AN emotional Shelley Kerr was at a loss to explain how her side managed to lose a three-goal lead which effectively knocked them out of the World Cup.
Leading 3-0 through goals from Kim Little, Jen Beattie and Erin Cuthbert with 16 minutes remaining, Kerr’s side squandered their lead, with a controversial last-gasp VAR decision allowing Argentina to equalise from the spot at the second attempt.
“It’s quite hard right now to sum it up, we were 3-0 up and looking really comfortable and the first goal changed the whole complexion,” Kerr said after the match.
“It was a free kick in the build up but we should defend better and manage the game when we are 3-0 up. We gave it our all and for 70 miutes we were very good and we didn’t manage to see the game out but at this moemnt we feel really hard-done by.”
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Asked if she felt let down by the match officials, Kerr pointed to a series of decisions which didn’t go her side’s way which she felt affected the outcome of the match.
“It’s very difficult to comment right now but there are certainly a few decisions that didn’t go our way,” Kerr said.
“This is a World Cup and you needed the officals to make the right calls and there were a few that went against us. It was bitterly disappointing but we should still have managed the game, you can’t take away from that fact.
“I’ve watched the penalty back five or six times and it is still not conclusive so that’s quite tough. I haven’t seen Lee’s save yet so haven’t seen the footage. In the lead up [to the penalty] we were making a double substitution and the ball was in play. Fiona Brown wasn’t on the pitch, we were a player down. “It’s a harsh lesson for us to be better at managing the game. For most part of the game we were solid defensively. The first goal was a free kick and that changes everything in a game of this magnitude. At the top level we need to make sure we learn from this and manage the game better. “This is our first World Cup. We’ve scored five goals and ran England and Japan close and when the support staff and I came in we wanted to change the mentality of the team.
“It’s still a learning process but we want to to inspire and hopefully the supporters aren’t too disappiinted as the players have given everything.”
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