'We responded well'
Monday, 31 May, 2010
Mo Marley reflects on defeat to Germany in final group game.
England Head Coach Mo Marley was disappointed with the way her side fell to defeat to Germany in their final Euro 2010 group game, but pleased with how they battled back, despite losing 2-1.
Both sides' place in the semi-finals had been assured earlier in the week, so the encounter was a decider to see who would top the table, and Marley made a few changes to her starting line-up, which included two debutantes - Drew Spence and Sam Chappell.
Germany got their noses in front early on, before adding a second before the break. Lauren Bruton scored her second of the tournament in stoppage time at the end of the first half, but Marley's team couldn't grab an equaliser.
"I told my two debutantes today what an opportunity it is to make your debut against Germany in a European Championship Finals – it's every players' dream." said Marley.
"It's now about knowing what we've got to do, recognising what we have to tidy up and improve on, but I'm pleased with the application and the mindset. It could have been a game where everyone stopped but clearly they were all trying to win.
"I was disappointed with the way we conceded but we responded well – you've got to have that little bit of quality which we found late on against Italy and which we had a bit here, but not enough."
The defeat means that the Three Lions will face Holland in the semi-final at 4pm (BST) on Wednesday - a game which will be screened live on Eurosport.