Rhian Wilkinson's Official Website

RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

WE WON 6th August 2008

My apologies if this journal is rather short, but I am really tired tonight.

I am sure that given the size of the Press coverage here, there is no one in Canada who does not now know that we defeated Argentina tonight by two goals to one. There was nothing pretty about the win, and in fact there were some downright ugly plays, but we got the win and in the end this is what matters most. Both Sweden and the United States did not.

The Argentinean goal was caused by my terrible error, when I slipped on the turf. What can I say though? These things happen. We had a problem with slipping on the turf all evening, and I think that the sod laid in the stadium has very shallow roots and little grip. Anyway, it's no wonder that I miss being in the forward line. In defence you are exposed. One mistake at the back and you are left having nightmares about it for weeks!

There were some good moments in the game though, especially in the later part of the match when our nerves had well and truly gone. This is when our superior fitness kicked in. There were two fantastic goals, the first by Chappy and then by Kara. The truth be told, there could have been many more tallies, with one crossbar hit, and another chance cleared off the line. We were a little unfortunate here, but we have to finish our chances.

I will admit that we go into the matches of this Olympic Tournament and we try to trick ourselves into thinking that these games are just like any other. But, they are not. We know that we need to get over our nerves, but we can only lie to ourselves for so long, and then our bodies don't listen anyway. When the nerves are there, however much psychological preparation we have done, they affect the legs. We took time to settle down.

Argentina played well. They worked their butts off on a smoggy, humid, hot evening, and were feisty throughout the game. Kudos to them. We had to really work hard for this win against them.

I will write more tomorrow, as bed beckons. Thanks to all those people in Canada who braved the early morning hours to watch us live on CBC. All of the Canadian team really appreciates the close support that we are receiving from back home and all the messages of encouragement and support. A special thank you from me to my mother who rounded up Paul, Lynda, Rebecca and Deborah at 04:45 in the morning to watch me in action.