Shevchuk eager to go out with a bang
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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Belarus coach Dmitri Shevchuk is determined his side will "show gratitude to the fans" when they meet Germany on Thursday after an improved perfomance failed to earn any more than a 3-0 loss to France in Borisov.
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France coach Jean-Michel Degrange paid tribute to an improved showing by Belarus, despite his team dealing the hosts a second successive three-goal defeat in Borisov. It leaves Les Bleuettes' hopes of progress in their own hands going into Sunday, but Belarus's aspirations hinge on an unlikely combination of results. Either way, coach Dmitri Shevchuk is determined to "show gratitude to the fans" when his side meet Germany.
Jean-Michel Degrange, France coach
I want to pay tribute to the bravery of our opponents, and their determination to play good football. I saw Belarus's opening game on DVD and have to say the side we met were solid in defence. That was really impressive and we didn't expect that. As for the other teams, I think we should have drawn our first encounter against Germany but played too slow a tempo at times and paid a high price for that. We did not have much information about Switzerland before the start of the tournament, but we had people at their first match. They are very strong in attack and have several very good players.
Dmitri Shevchuk, Belarus coach
I want to congratulate my colleague [Degrange] for the win and also for the warm words he had for our side. We lost to a strong side, a side tactically and technically better than us. France were also better physically. It's difficult to play open football against teams of their calibre and that's why we focused on defence. I expected more in attack though – we didn't produce any dangerous moments. The first match showed that we are able to but [Ekaterina] Miklashevich did not feel great before the match and was not at her best. Also, attacking midfielder Anastasia Popova struggled to get into the game.
It was very hot and it was important to show character and fight. Unfortunately, I didn't see that from some of the players. From that point of view our opponents were better. The next match is against Germany, but we are not afraid. We were before the first match, but not now after playing against two strong teams. Our main aim at the tournament is to gain experience and that's what we are doing. I wish to finish the tournament on a high, something to show our gratitude to the fans.