Hi all
Very sorry for the delay on posting this final update but technical problems and a late finish to the final day of the tournament on Saturday, followed by 27 hours of travel to get home have meant I can only post this update today!
What a thrilling finale. An epic 5-5 draw on Saturday saw England finally grab the bronze winning 4-3 on penalties getting revenge on Argentina for the group game, consigning them to 4th place. In the final this 17 goal thriller could not be reproduced and with no goals scored after full and extra time the Ukrainians finally produced a shock win on penalties. Well done to them for the first defeat in 10 years for Belarusians.
The Argentinians with huge home crowd support came out as predicted like a whirlwind but both sides produced chances with the home team finally getting the breakthrough from the clinical number 10. That's how it stayed until early in the second half when John McDougal levelled the score for his first goal of the tournament. Argentina quickly went 2-1 up and again the crowd went beserk with their array of drums whistles and horns. England levelled again with a well worked goal and this is how the scoring continued until it was 4-4 (full match report at the fa.com). With about a minute to go all hell broke loose when Argentina went 5-4 up and the party of victory started. However, Hugo Costa worked his magic and smashed a shot home into the top corner with only 29 seconds remaining to stun the players and crowd.
Unlike previous England teams the lads never looked like missing any of their 4 penalties and when the last Argentinian shot wide their fate was sealed.
Well done to the England squad for being the third best team in the World and the current highest ranked England football team from any squad!!
Bring on the Europeans in June!
Monday, 24 November 2008
Friday, 21 November 2008
Oh sooooooo close!!
Well the squad can hold its' head up high with a fantastic performance against Belarus this afternoon despite ending up losing 3-2. Considering Belarus have not lost a competitive game since 1999 and have not conceded more than 1 goal in any game since then the England boys should be very proud of their performance today. With a disallowed goal, clearance off the line and fingertip push onto the post in the last minute Belarus were hanging on and their reaction at full time said it all. They made no celebrations and their coach was going wild at the players.
The disallowed goal came early in the first half from a great shot from Kev Price but then Belarus went 1 up with a hopeful shot from a tap in. We then equalised when Kev held the ball up well in the area for Hugo Costa to rocket the ball into the roof of the net. However with 49 seconds to go until the end of the half Belarus broke quickly from our free kick and finished well to go 2-1 up.
In the second half things were fairly even but Belarus got a man in at the far post to make it 3-1. With 7 minutes to go the team were told to go for it and press them all over the pitch and the Belarusian’s had no answer to it. Their keeper performed heroics and their foul count quickly went up to 5. Steve Daley pulled us back to 3-2 with a minute and a half to go with another rasping shot into the bottom corner. However, despite intense pressure they managed to keep us out and not make another single foul. With only 7 seconds on the clock Hugo made a great run and their keeper made an unbelievable save to tip the shot onto the post for the victory. Credit to Belarus for another professional performance.
We are now preparing for the ¾ place playoffs against Argentina at 4pm tomorrow with the final at 6pm between Ukraine and Belarus.
Here’s to 3rd place in the World and a bronze medal………..la,la,laaaaa……la,la,laaaa, and we all love Eng…ger…land….we’re gonna score one more than you…..ENGLAND!!!
The disallowed goal came early in the first half from a great shot from Kev Price but then Belarus went 1 up with a hopeful shot from a tap in. We then equalised when Kev held the ball up well in the area for Hugo Costa to rocket the ball into the roof of the net. However with 49 seconds to go until the end of the half Belarus broke quickly from our free kick and finished well to go 2-1 up.
In the second half things were fairly even but Belarus got a man in at the far post to make it 3-1. With 7 minutes to go the team were told to go for it and press them all over the pitch and the Belarusian’s had no answer to it. Their keeper performed heroics and their foul count quickly went up to 5. Steve Daley pulled us back to 3-2 with a minute and a half to go with another rasping shot into the bottom corner. However, despite intense pressure they managed to keep us out and not make another single foul. With only 7 seconds on the clock Hugo made a great run and their keeper made an unbelievable save to tip the shot onto the post for the victory. Credit to Belarus for another professional performance.
We are now preparing for the ¾ place playoffs against Argentina at 4pm tomorrow with the final at 6pm between Ukraine and Belarus.
