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Man-of-the-Match Blackwood credits maturity
July 24, 2023
Reggae Girlz defender Deneisha Blackwood credits her Man of the Match performance in their opening FIFA Women's World Cup match against France yesterday to growth and maturity as a player since the last women's World Cup in 2019.
The 26-year-old Blackwood also believes that the Reggae Girlz' first-ever point at the Women's World Cup was a momentous occasion, as it was against title hopefuls France in a game played at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
"I think last World Cup I was mentally immature, but over the years I have gotten mentally mature, and I think I prepared myself well for this tournament, and I came out and did what I needed to do," Blackwood said after the game.
"Last World Cup, we didn't get a point, and to get a point from such a big game is really a victorious feeling for us."
The Girlz started that match as underdogs, but Blackwood reasoned that the tournament's minnows were proving to be bothersome.
"I think as smaller countries coming into these games, we have a lot on the line, and we just play with our hearts. So the football world is growing, and it's showing in smaller countries, too," she pointed out.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, who was outstanding between the sticks, argued that their defensive resilience was instrumental in getting a positive. She, however, insists they must improve their attack for the remaining group games against Panama and Brazil.
"I don't think it (result) has quite sunk in yet. It was an excellent performance. We deserve that. We were so good defensively; everything they threw at us was defended. Everyone concentrated from one to 90 (minutes), and when things started to get tough, we still dug deep. There were a lot of tired legs, but we brought it.
"It shows what we are about. People put us down over the last two weeks, but it was one of our aims; to get something out of this tournament.
"It is a long tournament, so we need to focus on the next game. Obviously, we need to stick to what we are doing defensively, but attacking, we need to put away our chances," Spencer said.
