kick the Danes gave me multiple heart attacks with how close they went to getting another equaliser.

Just as we were readying for a tense final few minutes, and I was close to sitting on the floor as I had the second time the Reds won the league, Miedema popped up with goal number six of the afternoon, putting the Netherlands 4-2 up with 88 minutes on the clock.

The stadium went wild and continued to go wild until the final whistle, Miedema was in tears and there was even time for Mandy van den Berg to come from the bench and play the last few minutes of the final.

While waiting for the Dutch to be presented with the trophy we were treated to a playlist of Dutch classics, including Links Rechts which will be getting played at the Select Stadium next season and Auld Lang Syne (not a clue), to which both supporters in the stands and players on the pitch danced along to.

Then came the moment we’d all been waiting for, and the one I had dreamt of yet never thought I’d see - Mandy lifting the trophy alongside co-captain Spitse. What a moment.

Both teams did a lap of honour following the celebrations, the Danes deservedly receiving a great ovation from all supporters in the stands but the biggest cheer of the afternoon came as the trophy passed each section.

Following the game came a brief opportunity to congratulate Mandy through a sea of supporters and then it was almost as if the entire day had caught up on me. We stopped back briefly in Enschede to have some dinner by the fanzone - where the party was in full swing with even the Denmark supporters in attendance. The Danes attendance prompting the DJ to ask, “What is the biggest song from Denmark?” and resulting in the response “Barbie Girl” which turned into hundreds of people singing along to Barbie Girl after winning the Euros. It’s these moments you just don’t get from sitting back at home.

All in all it was an absolute honour to support the Netherlands in the final, from the opening game the people, supporters and players have been a credit to the tournament and the atmosphere is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life! As for Mandy and Shanice it was just incredible to see two people who you know to be genuine and so deserving of every success receive the adulation from the crowds and be crowned European Champions.

This has been a long, long post. I have others to fine-tune to post from the tournament that will be up over the course of the next week, to conclude this one however: I am Dutch, Mandy and Shanice are the best, I love football, Up the Reds.

GAME DAY 1: NETHERLANDS V NORWAY

The UEFA Women's European Championships began in Utrecht on Sunday, with host nation Netherlands defeating Norway 1-0.

Liverpool's Shanice van de Sanden hails from Utrecht and duly popped up with a eye-catching performance. Her familiar bursting runs on the wing and visible passion enrapturing the supporters in the stadium long before her 66th minute header handed the win to the Dutch.

The atmosphere had been steadily building in the city throughout the day, the fanzone in Neude a sea of orange from early morning and the general feeling of excitement infectious.

In the city centre square a DJ played a variety of music from a pop up stage, while mini football games, flag spray painting and photo booths had also sprung up. A couple of Norwegians were also present yet vastly outnumbered.

A couple of hours before the game a double decker bus led supporters from the square to the stadium on an hour-long walk that resembled a Dutch pride, while at the stadium hordes of fans gathered to welcome the team buses.

Norway received a warm welcome before the Netherlands bus pulled in to chants of "Holland, Holland". van de Sanden stepped off the bus while punching the air and gesturing to the fans to generate even more noise, to which they responded.

Former Red and Dutch captain Mandy van den Berg was last to depart the bus and also waved emphatically to supporters, soaking up the atmosphere.

Inside the stadium the stands had been split into twelve sections, one to represent each nation competing with flags of each countries colour placed on seats for the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony started fifteen minutes before kick off and involved the same DJ from the fanzone earlier, running around trying unsuccessfully to get the crowd to do a Mexican wave.

Dutch singer-songwriter Sharon Doorson then took to the pitch singing 'We Fire It Up'; Wikipedia tells me that she was a competitor on the Netherlands versions of The Voice in 2011.

The game kicked off to an explosive start, van de Sanden racing down the right wing before cutting the ball in for Arsenal's Danielle van de Donk - the forward seeing her shot saved by Ingrid Hjelmseth.

At the other end of the pitch the Netherlands defence kept Ada Hegerberg quiet throughout, van den Berg looked to be the player tasked with marking the prolific striker and did a stellar job.

With the game perfectly poised at half time, Norway seemed to be running out of ideas on how to deal with the pace of van de Sanden and Lieke Martens on the opposite flank.

It was this duo that combined for the winning goal; Martens floating a pinpoint cross into the 18-yard box and van de Sanden deftly flicking the ball into the back of the net with her head.

The Liverpool winger raced over to the stand where her family and friends were seated and was quickly engulfed by her teammates in celebration, the players reflecting the jubilant scenes in the stands.

As the game drew to a close, the Netherlands saw out the opening victory with ease and were applauded around the pitch at the end in a triumphant lap of honour.

The hosts face Denmark in their second group game in Rotterdam tonight, 7:45pm kick-off BST.