Following her goal in Belgium's shock 2-0 win over Norway, we caught up with Janice Cayman for her relfections on the game.
Crowd light a fire under their team
Picking up from where they left off last time out against Denmark, Belgium were determined to record their first points of the European Championships, firing out of the blocks from the outset and asking early questions of the Norwegian defence. Able to control both attack and defence, the Red Flames grew throughout the game, finding not just the breakthrough after the half but a second for a cushion, leaving the Grasshoppers considerably off of the pace,
“I think it was a great game for us, from the first second we gave it our all, we took Norway by the throat, they were still dangerous with [Caroline Graham] Hansen but I think we controlled them really well in the back and that’s how you win a game.”
Little more than ten kilometres from the Belgian border, the travelling fans packed the Rat Verlegh Stadion in Breda, their presence more than apparent, the entire town filled with their cheers and jeers through the match. A match even for the Dutch fans that filled the Stadion Galgenwaard for the opener, the hosts nearly triple the Belgian numbers. Their cheers and chants felt and appreciated by the players,
“It just gives you a boost in the moments when it’s a little more difficult physically or mentally when you hear the crowd going like that it’s amazing, it just pushes you forward and so it’s also thanks to them that we won this game.”
Belgians away from home
With Cayman and Tessa Wullaert two of the more well-known players in the team both playing outside of their homeland, Cayman remains grateful for the opportunity to play abroad, her experience with the likes of Juvisy only helping grow her as a player,
“I think it’s interesting to see how different players play outside of Belgium and it brings the team together with different styles and everybody has their own opinion and helps you grow as a team and play better football.”
Even still, with so many of the Belgian team now playing outside of their home league, Cayman has no worry about the talent pool at home, the younger players still coming through and hitting a high standard,
“I don’t think that’s a worry for football in Belgium as the young players are still developing really well in Belgium and afterwards you can take that outside Belgium it’s a great experience and I would tell everybody to do it because I really enjoy it.”
Exuberant after a commanding win and heading into a derby against the Netherlands – a team they beat last time out at the end of 2016 – Cayman admits that the team aren’t already thinking it’s job done but will be prepared to deal with their northern neighbours,
“We just have to give it our all again like today and hope that we can get that good result and it’s going to be hard but we’ll be ready for that on Monday.”