Fara frustrated, but upbeat
Tuesday, 28 June, 2011
Midfielder believes England should have scored more against Mexico.
By Glenn Lavery in Wolfsburg
England goalscorer Fara Williams articulated her team’s frustrations at not turning one point into three, following their 1-1 draw with Mexico in their opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Williams headed home Karen Carney’s corner in the 21st minute to give England a deserved lead, however, against the run of play, Monica Ocampo equalised with a ferocious 30-yard drive. Hope Powell’s side had more chances than the North Americans but failed to take them and both sides left the Arena Im Allerpark with a share of the spoils.
“The aim was to go and get three points,” Williams said after the game. “We started the game well and concentrated on getting the ball down and [playing] quickly. We kept possession really well [and] scored a goal to settle our nerves. We played well enough in the first half to score more goals than we did.
“Once they scored we tried to force things, and in the second half we took the same approach and it didn’t work out for us.
“We didn’t do the job in the first half when we were on top and [if you don’t do that] against top teams in a World Cup then it’s going to be difficult.”
With another England appearance under her belt and another goal added to her tally, the midfielder also nudged herself towards both a triple figure caps total and Kelly Smith’s record haul of 43 international goals. Williams scored a penalty against Argentina in the 2007 World Cup and also scored England’s opening goal at the 2009 Euros, but she somewhat played down her goalscoring exploits against Mexico.
“It’s a massive competition and everybody wants to score. [It was] a great delivery and I managed to get my head on it, so I’m pleased,” she said.
All thoughts are now on New Zealand, who England will face in Dresden on Friday, and Williams says the players are remaining positive.
“We’re upbeat. One point is one point and we’ve got two more games. If we can take three points in the next game and three points from the last game then we’re still in it.”