Since joining the U’s last summer, goalkeeper Rose Kite has made a flying start to her Oxford United Women career at Court Place Farm this season, despite the challenges which the last year in football has posed.
“Obviously it’s been different to most, but this season has been great,” Rose said. “We’ve had a few challenges this year, but personally and as a team, I think that we’ve dealt with it really well. The rest of the girls and the coaches have been great throughout.
“I slotted into the team really well; that’s all thanks to the girls and the staff. Everyone has been really welcoming right from day one, and that’s all you can ask for from your team. Everyone is always really supportive whether that’s on or off the pitch.
“I’m sure others will say the same, that this year has been tough. I’ve had to be very resilient within myself to keep ticking over. I’m sure that we’ve all had a tough time of it - I know I have - to keep motivated when we didn’t always know what the outcome would be and when we would be back at times in the season, but we’ve all had to keep at it.
“That’s also been the time where you can push your body the most as well; because we had no immediate games to be fit for at one point, you could push your body and test yourself a little bit more than usual. We’ve always been ready to go when we returned to action.”
Kite made a series of stunning saves over the course of the last campaign, conceding only nine goals during competitive action. We asked which save was her favourite:
“It’s got to be the save I made against Cardiff after we returned from lockdown in the FA Cup; in that game I made two 1v1 saves which were quite crucial within the game.
“I feel like I’ve done well this season; I’ve definitely improved as a player and as a person at Oxford. I definitely feel that it was the right move for me, and I hope to continue progressing throughout the current off-season as we move into next season, which will be good.
“I’m very, very excited for next season. I know that the whole team are ready and raring to go, and we know what we can bring next season. I’ve got confidence in the girls and the coaching staff to get us all to where we want to be.”