‘We gifted them two goals’ says Millie Bright after England lose to Netherlands
Millie Bright was critical of England’s performance after the 2-1 loss to the Netherlands (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Skipper Millie Bright said England “gifted” the Netherlands their goals and were “not ruthless enough” after the Lionesses were beaten 2-1 in Utrecht in their second Nations League group game.
The hosts took the lead in the 34th minute when Georgia Stanway was closed down near her own box, the ball went to Danielle van de Donk and she teed up a Lieke Martens finish, which it appeared would have been ruled out for offside if VAR had been in operation.
After Alessia Russo’s 64th-minute equaliser, England were then punished after losing possession again in the 90th minute as Alex Greenwood gave the ball away and Martens fed substitute Renate Jansen, who rifled past Mary Earps.
Bright told ITV: “I think there were some really good parts of the game where we really dominated.
“I thought they were ruthless when they had their opportunities, and to be honest we gifted them two goals, which is really disappointing on our behalf.
“I think when you concede in that manner, that’s the most disappointing thing, especially when games like this really matter.
“They had probably less chances but were really, really clinical in those. We had a couple but were not ruthless enough in that area.”
Having threatened little for much of the first half, England went close to levelling in the 41st minute, Rachel Daly volleying against a post, and Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze then saw efforts saved by Daphne van Domselaar, before Linda Beerensteyn struck the bar for the home side.
Van Domselaar subsequently made an excellent save to deny Hemp early in the second half before Russo’s leveller and Jansen’s decisive late impact as the battle
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