RHIAN SOCCER JOURNALS           

US MOVE IT UP A NOTCH IN GAME 2         25th September 2011

In Team sports there are always moments when you think everything is going your way. Individuals are playing well, tactics are working, the team is playing as a cohesive unit ... and then, you learn a bitter lesson. Circumstances can change rapidly.

In the first game we played against the United Sates in Kansas, we played well, and our success may have caused us to become a little too excited about where we thought we were in Women's soccer. Even though we have made great strides over the last couple of years, and even though we have had some success, we definitely still have a ton of work to do to catch up with the better teams.

 In our second game against the States, this time in Portland on 22nd September, in front of a crowd of 18, 750, we were shown a lesson in moving a team's play up a notch. The Americans were clearly annoyed at the game they had played against us a week earlier, and when they stepped out onto the field, they were in a mood to change things.

From the opening whistle, we were on the back foot and forced into a defensive role for most of the game. But for our amazing goal keepers, we could have lost the game by a lot more than we did. The Americans played the entire match at another level. They had us gasping for breath as they switched the ball from side to side and attacked with numbers.

However, this was a lesson we needed to be taught and we need to learn from it. We need to work harder on our cohesion and game fitness. But I don't think we are as far away from the level of play we are seeking as we may have thought after this last match. Following the first 45 minutes of this last game we were already finished. I am looking forward to getting back to work for the pan American Games. I sincerely believe that this team can still come good and we can make the next step.