'Job done' as England qualify
Wednesday, 19 September, 2012
Hope Powell, Eni Aluko and Casey Stoney give their initial reaction to Euro 2013 qualification.
England National Coach Hope Powell spoke of her relief as her side booked their place at Euro 2013.
A straight-forward 3-0 victory over Croatia in Walsall, thanks to goals from Jill Scott, Eni Aluko and Casey Stoney set the Lionesses on their way to Sweden next summer.
Powell knew a victory for her side would ensure they topped their qualifying group – and the three points never looked in any doubt.
And it might have even been more for England, who created a hatful of chances against their Group Six opponents.
But Powell said: “It’s a relief, because it means we don’t have to go through the danger of the play-offs. It’s nice to qualify automatically, top of the group. Now we can focus on next year.
“We got the three points, that was the main thing. In patches I thought we played very well.
"It has been a good week in terms of training and they transferred what they did in training onto the pitch.”
Eniola Aluko, who scored the second of England’s three goals said: “I think it was always important to get the second one.
“We said before the game that we shouldn’t let up. We had to be ruthless in front of goal and take our chances. I’m just glad I got on the score sheet and contributed.”
And Casey Stoney marked a terrific captain’s performance with the goal of the night to make it 3-0 to England.
She said: “It doesn’t happen too often but I found myself in the right area. I was quite pleased with the finish actually.
“I’d like to be able to do it every week but three points is all what we wanted and we got that so we’re happy.
“We were a bit frustrated that we had so many chances but didn’t really finish them. We knew at half time they were still in the game."
She added: “We know there are things to improve on but we have qualified and that’s what we came here to do.”