57 years of hurt
I think I got that maths right.
An herculean effort to get to the World Cup Final for the English Women’s team but they fell short today losing 1-0 to a much better Spain team.
Me and the dog got up at 6am to watch the game from Sydney. In all honesty I had only really been keeping an eye on the tournament scores and developments over the last month, mostly due to the time difference, although I did watch a big chunk of the Australia semi-final where it sounded as if England played their best game.
Today they were unable to match the far more technically astute Spanish team, who were missing numerous players due to an ongoing dispute with the coach and Spanish association.
The Spain team are still mostly built around Barcelona personnel, which has long been a model of investment, coaching and foresight in the women’s game. The women’s Barcelona team, possibly co-incidentally, taking a lot of influence from the men’s team before it
Spain got their goal with one of their many swift moves cutting through the English side like butter. Phenomenal keeper Mary Earps saved a penalty, but in familiar circumstances we huffed and puffed but could not create the vital moment when it mattered.
Fantastic achievement though, and in Sarina Wiegman they have a fantastic coach and bright future.
A shame the lionesses could not pull off one final victory but have to admit Spain were the better team. They had more possession, more shots, more shots on target as well as more corners, so we can’t complain. Nevertheless…..a formidable effort by England to reach the final.
No disgrace in any way….Spain had the edge on the day but the team can be very very proud of their achievements.
And here’s me thinking it was gonna be 57 years of hurt supporting Charlton!
That’s 76….
Seems like a 100!!! Charlton Pathetic te lot of them too.
No arguments about the result from me, Spain were a bit better organised and had the better game plan. Other than hitting the bar England had few if any real chances and were closed down in midfield by a team that had the defensive side and how to play without the ball sussed. The goal summed up their strategy – Lucy Bronze ran into several defenders, had her pocket picked and the ball was played right into the area where she should have been defending. That was quick thinking by Spain.
Sadly the final was a step too far.
This was only England’s second defeat in 39 games under Sarina Wiegman which is a great record, even if this defeat will hurt for a while.