Nobody cares about women's football? Try telling the Boxpark crowd

Telegraph

16 hours ago

Molly Clarke from Hemel Hempstead simply could not watch. As England and Spain's women exchanged penalty kicks at the conclusion of a European Championship final shot through with nerve-shredding tension, she had her back to the giant screen at Wembley's Boxpark, relying on the noise around her to signal what had happened.
'I just can't look,' she explained. 'They put you through it don't they?'
She was right there. These Lionesses simply do not know how to do things the easy way. Mainlining jeopardy, they seem to require their backs pinned to the wall to respond. But my how they responded in Basel to retain their European crown. For the third game on the bounce they needed extra time to prevail, for the second time in this tournament they won a penalty shoot-out. And when Chloe Kelly – who else – stroked home the winning penalty, Molly was up and dancing with her friends in Wembley, as fireworks shot skywards from the stage. Moments later, as Leah Williamson lifted the trophy, she was in tears, overwhelmed by the collective delight.
Because this was delight all right. More than 1,500 people had packed into a barn of a place alongside Wembley Stadium, dancing themselves into a sweating frenzy. From mid-afternoon, there were groups of young women, festooned in the cross of St George, taking pouting selfies in front of the main steps of Wembley Stadium. Alongside them the official merchandise sales area for the Oasis residency had been built, less a stall more a hypermarket.
And there was a merger of the two events inside the Box Park, where many were wearing bucket hats, bought for the occasion. When an England team played in the first women's World Cup in Mexico in 1971, nobody back home knew they were in action. After all, if there was a man as well as a dog on the touchline for their matches in those days, they had a bumper crowd. How things have changed 45 years on. England's women are now at the centre of national pride. It was packed in the Box Park, and the crowd was overwhelmingly female. Not to suggest there was no male presence: there were a few boyfriends accompanying their other halves, dads of all ages with their daughters, a chap in an England women's shirt with his name on the back and number: Grandad 70.
Taeja Hoskins had come down from Birmingham, she said, 'for the atmosphere'. Her friend May Barnett had come from Shepherd's Bush, with her father Ben in tow. 'I wouldn't say I was dragged here, not at all,' he insisted. 'I'd be watching at home on my own otherwise.'
Round the edges of barn, the food outlets were providing constant refreshment. There was Cheesy Naan Melts, for instance, Ipanema Barbecue and the exotically named Yorkshire Burritos. And the bars were churning out the drinks.
Before kick-off, even as the atmosphere gradually built from school disco to full on roar, the excitement was tempered with realism. This was the World Cup winners against the European champions, a rerun of the Arsenal-Barcelona Champions League final: the world's best once again in contention. Nobody was expecting an easy ride.
Besides, as the game began it soon became evident the world champions would be no pushover. The surge of excitement that greeted Alessia Russo's and Lauren Hemp's early chances, were rare. There was a gathering fear as the Spanish women, their skill and composure as evident as their male counterparts, took control.
'No, no, no' boomed out one woman as another Spanish careful, considered advance was built. And when an Arsenal forward opened the scoring, nobody was surprised. Unfortunately Mariona Caldentey was wearing the red shirt of Spain. A thick pall of gloom descended as her smart finish hit the back of the England net. Silence hung. Heads were in hands everywhere. Except in the bar in the centre of the building, where morale reinforcing cocktails continued to be mixed.
'The wrong Arsenal player scored,' said Taeja at half time. 'But we'll be all right, you watch.'
With this England team, optimism is always a valid response. And when the Lionesses equalised, my, how they enjoyed that goal at the Boxpark. Everyone was on their feet bouncing the moment Kelly strolled down the wing and set up a perfect cross for Russo's expertly guided header. There were no plumes of beer as became the trademark during the men's World Cup in 2018. Everyone was too busy jumping up and down to chuck their drink around.
For sure, as the game progressed, as Spain's players kept hold of the ball, things grew tense. Tackles were cheered like goals, the goalkeeper Hannah Hampton punching away a cross was roared on, a hefty clearance greeted with a squeal of relief that must have worried dogs as far away as Harrow. Someone with a hooter started choreographing the chanting. 'Parp parp parp parp parp England' was the soundtrack to extra time, as if the players could hear the encouragement.
And then came the penalties. Well what else do we expect? It's always a marathon for the Lionesses and their supporters. But these wonderful women prevailed. And as the young devotees danced in triumph, they were probably already planning to name their first daughter Chloe, after the penalty queen, or Hannah, after the goalkeeper who saved two Spanish spot kicks. Or maybe Sarina, after Wiegman, the astonishing manager of this team, who has now won three Euros in succession. Any of them would be the best of role models. Because these are proper national heroes.