Philadelphia Independence » UEFA Women’s Euro

Terry Foley’s UEFA Women’s Euro Update (3)

Philadelphia Independence Staff — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:26:08 +0000

Terry’s latest Finland update comes from Turku where he first watched Sweden handily defeat Russia 3-0. Charolette Rohlin finished a header from a corner kick in the 8th minute to give Sweden the early lead, and her goal was followed shortly by one from her teammate, Victoria Svennson. Although Russia played Sweden evenly in the second half, Sweden’s Caroline Seger, the player of the game according to Terry, buried a 25 yard strike to put the game out of reach.

Italy upset England 2-1 in the second game of the day. England’s side was a player down for almost the whole game after Casey Stoney was sent off in the 15th minute. Although they took the lead off a penalty, scored by Fara Williams in the first half, England could not hold on. Italy scored two solid goals in the second half to capture the victory over England. Terry noted that the four WPS players in England’s starting lineup were “strong and represented the league well.”

Terry Foley’s UEFA Women’s Euro Update (2)

Philadelphia Independence Staff — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:10:31 +0000

Terry is continuing to see high quality action over at the European Championships, including Germany’s solid 4-0 win Norway at Tampere Stadium yesterday. Germany’s first goal was a penalty kick buried by Linda Bresonik, who Terry thought shone as the best player on the field. Norway’s goalkeeper, Ingrid Hjelmseth, kept her team in the game until the last ten minutes when Germany opened the floodgates. Three goals were scored in the last ten minutes of the game by German second half substitutes, Fatima Bajaramaj and Anna Mittag. Terry was impressed with Germany’s performance: “The score was a deserving one. Germany is looking much sharper than when I watched them at the Algarve- they’ve been the best team we have seen so far this trip.”

The second game of the day, France defeated Iceland in a game of poor refereeing and three penalty kicks. Iceland took the lead in the 6th minute off a solid header from Holmfridur Magnusdottir. Ten minutes later, France tied up the game when they were awarded a dubious penalty, finished by the LA Sol’s Camille Abily. Shortly after the start of the second half, France was awarded a second questionable penalty kick, which the Washington Freedom’s Sonja Bompastor stepped up to bury. France’s third goal was a long range shot by another Freedom player, Louise Necib, which Iceland’s keeper should have saved. Iceland tried to fight back late in the game, but their best player Margaret Lara Vidarsdottir missed a penalty kick awarded to Iceland in the last 10 minutes, which cemented the final score of 3-1. Terry reported that “France fully deserved to win the game. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what they can do.”

Terry Foley’s UEFA Women’s Euro Update (1)

Philadelphia Independence Staff — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:22:57 +0000

General Manager Terry Foley is having a great experience in Finland so far! Watching his first match yesterday, he witnessed Netherland defeat Ukraine 2-0 in the beautiful Olympic stadium in Helinski. Although he is enjoying Helinski, everything is about three times as expensive as prices the US! Last night, he began to get a feel for the standard of play at the tournament as he watched Finland defeat Denmark 1-0. Terry reported a stadium filled with of 16,000 fan with an absolutely electric atmosphere. According to Terry, the game started slowly with both teams looking nervous and he was not surprised that it was 0-0 at half time. About halfway through the second half, Finland took the lead off of a free kick. Terry believed the kick was intended as a cross, but it crept past the keeper into the far corner netting. Although Denmark had a couple of good chances to equalize, they could not put one away against Finnish keeper Tinja Riika. In Terry’s opinion, Riika was the player of the match by coming up with a couple of crucial saves in the last 20 minutes of the game. Terry has been witnessing some great talent and an incredible game atmosphere, so stay posted for his next Finland update!