Read England coach Mark Sampson’s reaction to England’s goalless draw in Doncaster…
England 0-0 France
Fri, 21 Oct, Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
Att: 7,398
England felt they should have had a late winner against France on a chilly night at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium but this was a performance more pleasing from a defensive perspective, rather than being the historic first win over our neighbours (in 42 years), that Mark Sampson was eagerly seeking.
Toni Duggan’s strike in stoppage time was ruled out for handball, while France who are a side in transition under new coach Olivier Echouafni, failed to convert a handful of half chances in what turned out to be the second goal-less stalemate between the two sides in 2016 (after their 0-0 draw in Boca Raton, USA in March).
England Coach Mark Sampson
On the game:
It didn’t quite go to plan, we wanted to win tonight. In terms of the outcome, we wanted to treat this like a tournament game, and in a tournament you go to extra-time.
I certainly felt if this game had gone to extra time, there would have been only one winner, and that would be England. I thought we were very good in the first half in terms of our defensive organisation.
We are aware that France are such an incredible threat in so many areas in attacking parts of the pitch.
I thought we did well to manage the space in the first half and limit the chances, and as the game went on, we really grew into it and got more confident.
As the game went on and they tired, our fitness showed, We’re doing some great work behind the scenes to get the players bigger, faster and stronger, and towards the end of the game I thought we were the better team, and scored a goal that should have been awarded.
France defender Laura Georges
On their performance:
The first half was pretty good, we were able to put them in a difficult situation, but the second half was pretty hard because we lost a lot of balls. We still need to work, but England is a good team that is improving each year.
On not creating more clear chances:
We are disappointed, we had opportunities, but we couldn’t finish. The last pass was missing.
On the team’s transition, new faces coming into the side:
We have some new players, good players coming through, but we also have some injured players too. It is an adjustment in practice, but it is good to learn to play with different players because when the final tournament comes, you never know. If someone gets injured, you need to be prepared to play with new players.
England: 1 Karen Bardsley; 2 Lucy Bronze, 5 Steph Houghton, 6 Jo Potter, 3 Demi Stokes; 11 Gemma Davison (Alex Scott, 71 mins), 7 Jill Scott, 4 Jade Moore, 8 Jordan Nobbs; 10 Karen Carney (Toni Duggan, 88 mins), 9 Rachel Daly (Nikita Parris, 58 mins)
Subs not used: 13 Siobhan Chamberlain (Liverpool), 14 Laura Bassett (Notts County), 15 Casey Stoney (Arsenal), 17 Isobel Christiansen (Manchester City), 18 Fara Williams (Arsenal), 19 Millie Bright (Chelsea), 21 Mary Earps (Reading), 23 Danielle Carter (Arsenal).
France: 16 Sarah Bouhaddi, 3 Wendie Renard, 4 Laura Georges, 8 Jessica Houara, 9 Eugenie Le Sommer (Camille Catala, 90 mins), 11 Claire Lavogez (Clarisse Le Bihan, 72 mins), 13 Kadidiatou Diani (Delphine Cascarino, 81 mins), 15 Elise Bussaglia (Sandie Toletti, 69 mins), 17 Gaetane Thiney, 22 Amet Majri, 23 Kheira Hamraoui.
Subs not used: 1 Laetitia Philippe, 21 Meline Gerard, 2 Eve Perisset, 5 Aissatou, Tounkara, 14 Sakina Karchaoui, 18 Camille Catala, 19 Laura Agard, 20 Annaig Butel.
