Oxford United Women’s season may be over but a series of friendlies at the end of the campaign have given one or two players a chance to either step up from the RTC or make a return after injury.
“It’s not only done me the world of good, but as a team it’s kept the momentum and good form going ahead of the summer break,” midfielder Brittany Jeal told us.
“I know that Liam [Gilbert] has recently done some interviews and stated the fact that these post-season friendlies are really to give players opportunities to show what they can do, such as those like me who’ve had injuries from the summer until now to make their mark in the starting eleven.
“I haven’t really had a good run since signing, as I had a wrist injury and then a hamstring injury not long after. Although during my recovery, the rest of the team have been really positive, since my injury I’ve attended all of the training sessions and games. The girls always kept me involved, as well as the Manager. It’s nice to know that you’ve got your team’s support when you’re going through those injuries and knowing that there’s an end goal in sight.”
The highlight of the season for Brittany was her debut in the FA Cup win against Billericay
“I knew I had to come on and just prove a point to everyone. For the fans who haven’t seen me play, I just wanted to go out there and show everyone what I’ve got. We came away with the win as well, which was fantastic. It was a really special moment in my career so far. I’ve had quite an unlucky start to my footballing career, so to come back into football at such a well-known team as Oxford where all the players are just as good as each other and the competition is high, to then make my debut in the FA Cup was phenomenal and something which I will remember forever.
“When you’re coming on at such a crucial time in the game, you know that you’ve got a part to play in it. When you’re coming on as a substitute and the rest of the girls have played well, you want to keep that momentum, so there was definitely some butterflies!”
“To come from not playing at all, to getting regular appearances in the starting eleven, is a massive achievement for me and something that I did want to end the season with. Knowing that I have appeared in the starting eleven, and have played quite well, is definitely where I wanted to finish. I’m settling in nicely now, and hopefully I can keep up the momentum going forward."