Shelley Kerr: England defeat positives for Scotland ahead of Japan World Cup clash
Thursday 13 June 2019 17:00, UK
Scotland manager Shelley Kerr believes her team can take positives from their second half display in their 2-1 defeat to England, ahead of their second Women's World Cup Group D match versus Japan on June 14.
A controversial penalty from Nikita Parris and an Ellen White goal established a decisive two-goal first half advantage for England on Sunday; but a promising second-half display, which included a chipped finish from Claire Emslie, will give Scotland cause for optimism for their remaining Group D fixtures.
25 year-old Emslie made history against the Lionesses after becoming the first player to score for the Scots in their debut appearance at a World Cup.
Despite the narrow 2-1 loss in Nice, Kerr remained upbeat about her side's performance against the third-placed team in the FIFA World Rankings, prior to facing Japan on Friday.
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"I think as a group in the first half, there was a period of about twenty minutes where we were all disappointed; in the second half, though, there were so many positives.
"We addressed things at half time tactically which worked for us; coupled with the fact that England took their foot off the gas a bit.
"When you finish a game so strongly, you have to have a similar mindset [going into the next game] and remember the positive things. At this level, you have to critically reflect."
2011 world champions Japan, who are aiming to reach their third successive final in France this summer, played out a goalless draw on June 10, with Yui Hasegawa coming closest to scoring in the first half during a game where both sides struggled to register shots on target.
Kerr added: "Japan are technically very good. Our expectations are still the same, the target hasn't changed; we still want to get out of the group, and tomorrow is a different type of game.
"It's about remembering those positives that we had in the second half [against England] and taking them into the match against Japan."
