Makanza buoyed by France spirit
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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A never-say-die attitude took France to Friday's final according to Marina Makanza, whose last-minute extra-time penalty sealed the 3-1 defeat of England.
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Pressure tells
France, who did not leak a single goal in qualifying, had to come from behind to claim a 1-1 regulation-time draw against England in Nyon on Tuesday, but their pressure finally told in the additional 20 minutes. And Claix FF midfielder Makanza took heart from how her team continued to press even as frustration grew.
Keeping faith
"We dominated the game for large spells, but we failed a bit in front of the goal," Makanza told uefa.com. "We never gave up and kept going until the end. They scored a goal early in the second half, and it is true that we are not too much used to conceding goals, but we kept cool and did not lose our faith."
Final chance
Germany, the only nation with a better record than France in the long-established European Women's U19 event, will take on Makanza and Co at the Colovray Stadium on Friday afternoon. And although France were far from clinical against England, their creativity has given them hope. "Our finishing was admittedly a bit off, but the fact that we created so many chances is still a very good sign," Makanza said. "We have already started to look ahead to the final, and we will do our best to win it."