Lionesses hold on to survive late South Africa rally | OneFootball

Days after losing to Germany in a seven-goal affair, Sarina Wiegman’s England bounced back by beating a visiting South Africa side 2-1.

Scorers: Williamson 12′, Clinton 23′; Kgatlana 55′

It took just after 10 minutes for the deadlock to break when captain Leah Williamson delivered for her nation on the big stage.

The Arsenal star was left unmarked in the box and, after some pinball, drilled home a low drive into the bottom right corner. It was her fifth international goal and first since returning from an ACL injury in January.

Manchester United team-mates Maya Le Tissier and Grace Clinton then doubled the lead after combining on the pitch, this time for their nation. Clinton now has four goals from five starts this season.

However, the one-way traffic in the first half didn’t continue into the second, making things interesting.

South Africa managed to strike against the run of play (and with only 29% possession of the ball) via Thembi Kgatlana, who raced into the box.

It was her country’s first-ever goal against England thanks to a miscommunication from the Lionesses defence.

Chloe Kelly later had an effort hit off the crossbar, but fortunately for the reigning European champions, they held on for the slim victory.