Jones reveals Frankfurt gamble

A fearless attitude and commitment to attack was the key to 1. FFC Frankfurt's resounding 4-0 UEFA Women's Cup final first leg win at 1. FFC Potsdam, according to Steffi Jones.

Cavalier approach
The German international defender told uefa.com that even at 1-0 up away from home, the half-time talk in the visitors' dressing room was all about adding to their tally. Coach Hans-Jürgen Tritschoks's cavalier approach worked to perfection, as second-half goals from Sandra Albertz, Kerstin Garefrekes and Renate Lingor were added to Lingor's first-half free-kick.

Room for error
"The coach told us to keep attacking," said Jones. "We knew that you do not have much room for error if you beat Potsdam by just one or two goals, because there have been many situations where we have been leading against them and lost. On one occasion they came from four goals down to beat us 5-4, so you know they are never out of a match."

Attacking onslaught
Frankfurt continued to make all the running, with their strikers making mincemeat of an increasingly ragged Potsdam defence. "We wanted to keep the ball and keep attacking and our strikers were confident in themselves and took their chances," she said."We didn't expect it to be as good as 4-0, though. We were thinking that 2-0 would be a great result if possible, because Potsdam are such a strong team, and always good for a goal. We really wanted to shut them out and that's what happened."

Potsdam frustration
As Jones and her defensive colleagues blunted their opponents' attempts on goal, frustration anxiety set in among the home players and fans. All part of the Frankfurt gameplan. "Yes, we were definitely aiming to frustrate them. We knew that they have weaknesses too, just like any team," Jones said. "I would say the key was that we kept on fighting all game. We never sat back or were happy with just one goal, we kept pushing forward and trying to score more to take to the second game next week."

Holl triumph
The result was also a personal triumph for goalkeeper Ursula Holl, who excelled herself standing in for regular custodian Marleen Wissink. Jones said Holl's job was made harder by the knowledge that she would be singled out if the result had gone the other way. "I'm really happy that our second goalkeeper managed to keep a clean sheet. It's always hard when you know it's the one opportunity that you're going to get, and if you lose then people will always point out that the first goalkeeper was missing," said the towering centre-back.

No complacency
Frankfurt have lost to Potsdam three times in the last six weeks, including a 6-2 home defeat that, if repeated, would see the defending champions lift the trophy on the away goals rule. With such bitter experience, there is no danger of complacency, according to Jones: "We're not going to get overconfident. Next week will be a whole new game, even though we have a lead. They're still strong enough to score four or five goals."

Old heads
The 33-year-old Jones has won over 100 Germany caps and is a World and European champion. She is confident that her experience and that of other senior players such as Birgit Prinz and Sandra Smisek will help the team to weather the inevitable Potsdam storm. "I think we have too many old, experienced players to lose it now," she said. "It's not always a good thing but in this situation it is, as we will stay focused and will make sure that everyone else does too."