'Tough load to bear' for England
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Article summary
The England players were in philosophical mood after a gruelling penalty marathon ended in defeat for Stuart Pearce's team in their Heerenveen semi-final.
Article body
England players were in philosophical mood after their gruelling penalty marathon ended in heart-wrenching defeat in the semi-final of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Unlucky England
Thirty penalties had already been taken when Anton Ferdinand struck his second spot-kick against the crossbar, and when Gianni Zuiverloon fired past Scott Carson moments later the Netherlands emerged triumphant to reach the final for the second year in succession. It was a tough pill to swallow for a brave England side who had led for an hour through Leroy Lita's goal only to concede an 89th-minute equaliser to Maceo Rigters.
'Tough'
England had to play most of extra-time with just ten men following injury to Nedum Onuoha, but were still able to push the Netherlands to the limit. "The match had everything for the neutral, it was very exciting," England midfielder James Milner said. "We've given it everything, it's a tough load to bear. With the penalties, it was just one of those things - we prepared as well as we could."
