We’re confident taking penalties, says Park | OneFootball

Jess Park says City are confident in our penalty taking abilities after we beat Ajax 6-5 in a sudden-death shootout at the World Sevens Football tournament.

Our midfielder had scored in regulation time and dispatched in the shootout as we extended our winning streak to two straight matches in Estoril, Lisbon.

The England international extended our lead shortly after half-time to 2-0 with a superb solo effort after Kerolin Nicoli opened the scoring.

However, the Dutch side hit back and brought the game to 2-2 through Lily Yohannes’ penalty and Danique Noordman’s last-gasp effort which saw her flick the ball into the net from close range.

Neither team could find the crucial golden goal in extra-time which meant penalties would determine the winner and City held our nerve with Kerolin Nicoli (two), Laura Coombs (two), Aoba Fujino and Park dispatching from the spot.

And the 23-year-old explained how the Blues remained calm in the potentially high-pressure scenario.

“It was [a] really positive [performance], we made hard work in parts but we tried really hard, we had fun and we got the win in the end and in a dramatic way,” she said.

“We practiced the outfield stuff and defending but we didn't really practice penalties too much, I think that's a self thing and believing in yourself.

“There's no pressure, we're confident in each of them and we managed to score our penalties.”

Park’s fantastic goal against Ajax represented her first at the seven-a-side tournament in Portugal as she weaved into the box and coolly flicked into the corner of the net with the outside of her boot.

And she says she’s relishing City’s participation at World Sevens this month.

She added: “I love playing quick, fast, one-twos, beating players and I managed to get my goal so I'm happy with that.

“Maybe [I played a similar game] when I was at school! But this is crazy and great fun and I just remember getting it and thinking I'm going to drive here, pulled it back then slotted it in.

“It's like nothing else. It's really fun and quick tournament with fast play and it really suits me and we're loving it.”