Marley sets sights on Final success
Thursday, 03 June, 2010
Manager still wants improvement in Saturday's Final.
England Women U19s have chance to retain their title of European Champions on Saturday, following a tense and tight semi-final victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Mo Marley’s side were held to a goal-less draw by the Dutch over 120 draining minutes, but found the energy to step up from the penalty spot, win the shoot-out and ensure their place in the Final against France.
After winning this competition in Belarus last summer, they now have chance to make history by retaining it but Marley won’t be letting her players rest on their laurels after what she thought wasn’t their best performance.
“We spoke about needing quality, especially in their half, and we lacked a bit at times – whether tired legs or the emotion of the occasion, I'm not too sure,” said Marley.
“When it's tight like that you've got to be a bit smarter as we were playing a lot of percentage balls through.
“We need to work the ball a bit better. In possession we probably deserved to win the game but when chances go amiss, you start to think maybe it's not your day.”
England kept their nerve for the shoot-out too and Marley revealed she was always confident in her players’ ability to score from 12 yards in any situation.
“We haven't practiced penalties at this tournament,” she added.
“It was a case of technique – we ask the girls to show they're technically better than everyone else.
“Five out of five penalties shows that we have that, it's just a pity we couldn't always show it during the game!”
Marley’s side beat Sweden in last year’s Final in Minsk, but they will now have to overcome France in Skopje on Saturday following their win, also after penalties, against Germany in the other semi-final.
“It's irrelevant who is in the final – to even get there you have to be a really good team so it' seven,” added the England boss.
“The team with the quality on the day will lift the trophy.”