Crystal Palace √ charlton athletic sunday, november 20 2022 | 14:00
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Anna
Good afternoon and welcome to Selhurst Park for today’s Championship derby game against Charlton Athletic.
firstly I’d like to welcome Karen and her squad and hope that today’s encounter will be a great advert for the Women’s Championship.
It seems an age since our last game which was a gritty win against Durham a fortnight ago. A very much welcomed 3 points for us but more importantly it put stop to a dip in form.
So what do we expect from today! .... its always a tough game against Charlton we where fortunate last season to come out on top in both games and knowing Karen today’s encounter will again be a difficult one. We
have a squad that has trained well all week and the 6 international players have come back all fit and ready to go which is a big plus for us. The icing on the cake is again playing at Selhust Park, a place where hopefully we can get the crowd behind us and repay them with a performance to be proud of.
Best Dean COYPL .
manager
The icing on the cake is again playing at Selhust Park, a place where hopefully we can get the crowd behind us
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Elise Hughes
note of
Hughes is a multitalented player who, due to her experiences in international football, can play across a team. Her natural position is up-front.
I lived in north Wales for most of my life, even while playing with Everton and Blackburn Rovers, so moving down to London with Charlton Athletic was a massive change. I was used to a village in north Wales, and now I live in the biggest city in western Europe.
But I think it’s cool and, having made the move at a young age, believe it’s a really good life experience. Football takes you all over the world, so I’m glad I moved when I did.
I started with the national team through a regional setup, which is how it works in Wales. They split the country into sections – mine was north-east Wales – and you play as part of that squad against north-west Wales, or teams from England. If you do well enough you go on to play with north or south Wales, and then the national team pick players from there.
I got my opportunity at an early age and was playing in the Under-16s at 14, moving up an age group with every year. When
Age 21 Joined Summer 2022 Position Forward Apps 7 Clean sheets: 4
Career highlights Being named Young Player of the Year with Wales aged 17. Take
Elise Hughes
i got my opportunity at an early age and was playing in the Under-16s at 14, moving up an age group with every year. When I earned my first senior cap I was too young to represent the Under-19s, so ended up making that debut after my first-team one!
I earned my first senior cap I was too young to represent the Under-19s, so ended up making that debut after my first-team one!
A few months later I was named Wales’ Young Player of the Year which, to this day, still hasn’t sunk in. Because I was around Everton’s firstteam from a young age I was able to mature quite quickly and make the step up, but I still see myself as one of the younger ones at Wales despite having been there for several years.
It’s a bit of a cliché but the Wales squad is a massive family. From the oldest to the youngest player we’re all there for the same reason. You link-up with players you’ve admired for years and all of a sudden they’re your teammates. They soon become your friends, and then family.
Competing with players like that made me want to stay part of the senior setup. I didn’t want to be anywhere but there again, so I was motivated to keep going back to be among those teammates and staff.
My experience with Wales has helped to shape my game, too. Although I’m an attack-minded player, when I started international football everyone at Wales was defensive. My then-manager Jayne Ludlow saw me as having defensive traits, so initially lots of my caps came in defence or defensive midfield. I didn’t mind that at all – when I’m playing for the country I’d play in goal if needed!
Those games in defence were an experience I’ll always remember, because I was playing in direct opposition to my usual
role. So when I switched back to being a centre-forward I knew what centre-backs hate, and tried to take that into my game.
Now Wales women have made history like the men have recently, I think we’re starting to become a prouder footballing nation. The men had success in 2016 and have now qualified for back-to-back tournaments. The women are trying to replicate that success, and in our last World Cup qualifier we had a record-breaking crowd filled with
young boys and girls who were inspired by the country’s football.
I was in France for Euro 2016 but before that there weren’t many opportunities to watch Wales at a major tournament. So seeing what the men did has helped, and you think: ‘Imagine us doing that. Imaging us in a major tournament, going away for five or six weeks as a little Welsh family competing with the top teams.’
We’re looking ahead now but need to remember how far we’ve come. We’re very proud of all the smaller things we’ve achieved, and the next step is making a major tournament
Elise Hughes
it’s a really good life experience. Football takes you all over the world, so I’m glad I moved to london
There are 4.36 million of us and we are tomorrow’s female future. We’re part of every community and come from all social backgrounds, cultures and religions with different skills and abilities. We’re an unstoppable force for good if we’re given the chance. The chance to play football. We want to play in the school curriculum, at breaktime, after school, at local clubs wherever, whenever we want. LET US PLAY. NO barriers, NO stereotypes Find out more at: www.EnglandFootball.com/LetGirlsPlay
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