Cullen 'gutted' at Wales consolation goal
England womens hat-trick hero Crista Cullen was gutted to concede a last minute goal after giving the top seeds a three nil lead against Wales in their opening Commonwealth Games fixture in Group B.
The full-back unleashed three short corner drag flicks to steer England to victory but from a defensive point of view admitted she was ‘really gutted’ to concede late on.
Cullen said: “We worked so hard to make sure we didn’t let them in the circle. Credit to Sarah Thomas she’s a great player and she cut us open at times when we were a little bit exposed. We’ve just got take those bits out of our game and keep converting at the top.”
But apart from allowing Wales to snatch a consolation goal Cullen, left, was pleased with the overall performance even though she accepted they should have scored more goals.
She said: “It was a brilliant performance. It’s always difficult going out first game on at 8.30 in the morning to get ourselves going. I thought we started really well, we could have converted more but that’s me being harsh.
“We had the opportunities and if we are going to push for the top spot in our pool then we have to make sure we start converting but it’s the start of the tournament and we have a performance to build on. To come away with a win is what we are here to do and we need to just keep churning them over,” added the Leicester defender.
Next up for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games bronze medalists is Canada and Cullen is aware how stern a test it will be but is confident they can get a positive result.
She said: “It’s always a tough game against Canada they’re athletic and fight for eveything. It’s an 11 o’clock match so it will be hot and humid. We’ve just got to take our game to them and I think they might struggle a bit.”
photo accreditation: chelmsfordblue (flickr)
Match Report
CWG England Women's Hockey: England 4-1 Wales
Hat-trick hero Crista Cullen single-handlingly saw off neighbours Wales in England’s opening match of the Commonwealth Games in Group B.
The Leicester full-back swept home three penalty corner drag flicks past Welsh stopper Margaret Rees before Charlotte Craddock capitalised on a loose ball to give the top ranked side in Delhi a four goal advantage.
But Wales, who had rarely threatened the England defence, pulled a goal back late on when forward Sarah Thomas drifted easily past four defenders before beating Beth Storry in the England goal.
Cullen made up for some poor finishing from the England forwards and head coach Danny Kerry admitted that his side must improve in front of goal if they are going to win gold.
He said: “We need to set high standards and we expect high standards from out teammates if we had done that that today it could have been double figures.
“I am happy with the performance just really disappointed with our play in the attacking circle. If we don’t have that application in the circle we won’t win Gold,” added a downbeat Kerry.
Captain Kate Walsh was also concerned that England could only score four goals considering the high percentage of play they had in Wales’ half, she added: “We’ve got to be ruthless in these games, as the goal difference might count at the end of the tournament. We have to put in a gold medal winning performance every game.”
