Rhian Wilkinson's Official Website

RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

TIED WITH FINLAND 20th January 2008

This Four Nations Tournament match was once again an early one, with a 1:00 pm kick-off. The morning just flew by as we had breakfast and prepared for the game.

The day was a very smoggy one, the worst we have yet had. On a morning walk to stretch our legs along the Chinese road, we saw just how smoggy it really was. It was our only preparation for the match conditions today.

The final score was a tie at 1 -1. It was certainly not the result we wanted, and it leaves us in third place in the Tournament. We deserved better as we outplayed them in every department except scoring goals. And, as we only managed to tie the Finns in the 93rd minute, in overtime, the result almost feels like a win.

We dominated the Finish team throughout the entire game, but we just could not put the ball in the net. I don't really know what else to say about it. It sucks when the team plays well, but things just don't go your way.

The tying goal was scored by Jar. She shot from about 19 yards out and put it in the top left hand corner of the net: A very good goal. She won player of the match for the score. I mean no disrespect to her because it was a fantastic moment, but in my opinion Sophie Schmidt was the real player of the game, and our tournament. She was tireless in midfield, as were Clare and Randee, and Sophie was busy in both attack and defense. I have always known her to be a good player, always hard working and reliable, but I think in this tournament she really shone.

Following the game and our return home, the afternoon was spent in downtown Guangzhou. It's an interesting city, but I was exhausted. I can't wait to get to bed and I am ready to come back home. We return to Vancouver on Monday and return to our residential training camp.