WALES UNDONE BY US BUT LOOK AHEAD TO ENGLAND DUEL
WALES produced a battling display against defending champions
in their second match of the World Championship here today
(Friday).
But Margaret Corbitt's team could find no way back having
trailed 6-2 at half-time. The Welsh did pull back to a five-goal
deficit at 9-4 down , but the US finished strongly with two
more goals to maintain their unbeaten record following victory
over England last night.
Having gone 6-0 behind it looked like Wales could be on the
end of a real beating, but credit to Corbitt's team, they
battled back with a goal from attackers Catherine Coulthard
and Lucy Wray.
Midfielder Gemma Morgan have Wales hope with an early goal
in the second half, but the US scored three quick goals and
forged into that 9-3 lead.
Wales scored one more goal with defender Sian Astley on the
markm but Joanne Connelly netted twice to give the US a seven-goal
cushion by the final whistle.
"I'm very proud of the way everyone performed,"
said Corbitt, upbeat despite defeat.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we stuck
to our task and worked hard throughout the match."
A view echoed by assistant coach Vic Alexander, who added:
"We didn't let America's reputation overshadow our performance.
"We played with a lot of confidence and made them work
hard. We scored some good goals, and although we were never
going to win, we are pleased with the way wre performed."
Corbitt, Alexander and the rest of the Wales team are looking
forward to the rest of the tournament, especially their showdown
with England on Sunday (11am).
However, Corbitt and co. would refuse to be drawn into predicting
the outcome of what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter
at the Glenn Warner Soccer Stadium.
"We're just taking one game at a time," said Corbitt.
"It's going to be a very tough game, but we're pleased
with the way we've played in both of our matches so far.
"Some ill-discipline let us down against Canada, but
we played some good lacrosse. We're looking forward to all
our matches, but the group stages are definitely a learning
curve for us.
"Hopefully we can progress to the latter stages and
we'll see what happens."
Results
WOMEN, Lacrosse World Championship (Annapolis, Maryland):
Wales 4 United States 11 (half scores 2-6, 2-5); Czech Republic
21 New Zealand 6 (7-2, 14-4); Japan 17 Germany 2 (12, 5-2);
England 5 United States 13 (3-9, 2-4); Scotland 19 Germany
3 (12-2, 7-1); Japan 12 Czech Republic 1 (3-1, 9-0); Wales
5 Canada 12 (3-4, 2-8).
|