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Scores of people turned up to pubs in the town to watch the Lionesses’ historic moment on the world stage, as they faced off against Spain for the ultimate prize in football.
Unfortunately, in classic England style, things did not work out quite so well, as in the 29th minute, Olga Carmona struck home to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Sarina Wiegman’s side.
Patrons at Laarsen’s, on Wote Street, shared their post-match thoughts with the Gazette.
Neil Lee took an optimistic approach: “At least we got there.
“It’s just a shame we didn’t win, but you’ve got to be proud.”
Terry Oliver simply said: “The better team won.”
Peter Busby wasn’t happy with the result but was glad he could experience the important occasion.
He said: “It’s disappointing because England lost, but it’s a World Cup Final, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you can’t knock them for getting that far.
“I just wish they’d won.”
Pete Elie used to play for Basingstoke Town FC.
He told the Gazette: “It was a good match, I thought the ref was a little bit biased, but England played well enough, they just didn’t take their chances.
“C’est la vie. I thought today was going to be a good day, but that’s football for you.”
Michael Joyce believes England didn’t capitalise on the chances they created: “They had their chances but didn’t take them.
“Every time they were in the area, they gave the ball away.
“It’s frustrating again, the penalty could have gone either way and they took so long to decide about it.”
Martin Crawford believes the best team won: “Spain deserved it, to be honest, they got their game plan spot on.
“You can tell they did their homework.”
Chris Herridge agreed: “It was exciting, we had chances but we blew it and Spain were the better team on the day.”
Terry Roberts was a referee for 21 years.
He shared his assessment of the game: “It was disappointing, they couldn’t pass to a blue shirt in the box if they had another week to try.”
Jack Lambert-Griffiths isn’t a big football fan, but chipped in with his thoughts: “I don’t normally watch football, I only watched this game because it was a historic event that we could have won.
“I did enjoy it though, despite the loss.”
How do you think England played? Share your thoughts in the comments.
