Danielle Carter in dreamland after scoring hat-trick on England debut

21 September 2015 20:46

England debutant Danielle Carter was lost for words after she capped a dream debut with a hat-trick as the Lionesses saw off Estonia 8-0 in their opening Euro 2017 qualifying match.

The Arsenal striker opened the scoring in the early exchanges for Mark Sampson's side and added two more late on as the visitors left Tallinn with all three points to top Group Seven.

The 22-year-old told the BBC: "I couldn't have dreamt of a better ending to that game on my first cap.

"It's just unbelievable - I can't put into words what it felt like.

"I'm definitely going home with the match ball. I'm going to get it signed and framed."

Jo Potter was also on target - against her former Charlton coach Keith Boanas' side - while Fran Kirby claimed a brace either side of goals from Jill Scott and debutant Isobel Christiansen.

Sampson, who led his Lionesses to a third-placed finish at this summer's World Cup finals, made seven changes to the squad he took to Canada for Monday night's match.

He left the injured Fara Williams and Jade Moore behind while resting established squad members Jordan Nobbs, Katie Chapman, Karen Carney, Lianne Sanderson and Jodie Taylor.

Sampson was pleased with his side's performance from a much-changed team and hopes they can continue to impress when qualifying continues in two months' time.

He said: "We produced a good performance, we were balanced and controlled and we scored some good goals.

"It's always hard after a tournament to move away from those hangovers and we brought in some new faces to bring in some enthusiasm.

"You have to focus on the short term and getting three points, which we did, but we want to make sure that come June 2017 we're still going to be competitive."

England, who are also grouped alongside Belgium, Serbia and Bosnia, are next in action in a home clash with the latter nation on November 29.

Source: PA