Page 14 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.12 2021-22

An interview with…..

Laura Walker (Chorley Women)

On a day where there were a number of surprise results in the
Vitality Women’s FA Cup, Chorley took a scalp from the division
above when they defeated Middlesbrough on penalties following a
4-4 draw.
Chorley captain Laure Walker told us that the game was a
fantastic advertisement for the women’s game and as well as looking
forward to taking on Bradford City in the next round, Laura is also
setting her sights high in the league:
WSS: Many congratulations on the great win in the cup
on Sunday, was the game as good as the scoreline
suggests?
LW: Thank you. It was a fantastic advertisement for cup football,
the game had everything, both teams having a real good go, lots of
goals and I hope it was entertaining for everyone watching!
WSS: So how tense was the penalty shootout when it took
place?
LW: ith regards to the penalties, we all felt pretty confident
beforehand and just watching my team mates walking up and
dispatching each penalty made me feel so proud. I always have so
much faith and confidence in our keeper Bradders to pull saves out the bag in big moments and she
did it again on Sunday. I had a gut feeling it was going to go our way and thankfully it did.
WSS: What a great game Aleesha Collins had with all four of your goals, how good
was it to have her up front?
LW: Aleesha was absolutely fantastic on Sunday. The thing that impresses me the most about her
is her attitude. She is grounded, she listens, she gets involved with the team and her pace and talent
is there for everyone to see. It came as no surprise to any of us the huge impact she had on Sunday.
WSS: The draw for the next round has given familiar opponents with a home tie
against Bradford City. You beat them in the league earlier in the season, are you
confident that you can progress?
LW: We are looking forward to playing Bradford in the next round. The result against them a few
months ago means nothing however. Its a brand new game and we will prepare for it the way we
do for any Sunday.
WSS: In the meantime, this week it will be the County Cup at home to Morecambe.
This time the boot will be on the other foot as you will be favourites, is it a case of
taking the same approach as the Middlesbrough game?
LW: Before that game [Bradford City] we have the County Cup against Morecambe this Sunday
and that’s our main focus now. It’s the only game on our radar and this week has been built
towards how we can win and progress into the quarter finals.
WSS: The cup win comes on the back of a good start in the league, with only one
defeat in seven matches. Are you doing better than expected, or were you always
quietly confident of doing well?
LW: It feels like we haven’t played a league game for ages, but our form so far hasn’t surprised me
at all. Through our coaching staff we are so well prepared for each team we face, its really helped
with our application and implementation of things we work on in training and bringing that into
play on a Sunday. We get weekly updates of our team and individual stats for every game and we
are showing improvement on a weekly basis. This can only help us pick up more points as the
season goes on. Our form hasn’t happened by accident.
WSS: Overall, what do you think would mean a good season for Chorley?
LW: I will be happy with a top four finish in the league, a good run in the cups and I would really
like a unbeaten home run this season.
WSS: The division has been an interesting one from the start, can you still see a
number of teams challenging for the title?
Issue no. 12 - 18 November 2021 womenssoccerscene@mail.com