Page 14 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.6 2022-23

Nottingham Forest have had a good week and on Sunday,
they defeated Derby County 3-1 at the City Ground in front
of the largest crowd at a women’s game in the country, to
keep up their impressive start to the season.
Forest midfielder Mai Moncaster told us that the
occasion was “amazing” and they have started well, but will
not be looking any further than the next game they play:
WSS: Well done on the win against your local
rivals on Sunday, how tough a match was it on the
day?
MM: It was always going to be a tough game, but we
battled hard, earned the right to play and scored some
great goals.
WSS: Derby had been finding their form in recent
matches, so just how ready
were the team going into the game?
MM: We had a busy week leading up to the game on
Sunday, the midweek fixture against Loughborough Lightning helped in giving us the
momentum to go and win against Derby.
WSS: In front of a superb 5,082 crowd at the City Ground, what did it feel like to
play in front of such an attendance at such a prestigious venue?
MM: It was amazing! We love playing at the City Ground and we knew there would be lots of
young boys and girls there to inspire. Walking out to Mull of Kintyre gave me goosebumps!
WSS: Charlotte Greengrass has been in superb form in front of goal in recent weeks
and got two more on Sunday, how big an asset to the team has she been this season?
MM: She’s scored some great goals already this season and she’s been a key player for us so far
as she holds the ball up really well.
WSS: This week it's another home match against Brighouse Town, how tough a
match are you anticipating against them?
MM: It's always a tough game against Brighouse, they are a very physical side which has shown
in their results this season. We know they can be hard to break down but we’ll be preparing well
in training this week.
WSS: Overall, you must be very happy with the way that the team has started
the season?
MM: Overall I think we’ve had a great start to the season and have played well on the whole. The
game against Wolves was frustrating but we’ve bounced back as a team and we’ve had some
good results this week.
WSS: If you are to make a title challenge, can you see Wolves and Burnley being
the main rivals or can someone else emerge from the pack?
MM: Wolves and Burnley have started well and we always knew they would be a challenge but
we know anything can happen in this league, we know we have to prepare fully for every game
and take each game as it comes.
WSS: The club has shown its potential this week, if you can make it to the top two
tiers in the future, how big an impact in the area do you think it would make?
MM: With Nottingham being a big city and women’s football growing, being in the top two tiers
would really allow us to get more people to come to our games and allow us to inspire more boys
and girls to play.
Our thanks to Mai! Photo - Ritchie Sumpter
news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk