A Lucky Break

First Cap

Hayley's POV:

Just one week into my professional training, Joe and Seb, the goalkeepers coach, think I'm ready to play. If you ask me, I don't feel near prepared enough, but Leah has been telling me all week that the team is confident in what I can do. Everyone else has confidence in me, I just need to find confidence in myself and Leah thinks that will come with having a game under my belt.

We travelled down to Brighton the day before the game and stayed in a hotel overnight so that we didn't have to wake up early for a travel day and sit on the bus for the hours before the game. After having breakfast we go for a game day walk to find a nice coffee shop. With coffee in hand I walk alongside Viv on the way back to the hotel. Over the week I have got to know Viv well, she is quiet and gentle, much like me. Not to mention she lives around the road from Leah's place.

We are a walking a few meters in front of most of the team as they mess around with each other. We are almost halfway back when Viv asks me, "Are you nervous for your first game?"

It's the one thing that's been in my mind for the last couple of days. I can't think of much else at this point. "Yeah, really nervous," I say looking down at the ground.

"That's normal," she explains. "Every one of us has been in the same position."

"True I guess," I laugh. She's the only person who hasn't seemed to wave off my nerves like it's nothing, or told me I'd be fine. "How did you deal with it?"

She's quiet for a moment, so I look at her to see if she heard me, her face is deep in thought. I let her think for a moment before she answers, "I think I had to trust all the training I had done, but I also had to trust the team around me to do their job and look after me too."

"What do you mean," I ask.

"Well, it's a team sport right. It's so much harder for me to put the ball in the back of the net if the defenders don't clear the ball and midfielders don't find good spaces to pass into. The same goes for you, if I don't press high, if the midfield doesn't defend and if the defenders let balls through the back line, it makes your job that much harder. I know that with such little training it will be hard to trust yourself but if you trust the rest of the team to make your job easier, it takes a bit of stress off," she explains with a shrug.

"Oh right," I say quietly, looking back at the ground.

"The trust in yourself will come with a game or two, when you really know you can play at this level," she says, comforting me by pulling me into a side hug.

"Leah said the same thing," I laugh.

"And do you trust her," Viv asks.

"Yeah," I say without a second thought.

"Then take her word for it," she says as we walk back into the grounds of the hotel. She takes her arm off my shoulder before speaking again, "If it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't want to be playing against you."

-

We stand in the tunnel waiting for Brighton to come out of their changing room. I'm stood behind Kim and in front of Leah. I go through what everyone has told me over the past couple of days to try and fight the nerves of the big occasion.  I have more confidence after the warmup than I did this morning so I guess that's a good sign.

As Brighton players start to emerge from their changing room, I feel hands on my shoulders. Turning my head slightly I can see Leah smile at me. "You got this," is all she says before we walk out onto the field.

As we walk out I notice that the crowd is about the same size as the game last week, bringing some familiarity to today. The pre-match formalities go by quickly before we are in a huddle prior to the official whistle. "And let's look after Hayley today. Everyone do their job to release that pressure on her," Kim finishes the team talk and we break.

Louise, Jen and Vik all give me a fist bump and Leah pulls me into a side hug. "I trust you," is all say says before pushing me in the direction of my goal.

I take a deep breath before the referee starts the game, "I can do this."

With that the girls started to play. I don't have much to do for a while, when the ball is played into the half it is easily cleared by the back line. Within the first 10 minutes Kim gets us on the scoresheet, which brings my nerves down a fraction. I had a touch or two to keep me in the game but other that that I don't see much action as the team continued to push forward. After a few more chances for us the ball is being pushed in my direction. Stay on your toes, stay in your toes, I think to myself. The Brighton player strikes the ball from a fair way out for me to make an easy first career save, before rolling it back out to Louise. After another quiet stint Viv scores, giving us a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

Leah waits for me to jog over to her before we head over to the tunnel, "First save! How are you feeling?"

"I mean it wasn't too challenging but I'm feeling good. Less nervous now that we have some wiggle room," I laugh. "Anything can happen though."

"Like I said, I trust you. Nothing is going in the back of that net, I can feel it," she says, patting my chest as we walk into the changing room.

The mood is light with Joe giving praise with a few tactical changes. I sit with Seb and Manu to go through some changes and ways that I can stay in the game. Before long we are making our way back into the field for the second half. I'm walking alongside Jen, her arm sling over my shoulder. "Same again for this half chick," she says as we walk into the huddle.

Shortly after the beginning of the second half Dann scores a third, then 10 minutes later Jordan takes us to 4-0. I am even less busy in this half not required to make any saves and only touching the ball a few times, when the girls play it back for more options. Changes are made and the score line stays the same for the full time whistle.

As I am making my way round the other team to praise their game I feel a body attach to my back. "Clean sheet baby," I hear Jordan yell in my ear as she hooks her legs around my waist so she doesn't fall off.

"Thanks," I laugh as more of my teammates start to come over and congratulate me.

After shaking everyone's hands, we create a big circle to listen to Joe's post game talk. As he is finishing up he turns to me, "And Hayley, congratulations on a perfect first game. Clean sheet, doesn't get much better than that. I have had zero doubts since bringing you in and I believe this is only just the beginning."

The whole team start cheering and squishing me into a group hug. As they start to disperse, I notice one person remains. Leah is still glued to my side as we walk over in the direction where her mum, Amanda, is sitting. "I'm proud of you. I knew you could do it. Any doubts now," she asks with a smile.

"You know, I think I'm starting to like it here," I laugh with her. With a game under my belt I feel my confidence start to grow. Although only having a few touches, I can see myself starting to fit in, not only to the team but to the sport as well, and I can't wait to see where it is going to take me.