Liverpool striker Natasha Dowie [Far Right on photo , class of 2006] has earned a recall to the England women’s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Turkey. Interim boss coach Brent Hills picked Dowie after she was left out of Euro 2013 by former boss Hope Powell despite being top scorer in the league.
Dowie, 25, is now the Women’s Super League joint top scorer with 10 goals, firing Liverpool to the top of the table with two games remaining. Her last of three caps came in September 2011 against Serbia.
Hills said: “I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen from this season.
Hills, the Under-23 head coach and former assistant manager to Powell, will take charge of the opening two qualifiers as England set out on the road to Canada 2015.
He added: “We all realise we underperformed severely in the summer, but you don’t become a bad player overnight.
England’s World Cup qualifiers v Belarus and Turkey
- Venue: AFC Bournemouth and Portsmouth FC
- Date: Saturday 21 September and Thursday 26 September
- Time: 13:00 and 19:05 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC One and BBC Three
Women’s Super League: Liverpool & Bristol on track for title decider: Hat trick for Dowie.
By Tony Leighton Women’s football reporter
Liverpool and Bristol Academy both won on Thursday as the prospect of a winner-takes-all title decider between the sides moved a step closer.
Natasha Dowie celebrated her England recall with a hat-trick as the top-of-the-table Reds beat rivals Everton 4-2.
Liverpool 4-2 Everton [Thursday 12th September 2013]
The game opened at a frantic pace and Liverpool went behind after just four minutes, striker Nikita Parris sweeping home a cross from midfielder Jill Scott.
WSL top three
|
Pld |
Pts |
GD |
|
|
|
|
| Liverpool |
13 |
33 |
25 |
| Bristol |
12 |
28 |
11 |
| Arsenal |
12 |
27 |
17 |
* Correct at 12 September 2013
But the Reds were level within two minutes, Dowie sending a neat lob over goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis. The Toffees almost restored their lead when Scott had a header cleared off the line by midfielder Fara Williams. Play continued to go from end to end before Dowie put Liverpool in front with a close-range finish on 31 minutes from left-back Corina Schroder’s cross.
But Everton stormed back and Parris hoisted a superb 30-yard shot into the roof of the Reds net in the final minute of the first half.
German winger Nicole Rolser squandered a chance to put the home side back in front 10 minutes into the second half. But Gemma Bonner made no mistake in the 64th minute, the defender powering in a far-post header from a Williams corner.
And five minutes from time Dowie completed her hat-trick, with a header from a Rolser cross, to take her season’s goal tally to 18.
[from BBC web site]
