Mary thanks Euro crowd

06 June 2005
Alex Scott and Mary Phillip Press Conference

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England centre-back Mary Phillip has backed the City of Manchester crowd for providing a timely boost as the Three Lions pushed on to victory against Finland.

Having seen England take a two-goal first half lead, Finland came back into the game after the break, scoring on 57 minutes and finally equalising in the 89th minute.

But the Manchester public kept the faith, roaring England forward, and 17-year-old Karen Carney duly obliged by providing the fairytale 90th minute winner.

Mary was certainly delighted to have the three points on the board and England installed at the top of Group A:

"At 2-2 I thought we all hung our heads at what we’d done, losing a two goal lead," she said. "We tried to find a way to come back and our strength and character did it for us.

"We went straight on the attack again and I think the crowd buzzing and cheering us gave us that extra lift and we just went all out for the last couple of minutes.

"Being our opening game I think there was a bit of apprehension around, and a bit of tension, but I think we did well.

"We kept our heads down and worked really well together for the ninety minutes and actually getting a result from that we’ve got to take heart.

"There’s still parts of the game we’ve got to look at and work on and tidy up a bit, but it is the first game and hopefully that’ll settle us down a bit and by Wednesday we’ll have tidied up the little cracks."

So what is the Arsenal and England star expecting from Denmark on Wednesday?

"They’re going to be totally different to Finland. We’ve played them before, so we know little bits about them.

"They’re a very strong physical side and they’re going to give as good as they get. They’re in the same position as us - they want to get out of the group stage as we do.

"They’ve had a new coach coming in, so they will have learnt new strategies over the past few months, but we’re up for the game.

"We want to go out and win it, as they do, but we feel that we’ve got a lot more to prove. We want to prove that we’re going go up in the rankings and becoming one of the better teams."

Meanwhile fellow England defender Alex Scott urged the Blackburn public to get behind the side on Wednesday and Saturday.

"It was amazing to have that amount of people in Manchester and the support they gave us was fantastic," she enthused.

"Come down, give the girls you’re support because it’s a great buzz running out and seeing all those fans cheering us on.

"I think there’s a lot more to come from us. We’re a team that likes to play attractive football, get the ball on the floor and create chances. In the next game we’ll be looking to create more chances and put on a good show."

England face Denmark on Wednesday 8 June at Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park. For tickets call the ticket office on 08701 123 456