Stott finds her feet
Ask attacker Ailsa Stott whether England can win the World
Cup and there's no hesitation with her answer - "yes!"
And why not. Stott knows England are underdogs to Australia
and defending champions United States, both of whom beat the
national side in Pool A.
But England played with a fresh sense of pride and determination
to beat Canada 11-6 last night and deservedly earned a play-off
showdown with Germany.
Stott starred with a hat-trick, benefiting from a steady supply
of assists up front, and England never looked back after winning
the first-half 6-2.
"It was a really good team performance," said a
delighted Stott, speaking after last night's impressive victory.
"It was a physical game, but we matched Canada across
the pitch. It was great to win because they'd been going round
saying they were going to sutff us.
"I think they got a bit of a shock with the way we played.
That type of performance has been coming, we've just been
a bit nervous in our first few matches."
A view echoed by Candian coach Tracey Coyne, who admitted:
"England just wanted to win more. They were crushing
us at the crease and I am extremely disappointed with the
way we played.
"England capitalised on our mistakes - and we made a
lot of them! They came out very confident and wanted to beat
us."
England looked a lot more assued from the draw, winning ground
balls and also battling for posession and pressuring their
opponents.
"We played with a lot of confidence," added Stott,
who is relishing playing in her first World Cup.
"We have been a bit inconsistent so far, but we've beat
Wales and then played much better to beat Canada.
"Everyone is looking forward to the Germany match because
we've not played them for a while.
"They'll want to be in our face from the start, but we
can beat them."
If England are successful in their next two matches, their
is a chance they will play America in the semi-finals. A challenge
Stott is really looking forward too.
"Bring on the United States," she added. "We
showed we could match them in the second half in the pool
stages, we just didn't perform in the group stages.
"They are beatable and we know if we play to the top
of our game we can beat them. They are a great side, but great
sides can be beaten - they are only human."
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