Page 14 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.17 2021-22

An interview with…..

Keiana Jones (Portishead Town)

Portishead Town are enjoying a good debut season in the FA
Women’s National League and their 3-2 victory over Swindon
Town on Sunday took them up to fourth place in the Division
One South West table.
Keiana Jones is one of a number of players within the
Portishead squad who have had impressive first seasons at the
higher level and she told us that the team has grown in
confidence since the campaign began and that the hard work
they are putting in is paying off:
WSS: Wwell done on the win on Sunday, how good
did it feel to be back in action with a victory?
KJ: Thank you so much! It felt amazing to be back on the
pitch and to get the win just made the experience even more
incredible. We’ve been working so hard as a group and to be
rewarded with the win made it even better. We’ve gained a
confidence as a squad that any team we now face will not get
an easy game coming up against us.
WSS: Did you always feel confident of winning once
you got 3-2 in front late on?
KJ: I had a belief that the team was going to put in a shift and
put bodies on the line to keep that win, but we knew we had
to earn it, which I think we did. We didn’t underestimate
Swindon, we didn’t switch off and were on it from kick off,
which the result showed.
WSS: The team has defended very well in a number of matches this season,
was that the case again on Sunday?
KJ: Yes! I can’t give enough credit to our back line. The quality they possess has saved us in
a lot of our games. However on Sunday, we defended from the front line all the way to the
back. We understand in this league there are fine margins between winning and losing so
we all understood our defensive roles and made it very difficult for Swindon to play
through us.
WSS: No game for you this week and in fact you have to wait a couple more
weeks before your next match away to Chesham, how frustrating is that?
KJ: Obviously we all love playing and any weekend when we are not stepping on the pitch
is disappointing. However as a club we are very proactive in trying to get as much game
time as possible. We have arranged two friendlies in the gap between league games, so are
using the time to experiment and try new things within the squad.
WSS: last time you played Chesham, it was a thrilling 3-3 draw, can you see
that one being a similar game?
KJ: Yes. We know with Chesham that we can’t afford to start slow. They are a technical side
who possess a quality that will punish us if we don’t play to the standard that we expect of
ourselves. Equally, as a team we have faith in our ability and that we have the potential to
dominate in all areas of the pitch.
WSS: this is your first season in the National League, how have you been
finding it since being promoted?
Issue no. 17 - 13 January 2022 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk