No complaints from Head Coach
Wednesday, 30 September, 2009
Brian Eastick offered no excuses for his side’s defeat to Ghana on Tuesday night.
Nicholas Veevers in Ismailia
England U20s Head Coach Brian Eastick had no complaints at the scoreline his team suffered against Ghana on Tuesday night, even tipping the Africans as potential Finalists in the competition.
Whilst several members of his team had been hit by sickness in the build-up to the game, Eastick refused to use that as an excuse as the Young Lions were second best in all departments to a physically powerful and fit Ghana team.
“While 4-0 may have been a little bit harsh, we certainly deserved to be beaten,” admitted Eastick after the game.
“We were outplayed in every department: physically, technically and tactically - and I have absolutely no complaints about being beaten by a better side.
“We did have a few problems leading up to the game, which you can’t predict, with players waking up this morning being quite ill with severe sickness and diarrhoea but that’s not an excuse.
“I think Ghana certainly have the potential to go to the Final.”
Eastick also acknowledged that it could have been a different game had his side taken the lead in the early stages, when Jon Obika struck the bar with a header but the lack of opportunities created by his team after that is his immediate concern ahead of Friday’s final group game with Uzbekistan.
“We're not creating chances, so we have to address that,” he added. “But first I need to rebuild these players over the next few days.
“We need to score against Uzbekistan and beat them, I think that game may be a much more even contest and if we can win, we may have an outside chance of getting to the next round.”
England face Uzbekistan in Suez on Friday evening and will spend Wednesday transferring to their new base in Suez ahead of that game.