There was a mixture of disappointment and elation on the faces of the England players as they made their way on to the team coach after the 1-1 draw with Russia.
She Kicks had a quick chat to a few of them before they left the Linkoping Arena and here are the thoughts behind those emotions…
England striker Eni Aluko on the result:
I’m just elated that we‘re still in it. If we hadn‘t got any points we would have been out of the competition so I think you have to be happy. Toni saved us at the last minute, she has an eye for goal and I’m just happy for her and the team that we are still in it. Now we’ve got three days to prepare against a very good France side but we know we can beat them. The feeling now is happy.
On the mood in the changing room:
Upbeat. Again we know we could have played better and shouldn’t really have allowed Russia to be one up on us and it was another sloppy goal conceded. We had a lot of possession today and couldn’t really create chances, we had chances and didn’t put them away. But we’re still in it and that’s what you need to focus on, the fact we are still in the competition.
England midfielder Anita Asante on the game:
We battled to the end and that is the positive we take from this game. We showed character to get a point but we are naturally very disappointed because we feel like we controlled the game for the most part and again gave away a sloppy goal. We hope that doesn’t cost us in the end. We just have to take positives from this game because we are still in it and we still have one game left to fight for so we need to give our all in the next game and that’s all we can do.
On the boost the last gasp goal can give the team going forward:
Sometimes you fight for something and it doesn’t go your way and it makes you want it more. The desire and hunger is definitely there in the squad and we know the next game is tougher but we always step up when the occasion arises.
On why the game went as it did:
Football is a crazy game and I think we need to be the team that scores first and not let other teams score against us and the run of play. We had some really good chances and we perhaps weren’t as clinical as we should have been, but we hit the crossbar and the post and the fact that we are getting into the right positions and are trying to create opportunities to score is something we can take from this game.
On Toni Duggan’s goal:
It was a fantastic finish, I think she’s got tons of goals in her and she’s proven that every time she plays so she’s obviously a great addition to the squad and a player we really could utilise in this competition.
England defender Steph Houghton on the game:
I think we dominated the game in terms of overall possession but it didn’t seem to happen for us in that final third and I think we showed great character to come back from 1-0 down and we’ve just got to remain positive and focus on the next game against France.
On Toni Duggan’s goal:
To come on in your first European championships as a senior player and score a very important goal is credit to Toni, she’s been training really well and looking sharp and has a very big future ahead of her.
England midfielder Jill Scott on the result:
Disappointed not to get the win. It’s difficult to analyse it as soon as you walk off but I felt like we had a lot of chances in the first half and should have probably gone in at the break at least one or two up and not 1-0 down so we’re disappointed but we’ve given ourselves a lifeline and we’ll go again against France.
On the substitutions:
Kelly Smith is a great player and always adds that spark and lifts a team. When you’ve got one of the best players in the world on your team it always lifts you so she did really well and I’m really pleased for Toni as well. She could have had two with hitting the bar. It was good to get some fresh legs on because it was tiring out there.
On the opposition:
We didn’t underestimate them and I don’t think they were any better than we expected, it’s just missed chances really for us today and we will have a look at that and hopefully have a better day against France.
On France:
We always play well against them to be fair, the last game we were 2-0 up at half time and they pulled it back to 2-2, so yeah, we’ll definitely believe that we can win it. We always seem to do things the hard way but I think you’ll see from this team that we have a lot of belief and a lot of fight in us. To score in the last minute today is proof of that.
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