Travel Up

Hope Powell, the women's British football instructor has guided her team into glory, with the British players beating New Zealand in what was described as a historic game. It became Steph Houghton's free kick which gave the team the one -nil victory in the Olympic's Millennium Stadium against the Football Fearns, and provided an excellent first event in the Games.

Powell says that the girls on the team 'made history today' and went on to say they had been longing for a confident result, and this is what they were given. Powell moreover praised Steph, remarking that it took great courage to score a goal like that under these sort of pressurised circumstances, and that it was a 'fantastic strike'.

Travelup said that the team played in very high temperatures, as the United Kingdom experienced one of its hottest days to date, and initially looked very nervous during the opening minutes of the match. Nevertheless after a few what were called 'excellent chances' by Powell, the team were victorious over their opposition.

Powell said that it was an amazingly difficult contest, taking into consideration the heat of the day, and identified the match as a 'battle'. Although the coach expressed that she wanted the team members to delight in the momentous experience, she also declared that she had emphasised that this was their chance to show their abilities on the pitch. She included that it did take a moment in the match for the team members to find their feet, but that she was very pleased with how well the game went over-all.

Although there was much concern surrounding the very idea of including a British football team in the Games football competition, the women's team were passionately supported by an audience of more than 25,000 people as they played the match in the Cardiff Millennium Stadium. According to Travelup reviews, the atmosphere was electric as the team members walked on to the field.

Powell was extremely quick to recognise that the victory in the game was very much the result of the performance of Houghton, for whom this game was her first appearance in a major event. The full back from Arsenal has a total of 27 England Caps, but was seriously injured just before she could play in both the World Cup of 2007, and the Euro 2009 matches.