By Amy Tennery
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Lindsey Horan bounced back from a hard hit to show her mettle as a captain in Thursday’s 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, coach Vlatko Andonovski said, as she asserts her leadership at the Women’s World Cup.
The midfielder went down in the 59th minute of the chippy affair after Netherlands midfielder Danielle van de Donk – her Lyon team mate – slammed into her hard.
Horan gingerly got to her feet and hobbled off to the sideline as the U.S. were down 0-1, before returning moments later to the pitch, where she and van de Donk shared an angry exchange.
Horan got the ultimate revenge only moments later, as she powered a header into the goal to level the affair for the Americans.
“Obviously, it’s a very difficult moment. And instead of crying about it, she just goes and makes a statement,” said Andonovski. “And basically shows everyone where the direction of the game is going to take. I was very happy with her.”
Horan, who is a co-captain with veteran Alex Morgan, showed there was no lasting animosity as she posted a photo of her embracing van de Donk to social media after the match with the caption “We are still friends!”
But as far one of her former national team mates was concerned, the incident was a good reminder to U.S. opponents: Don’t make Horan mad.
“Every time I played against Lindsey Horan we’ve gotten into a little tussle or tackle. You always see that fire,” retired U.S. great and current Fox Sports analyst Carli Lloyd said in televised remarks after the match.
“This is the Lindsey Horan that needs to step up and show up for this team.”
The former co-captain Lloyd famously handed off her number 10 jersey to Horan when she retired, marking a meaningful endorsement from one of the most decorated players ever to wear the crest.
Horan also gleaned valuable experience from injured captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who announced in June that she would have to miss the tournament, after time spent together on the Portland Thorns and the winning 2019 U.S. team.
But she made clear she planned to stamp out her own footprint in the captaincy.
“I want to be my own type of leader,” she told reporters ahead of the tournament. “I think we all have different variations of that.”
The United States, who beat Vietnam 3-0 in their World Cup opener, close out the group stage against Portugal on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Wellington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