Here’s to 3rd place in the World and a bronze medal………..la,la,laaaaa……la,la,laaaa, and we all love Eng…ger…land….we’re gonna score one more than you…..ENGLAND!!!
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Yeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss!!
Hi all
Well it wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy but we are out of the group and into the semi-finals where we meet the World and European Champions Belarus tomorrow at 12 pm. This game was always going to be difficult when we knew that as long as we got a better result than losing by 4 clear goals we were through.
The final score finished 4-2 to Spain but none of that matters as we just needed to get out of the group into the knockout stages. The Spainish went 1-0 up very early in the game and we came under intense pressure with the odd attempt on the counter. However, Spain then tired a bit and we had an excellent spell of play and chances with Kev Price finally getting the breakthough with a rasping left foot drive from out wide. However, with only a minute to go a long range effort from Spain squeezed in and we went in 2-1 down at half time.
The second half began much as the first with Spain pressing hard whilst we just sat in to protect the 4 goal advantage. Dion Grant levelled it 2-2 early on with a fantastic solo run finished off with a thunderous shot into the bottom corner. Spain pressed harder and defended deeper and deeper which led to the next 2 Spainish goals shooting from long range. With the game hotting up both teams went to 5 fouls before a sixth by the Spanish gave England a long penalty that was well saved by the keeper. Despite further intense pressure and both sides hitting the posts twice there was no further score and England were through to the semi final - Yeah!!!!!!! With most of the staff needing a coronary bypass!
It is now going to take a massive effort but we can get at the Champions and get through to that final on Saturday to meet Argentina or Ukraine.
Come on England...... "there's one way to beat them, get round the back, so catch me if you can cause I'm the England man.............."
Well it wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy but we are out of the group and into the semi-finals where we meet the World and European Champions Belarus tomorrow at 12 pm. This game was always going to be difficult when we knew that as long as we got a better result than losing by 4 clear goals we were through.
The final score finished 4-2 to Spain but none of that matters as we just needed to get out of the group into the knockout stages. The Spainish went 1-0 up very early in the game and we came under intense pressure with the odd attempt on the counter. However, Spain then tired a bit and we had an excellent spell of play and chances with Kev Price finally getting the breakthough with a rasping left foot drive from out wide. However, with only a minute to go a long range effort from Spain squeezed in and we went in 2-1 down at half time.
The second half began much as the first with Spain pressing hard whilst we just sat in to protect the 4 goal advantage. Dion Grant levelled it 2-2 early on with a fantastic solo run finished off with a thunderous shot into the bottom corner. Spain pressed harder and defended deeper and deeper which led to the next 2 Spainish goals shooting from long range. With the game hotting up both teams went to 5 fouls before a sixth by the Spanish gave England a long penalty that was well saved by the keeper. Despite further intense pressure and both sides hitting the posts twice there was no further score and England were through to the semi final - Yeah!!!!!!! With most of the staff needing a coronary bypass!
It is now going to take a massive effort but we can get at the Champions and get through to that final on Saturday to meet Argentina or Ukraine.
Come on England...... "there's one way to beat them, get round the back, so catch me if you can cause I'm the England man.............."
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Disappointment for England
Hi all
Well depsite a real fight things did not quite work out with England going down 5-3 to the Argentinians. It was a full blooded game as expected and a very hostile environment which the players coped with excellently.
The half court press worked well for the first ten minutes and frustrated the Argentinians by not allowing them to get round the back. However, 3 silly mistakes in our half allowed the Argentinians in and they punished us severely. Despite making some good chances we were unable to reply and went in at half time 3-0 down.
As you would expect following a good team talk the players came out with a roar and pulled a goal back through Dionne Grant for his first ever England goal. With pressure building on the Argentinians we began to find more space however another error allowed the clinical Argentinians to make it 4-1. England now changed tactics and went and chased all over the pitch and were rewarded with two quick goals to bring it back to 4-3. The fouls started to mount up quickly and the usual expected tactics of breaking the play up and rolling around were employed by the Argentinians. With them beginning to creak it was disappointing that they managed to get the next crucial score to go 5-3 with a well worked goal. Despite being on 5 fouls for the last 2 minutes Argentina managed to make no further fouls and the game finished allowing the Argentinians to celebrate as group winners. They will most likely play Ukraine in the first semi-final on Friday.
