England head coach Sarina Wiegman was pleased that her side were able to get the win against Scotland even if it wasn’t a pretty performance.
The Lionesses defeated The Tartan Army 2-1 in their opening UEFA Women’s Nations League fixture in Sunderland last night. Goals from Lucy Bronze and Lauren Hemp put England 2-0 up before Scotland fought back. The visitors pulled a goal back through Kirsty Hanson before piling on the pressure in the second half.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, England boss Wiegman admitted that the first half performance was much better than the second half, although getting the win was what mattered.
“I’m really happy with three very important points,” Wiegman said. “You can see how competitive the Nations League is with the other results that we have seen.
“I think we played a lot better in the first half than the second half and we scored two good goals. We actually scored three good goals but one was ruled out.
“We gave away a couple of counter attacks and Scotland showed that they were really dangerous in those moments. It was from our own mistakes that gave them those opportunities.
“I think overall, we were a lot better in the first half and in the second half, we were struggling with our decision-making, so we were not able to press a little higher, keep the ball and we kept playing short.
“We got the win and that was the most important thing given the short turnaround after the World Cup. The players hadn’t played any competitive games, so I’m very happy (to get the win).”
Wiegman didn’t want to use the quick turnaround between the end of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the start of the UEFA Women’s Nations League as an excuse for her side’s patchy performance. The England boss said that you can’t always win matches playing attractive football.
She said “I don’t want to use that as an excuse, sometimes you just have to get through.
“After the first half, we wanted to get better connected in the final third and improve our decision-making but yes, it is a short turnaround. We know that sometimes it doesn’t look beautiful but you can still win a game.”
England are back in UEFA Women’s Nations League action on Tuesday evening when they face The Netherlands in Utrec
