England Women 1-0 Haiti Women: Player ratings as Lionesses labour while Dumornay shines
England laboured to a win in their 2023 Women’s World Cup opener, beating Haiti 1-0 in Australia.
Georgia Stanway’s penalty was the only goal of the game as Haiti made it tough for England on their World Cup debut. The Lionesses will need to be better when they take on Denmark next week.
Here’s how the players rated at Lang Park:
England
Mary Earps – 7 – She wasn’t the busiest of goalkeepers but England’s No.1 was on top form when she needed to be including a great save to stop Eloissaint from equalising late on.
Lucy Bronze – 6 – A danger from set pieces and going forward, Bronze as given some problems defensively which has become the standard game for the full-back.
Millie Bright – 5 – Playing for the first time since March, you could expect some rustiness from Bright but it still wasn’t a confident display. There was a loose pass inside the opening minute and a poor aerial duel with some more moments of slack play across the game – alongside some decent defending.
Jess Carter – 7 – Starting at centre-back, Carter looked the more comfortable of the two, defending well with a couple of good blocks. Wonderful tackle when one-on-one with Dumornay late on.
Alex Greenwood – 6 – Playing at left-back, Greenwood was forced to make a good tackle early on to stop a Haiti attack. Got forward quite a lot but had her work cut out for her defensively.
Keira Walsh – 5 – Completely taken out of the game by the Haitian midfield, Walsh had very little impact though did make a good tackle in the second half. Did grow as Haiti tired.
Georgia Stanway – 7 – Looked to create chances high up the Haitian half with her passing, growing as the game went on. Saw her first penalty well saved but it was retaken due to encroachment. Went the same way coolly to put England ahead.
8 penalties in 8 games now at the #FIFAWWC
❌ Percival (??) vs ??
✅ Catley (??) vs ??
❌ Sinclair (??) vs ??
✅ Bachmann (??) vs ??
❌ Hermoso (??) vs ??
❌ Morgan (??) vs ??
✅ Ueki (??) vs ??
✅ Stanway (???????) vs ??— Harry Edwards (@harryedwards16) July 22, 2023
Ella Toone – 4 – Given the nod over James, Toone wasn’t really able to have an impact on the game from the start.
Chloe Kelly – 6 – England’s most dangerous attacker, Kelly asked a lot of questions of the Haitian defence and created chances for herself and her teammates. But sometimes it does feel like she picked the wrong options, shooting when she should have been passing.
Alessia Russo – 5 – Given the nod over Rachel Daly, Russo wasn’t the lethal presence England needed in the box, not really troubling the goalkeeper or defence. Got into the game around the hour-mark with a couple of chances but still wasn’t testing enough. Okay in the build up.
Lauren Hemp – 6 – Couldn’t get in the game as much early in the first half as England favoured the other flank but she she did have the ball the Man City winger caused some problems. However, there is still something missing from Hemp’s game, unable to use her pace to get past her marker. Was booked for a heavy challenge on Mondesir.
Substitutes:
Lauren James (for Hemp 61) – 6 – Caused problems after coming on, bringing calls for her to start.
Absolutely no way Lauren James should be starting on the bench.
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) July 22, 2023
Rachel Daly (for Russo 76) – 6 – Had a couple of chances after coming on and was definitely more of a threat.
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Haiti
Kerly Theus – 8 – Wonderful between the sticks for Haiti, making 10 saves, the joint-most at the tournament so far. Also saved Stanway’s first spot-kick but had enroached before being sent the wrong way for the retake.
Kerly Theus made 10 saves against England, the joint-most at the #FIFAWWC so far (alongside Daniela Solera vs Spain)
— Harry Edwards (@harryedwards16) July 22, 2023
Betina Petit-Frere – 7 – Up against Hemp in the first half, Petit-Frere certainly had her work cut out for her but it was a very good display from the defender.
Jennyfer Limage – 5 – Had a good defensive start against Russo but had to come off midway through the first half after a challenge with the English striker.
Tabita Joseph – 7 – Looked good as part of a Haitian defence that frustrated England, reading the game well and contributing to playing the ball out from the back.
Kethna Louis – 7 – Up against Kelly, there were a couple of times that Louis was tested in the first half and she was more than a match for them. Didn’t struggle after half-time when England switched things up.
Sherly Jeudy – 7 – Part of a well put-together midfield for Haiti, sitting just in front of the defence to protect them and pack the middle of the pitch.
Dayana Pierre-Louis – 6 – A bit shaky at times and was booked for a challenge on Kelly though the penalty was overturned for an earlier foul. Also gave the ball away dangerously close to her own box early in the second half.
Batcheba Louis – 6 – Caught playing volleyball inside her own box to give England a penalty but looked to stretch the English left flank further up the pitch.
Melchie Dumornay – 9 – Marvellous. The best player on the pitch and the only thing missing was a goal or assist. Asked so many questions of the England defence, not just knowing their weaknesses but also knowing how to exploit them. Had a stinging effort early in the second half well-saved by Earps and made top players look very average. A reminder that she’s still just 19.
“She will go on to become one of the best players in the world,” Emma Hayes said on commentary of Dumornay.
“She will be one of the best players in the world,” Karen Carney added.
Nerilia Mondesir – 7 – While other attackers shone brighter, this was a very good performance from Mondesir to supplement her teammates.
Roselord Borgella – 5 – Broke through England’s high line in the first half but sent her shot well wide, though she looked to be offside. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet game, perhaps the only negative point for Haiti aside from the injury to Limage.
Substitutes:
Ruthny Mathurin (for Limage 31) – 7 – Looked comfortable in defence having come on in the first half.
Roseline Eloissaint (for Borgella 78) – 6 – Should have equalised for Haiti late on but was perhaps a little caught off guard having just come on.
Darlina Joseph (for B. Louis 90) – N/A – A late sub.