England now need at least a point against Spain tomorrow to guarantee qualification where Belarus wait in the second semi final on Friday, due to be played at 12pm. Well done to the whole squad for a very professional job performed in a "melting pot" environment where everyone kept their cool and did the country proud. We now begin the preparation for Spain (ranked 3rd in the world) to ensure we are ready to get back into the winning habit
Come on the boys.
PS. The squad were played a good luck message from Steven Gerrard today who phoned Joyce Watson to wish the lads luck the other evening. This along with all the other messages of support show how much attention is being paid to this tournamnet and are giving the lads a real lift. On behalf of the squad thank you for all of the kind thoughts and please keep them coming
Regards - Team England
Well depsite a real fight things did not quite work out with England going down 5-3 to the Argentinians. It was a full blooded game as expected and a very hostile environment which the players coped with excellently.
The half court press worked well for the first ten minutes and frustrated the Argentinians by not allowing them to get round the back. However, 3 silly mistakes in our half allowed the Argentinians in and they punished us severely. Despite making some good chances we were unable to reply and went in at half time 3-0 down.
As you would expect following a good team talk the players came out with a roar and pulled a goal back through Dionne Grant for his first ever England goal. With pressure building on the Argentinians we began to find more space however another error allowed the clinical Argentinians to make it 4-1. England now changed tactics and went and chased all over the pitch and were rewarded with two quick goals to bring it back to 4-3. The fouls started to mount up quickly and the usual expected tactics of breaking the play up and rolling around were employed by the Argentinians. With them beginning to creak it was disappointing that they managed to get the next crucial score to go 5-3 with a well worked goal. Despite being on 5 fouls for the last 2 minutes Argentina managed to make no further fouls and the game finished allowing the Argentinians to celebrate as group winners. They will most likely play Ukraine in the first semi-final on Friday.
England now need at least a point against Spain tomorrow to guarantee qualification where Belarus wait in the second semi final on Friday, due to be played at 12pm. Well done to the whole squad for a very professional job performed in a "melting pot" environment where everyone kept their cool and did the country proud. We now begin the preparation for Spain (ranked 3rd in the world) to ensure we are ready to get back into the winning habit
Come on the boys.
PS. The squad were played a good luck message from Steven Gerrard today who phoned Joyce Watson to wish the lads luck the other evening. This along with all the other messages of support show how much attention is being paid to this tournamnet and are giving the lads a real lift. On behalf of the squad thank you for all of the kind thoughts and please keep them coming
Regards - Team England
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Here we go!!??
Hi all
Firstly I apologise for the delay in gettting further posts onto this blog but we have been troubled with technical problems - first my laptop mouse broke (and is still broken!) and then the hotel internet is having a mare!
Yesterday and today have been rest days for our players and we have watched a couple of games, reviewed and evaluated the Ireland game and prepared this evening for the Argentina game at 10am tomorrow morning. The competition really hits full flow for us tomorrow with a game now for each of the next four days. This is where things get very serious. We watched the Argentinians yesterday beat Ireland 7-4 and today watched a very exciting game where Ireland actually beat the Spanish 3-2 (despite my prediction that the Irish did not look up for the game!). This opens the group right up and means that a victoy tomorrow ensures us a place in the semi final. If we stick to the plan created by Graham and John we are very confident we can get out of the group which is our first major aim.
In group B things are as good as sorted and very much as expected it seems Belarus will top the group with Ukraine surprising a few and looking likely to go through ahead of Russia.
The only other funny part to the day was when Simon (self professed "Kingpin") was unable to get a single strike during a downtime game of 10 pin bowling when everybody else in his team did mange one despite most of them being partially sighted!! He took it well though - not!
Come on England, with a large partisan crowd expected we need to gate crash the party!
Firstly I apologise for the delay in gettting further posts onto this blog but we have been troubled with technical problems - first my laptop mouse broke (and is still broken!) and then the hotel internet is having a mare!
