06 June 2005    
Rachel Yankey Exclusive

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England winger Rachel Yankey feels the Three Lions’ hard-won victory over Finland has given the side a real confidence boost as they head into Wednesday’s clash with Denmark.

Having taken a two goal lead in the first half, England were pegged back to 2-2 by Finland, but Karen Carney stepped up to coolly slot home an injury time winner to the delight of the record 29,000 crowd inside the City of Manchester Stadium.

Whilst not satisfied with the performance, Rachel was delighted that the main aim of three points had been achieved, as she exclusively told TheFA.com.

"We weren’t happy with our performance," she said. "But we got the win and that’s the main thing.

"Maybe a fair result would have been a draw, but we’ve shown resilience and shown that we can fight back.

"To get a goal in injury time and to fight all the way through to the end of the ninety minutes is just showing our character again, because we’ve done that in a couple of games before in the warm-up matches.

"Hopefully we can go into the next game with a major boost and a bit of confidence and can get something out of that."

And what about the fairytale finish for seventeen-year-old Karen Carney?

"She’s a legend now," exclaimed Rachel. "She’s only seventeen and she’s studying for her exams, as is Eni - it must be so difficult for the both of them to be here and also have to do their exams.

"To go out there and put on big performances was great. It’s really good to see the youngsters coming through."

The next test comes on Wednesday night against Denmark - a side that surprisingly managed to hold Sweden to a 1-1 draw in their first Women’s Euro 2005 match.

Whilst knowing they will provide a tough challenge, Rachel is confident England can get the win they need to go into the Semi-Finals, especially if there is another big crowd in Blackburn.

"They’re a direct team that’ll want to go out there and get that win, and we’ve got to be ready for that," she said.

"Every team in this competition is a hard team to play against – the Finns were a great team and it’s just going to get harder and harder from there.

"We’re just trying to take each game as it comes, win every game and keep our unbeaten run going.

"Hopefully the people of Blackburn and people around the country will come along and support us again because it is a big boost for us when we can hear those fans and come out and see the flags waving.

"You don’t really expect that in the women’s game – all the England flags and people with shirts with your name on the back. It’s amazing and none of us have really experienced that.

"It’s great and if people can go out there and do that again it really does give us a lift."

England face Denmark on Wednesday 08 June at Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park. For tickets call the ticket office on 08701 123 456

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