‘Our little Lionel Messi found a way’ England coach Mark Sampson says after Fran Kirby goal

The 21-year-old Reading forward handed England a 70th-minute lead with a fine individual effort in the 2-1 win before substitute Karen Carney made it two and the Lionesses held on for all three points against Mexico.

England's Fran Kirby, right, celebrates her goal with England's Lucy Bronze during their Fifa Women's World Cup 2015 group F match against Mexico in Moncton, Canada, 13 June 2015. EPA/CJ GUNTHER

MONCTON, CANADA // England manager Mark Sampson compared striker Fran Kirby with Argentina and Barcelona ace Lionel Messi after she scored the opener in Saturday’s World Cup Group F victory over Mexico at Moncton Stadium.

The 21-year-old Reading forward handed England a 70th-minute lead with a fine individual effort in the 2-1 win before substitute Karen Carney made it two and the Lionesses held on for all three points despite a late strike from Fabiola Ibarra reducing the deficit in Canada.

England, who lost Tuesday’s opener 1-0 to France, bounced back with a dominant performance which brought praise from Sampson.

He told BBC3: “It’s a positive result for us. I’m really pleased for the players, they took some flak after the France game and had to respond in a positive manner today and they did.

“We had to stay patient, we had to wait for our moment to score and then our little mini Messi, Fran Kirby found a way to put the ball into the back of the net.

“I’m really pleased with the team’s attitude in that game and it’s something for us to build on. We’ll build a lot of momentum from that and take a lot of confidence from that result and performance.”

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While the England coach was delighted with Kirby’s performance and praised his whole team as they battled on for the win.

Sampson added: “Special players step up in special moments and there’s more to come from Fran. She’s calm, she’s focused, she’s determined to do well but it wasn’t just Fran Kirby today - the team were outstanding.

“The centre-backs won every aerial ball, the midfield players were safe in possession and picked up second balls and we saw the impact of the bench - which is going to be important, players from the sidelines coming in to make a difference and it was great to see Karen Carney come on and score a goal.”

The three points moves England up to second in the group table as they sit a point behind surprise leaders Colombia, while Saturday’s opponents are bottom with just one point so far.

Sampson’s side are next up against the group leaders and the 32-year-old Welshman believes the victory over Mexico stands them in good stead ahead of Wednesday’s match in Montreal.

He said: “We’re at a World Cup. We’re sensing this is a huge opportunity and we’ve got to improve on that performance and keep building momentum.

“The players will get their minds straight on Colombia and we’ll be focused for that and be ready.”

Meanwhile, Kirby was delighted to break the deadlock after missing numerous chances to put her side ahead in the first half.

Kirby collected Toni Duggan’s cross just outside the box and beat two defenders on her way to firing in the opener as she slotted the ball in off the post.

The match marked Kirby’s first start for England as she won her ninth cap and she could not be happier.

She said: “It’s pretty incredible. I’m just happy that we got the three points which we really needed, especially with the game earlier not going our way (Colombia beat France 2-0) but everybody dug really deep and I think we showed a different side to us today.

“Attacking, I saw that we had all the possession pretty much, so I’m really happy.

“(The goal) It means a lot. It’s my first World Cup, my first start, first goal - I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

“I was a bit worried it wasn’t going to go in when it hit the post but I was delighted that it went in.

“My dad and my brother are in the stands and I’m really happy that I managed to score...I know I’ll get a bit of stick for not scoring in the first half but I’m really happy that I (eventually) did.”

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