Yesterday and today have been rest days for our players and we have watched a couple of games, reviewed and evaluated the Ireland game and prepared this evening for the Argentina game at 10am tomorrow morning. The competition really hits full flow for us tomorrow with a game now for each of the next four days. This is where things get very serious. We watched the Argentinians yesterday beat Ireland 7-4 and today watched a very exciting game where Ireland actually beat the Spanish 3-2 (despite my prediction that the Irish did not look up for the game!). This opens the group right up and means that a victoy tomorrow ensures us a place in the semi final. If we stick to the plan created by Graham and John we are very confident we can get out of the group which is our first major aim.
In group B things are as good as sorted and very much as expected it seems Belarus will top the group with Ukraine surprising a few and looking likely to go through ahead of Russia.
The only other funny part to the day was when Simon (self professed "Kingpin") was unable to get a single strike during a downtime game of 10 pin bowling when everybody else in his team did mange one despite most of them being partially sighted!! He took it well though - not!
Come on England, with a large partisan crowd expected we need to gate crash the party!
Sunday, 16 November 2008
England start in impressive fashion!
Hi all
A fantastic effort from all 10 players saw England get just the start we had been looking for with a convincing 8-2 victory over the Irish. Every member of the squad got onto the pitch and played with confidence and quality.
England went 3-0 up in the first half and held total ascendency. Slick passing and interplay resulted in excellent goals before the Irish got one back to make it 3-1. However, England went into half time in a strong position when they scored 3 further goals without reply to make it 6-1 at the turn around. Ireland came out fighting as expected and pushed hard getting a goal back and giving them false hope before 2 further goals put the game beyond their reach. Despte some physical encounters the team came off with no major problems and now have 2 days rest before meeting Argentina on Wednesday at 10am, followed by Spain on Thursday at 4pm (as Brazil have not been replaced as expected).
Goals came from Hugo Costa (3), Steve Daley, George Ferguson, Kevin Price (2), Andy Lang.
I will try and get some footage of the goals to upload tomorrow. A fantastic start - Come on England!!!!!
The full match report can be found at http://www.thefa.com/ It should be found under the section headed "England teams"
A fantastic effort from all 10 players saw England get just the start we had been looking for with a convincing 8-2 victory over the Irish. Every member of the squad got onto the pitch and played with confidence and quality.
England went 3-0 up in the first half and held total ascendency. Slick passing and interplay resulted in excellent goals before the Irish got one back to make it 3-1. However, England went into half time in a strong position when they scored 3 further goals without reply to make it 6-1 at the turn around. Ireland came out fighting as expected and pushed hard getting a goal back and giving them false hope before 2 further goals put the game beyond their reach. Despte some physical encounters the team came off with no major problems and now have 2 days rest before meeting Argentina on Wednesday at 10am, followed by Spain on Thursday at 4pm (as Brazil have not been replaced as expected).
Goals came from Hugo Costa (3), Steve Daley, George Ferguson, Kevin Price (2), Andy Lang.
I will try and get some footage of the goals to upload tomorrow. A fantastic start - Come on England!!!!!
The full match report can be found at http://www.thefa.com/ It should be found under the section headed "England teams"
Games open in style
Hi all
Two early games were held before the official opening of the games this afternoon seeing Belarus come out victors over Russia 2-1, and Ukraine smashed Italy 8-1. The opening ceremony was very well attended by a spirited crowd, accompanied by a marching band, with an electric atmosphere.
This led straight into the official opening game between Argentina and Spain. In a couldren of an atmosphere the Argentinians proved to be the surprise package so far with a convincing victory over the very expereinced Spanish side 7-5. The celebrations were extravagent to say the least but well deserved. It is clear we have our work cut out in the next two games but with the squad we have in their current form we can be confident playing any team in the competition.
Two early games were held before the official opening of the games this afternoon seeing Belarus come out victors over Russia 2-1, and Ukraine smashed Italy 8-1. The opening ceremony was very well attended by a spirited crowd, accompanied by a marching band, with an electric atmosphere.
This led straight into the official opening game between Argentina and Spain. In a couldren of an atmosphere the Argentinians proved to be the surprise package so far with a convincing victory over the very expereinced Spanish side 7-5. The celebrations were extravagent to say the least but well deserved. It is clear we have our work cut out in the next two games but with the squad we have in their current form we can be confident playing any team in the competition.
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