As England’s lionesses walloped Australia 3-1 in their own backyard to set up a World Cup Final with Spain, we hit the streets of Westside to video keen fans’ reactions yesterday.
Tthe women overjoyed at the memorable win over the Matildas included Aimee from Coventry and friend Jess from Liverpool, who experienced the victory at BOX Brindleyplace.
And in the following video you can see their delighted reaction to England’s win at the moment the final whistle went after six minutes of added time.
Aimee said: “I’d never heard of BOX Brindleyplace, but we came over to this area to have a look around and decided this was the place where we would watch the game. I don’t support Coventry men’s team, but I do follow England’s women and they were brilliant – and I love the venue.”
After battling a summer of poor weather, the semi-final day was marked by some Aussie style warmth and summer sunshine, with the Australian flag fluttering in the breeze outside of Walkabout.
Westside BID’s hospitality bosses will now be licking their lips and looking forward to enjoying a bumper Sunday brunch / lunchtime trade as supporters flock to the entertainment zone to watch the final with an audience. Sunday’s weather forecast is equally good!
Once England took the lead in Wednesday’s semi-final, the band new sports bar BOX Brindleyplace – in the former Pizza Express on Waters Edge close to the Brasshouse – began to take extra bookings for Sunday’s final which will also kick off at 11am. And the numbers increased as soon as fearless England went 3-1 up with minutes to spare.
Business development manager Anna Cosgrove said: “I was a bit nervous when the Aussies equalised with such a brilliant goal, but England got back on top of the match and played brilliantly to score two more goals and to then see out the match.
“Once England’s first goal went in we noticed that people were starting to book their places for the Sunday 20 August final and even more were being taken by the end of the game, so that’s great news for us.
“Our capacity is 550, so we hope that many people will want to come along to share in the atmosphere by cheering on the England women’s footballers at the same time as having a brilliant brunch at BOX Brindleyplace.”
Guests can watch Sky, TNT and Box Office sporting events on 36 HD screens throughout the venue. BOX serves a wide range of beers and speciality drinks including fresh Budvar – as well as food including burgers, pizzas and salads.
Other venues screening the semi-final included Broad Street’s Brasshouse, Walkabout and O’Neill’s – where customers were tucking in to some hearty breakfasts during the first half.
The two Wetherspoon pubs – Soloman Cutler and Figure of Eight – also have screens, and the latter has a beer garden in stunning full bloom if you prefer to sit outside in the sunshine ignoring the game.
Split across two floors, Velvet Music Rooms is Broad Street’s largest independent bar and nightclub and has a range of 5K TV screens to screen every Premier League game this season as well as following the Lionesses’ progress in the World Cup.
If you want to see history being made on Sunday with fellow fans, get up early and head on down to Westside!
Main image: an Australian footballer looks as miserable as sin on screen as England women’s football fans Aimee from Coventry and Jess from Liverpool celebrate their team reaching the World Cup Final at BOX Brindleyplace
ENDS
