International football returns to Bramall Lane
Taking a moment to appreciate seeing England play at Bramall Lane as the Lionesses beat Switzerland 1-0 in Tuesday's friendly
International football returned to Bramall Lane this week, as England beat Switzerland 1-0 in a friendly in S2. The game might have lacked the stakes and drama of the last senior international played at this ground, when the Lionesses hammered Sweden 4-0 in front of a delirious semi-final crowd, but it was nonetheless a moment to be proud of as a United fan.
That Euro 2022 game – and Netherlands v Sweden, which I also attended at the Lane – made me realise just how damn cool it is seeing your club’s stadium used for international football. Of course, I got caught up in the occasion for England’s win back then – that game could have been played at Meadowhead and it’d still be one of my favourite football memories. But on Tuesday night, I had a chance to breathe and take it all in.
Sure, it was just a friendly. Yep, Sarina Wiegman made an uncharacteristically high number of changes to the side that had drawn with USA a few days before. Nah, it wasn’t a sellout (although keep your eyes from wandering to the top of the South Stand and you could believe otherwise – certainly fewer gaps on the Kop than a regular SUFC home match).
But it’s also not just “another football match” being played at Bramall Lane, like when FA Cup semi-finals used to be held at Old Trafford or Villa Park. It’s international football. It’s an occasion, and a moment where 99% of the people in attendance are setting aside their club loyalties and uniting (so to speak) as one to cheer on England.
Even for a friendly there’s a sense of a show rolling into town – the anthems, the lights, the national media. The young girl on the South Stand very audibly losing her mind when Beth Mead started warming up in front of her on the touchline. The England superfan, complete with bucket hat and scarves trailing from each wrist, marching around the Bramall Lane Lower Tier and acting as cheerleader and song starter – and always imploring the crowd to “give yourselves a hand” after.
I think in the past I’d have been cynical about a lot of these things – certainly I roll my eyes when the light show starts before big games for United men, although the fact we often ended up losing those games 5-0 might have something to do with that – but this is different. It is, at its bottom, a showcase of Bramall Lane as a venue fit and deserving of hosting such an occasion – and that’s something to hold your head up high about.
And I got to take all this in from the unfamiliar surrounds of the Bramall Lane End, the traditional haunt of the away fan (I have sat here before, but it was a) about 30 years ago and b) with significantly smaller crowds in attendance). I have to say, this old ground looks spectacular on nights like this with the lights on and everyone crammed in around you. I couldn’t help but think how good it must have looked to Sheffield Wednesday fans seeing Tyrese Campbell score from these seats a few weeks back…
Except, of course, Bramall Lane isn’t really an “old” ground in the disparaging sense of the word. Not for nothing do United enter the pitch with a welcome to “one of the most historic football grounds in the world”. The Lane may have been around for over 150 years but I sometimes think it’s easy to take for granted just how good a medium-sized stadium it is, retaining the character inherent with gradual progression rather than being purpose-built.
Undoubtedly the club’s recent Premier League excursions have helped this, with certain facilities a requirement rather than a desire – VAR cameras, a TV studio set in the corner – but the overall package is a ground fit for international football where you don’t hear newcomers whinging about the legroom, the view, the queues, etc. And I would hope it’s a ground that leaves a positive impression on anyone who took this opportunity to visit it for the first time – maybe they’ll be back supporting the team in red and white in future as well as England’s dark blue on the night.
The game itself wasn’t a thriller, although England were good enough, pinging the ball around nicely particularly in a first half where Man City’s Jess Park buzzed around like a wasp trying to find a way back out the window. Midfield debutants Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde-Brown brought impressive control, with the latter showing some lovely touches in tight spaces. Up top, Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones looked a superbly mobile threat, which is encouraging given England’s struggles in attack in the last couple of years (particularly with Lauren James’ injury).
Park’s early freekick was headed onto the post by Millie Turner and smashed in by her Man Utd team-mate Grace Clinton, who deservedly picked up player of the match honours for a positive, give-me-the-ball-in-space-every-time performance. We got to see Sheffield’s Millie Bright and Esme Morgan, the latter of whom used to play youth football on fields very close to my house – which blew my daughter’s mind.
England actually became more disjointed once the bigger names entered the pitch, but the crowd reaction confirmed the popularity of Wiegman’s decision to bring on Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo and Beth Mead in the second half. Russo headed wide and Blindkilde-Brown was denied a debut goal by a fabulous low save. Stanway then hit the inside of the post right at the death, and we had to settle for a 1-0 win.
The likelihood of England men playing at Bramall Lane in the foreseeable future is very low, I’d wager. The national team have played friendlies and Nations League matches at Molineux and Middlesbrough in recent years, so never say never, but nights like Tuesday may well be as good as it gets in terms of international prestige for BDTBL. And, with the Lionesses still frequently selling three times as many tickets as the 24,000 who were at this one, you do have to wonder how many more times this particular show will come to this particular corner of South Yorkshire.
As I left the ground there were officials in England gear thanking everyone for coming, wishing a safe journey home etc. It’s international football, it’s here in Sheffield, and I hope everyone who went enjoyed it as much as I did.
Thanks for reading, I’ll be back next week talking about Sheffield United’s FA Cup tie with Liverpool Feds that takes place on Sunday.