Karen Hills said she was proud of her team after they came away from Southampton with a point, returning her side to the top of WSL2.
It was a game of two halves for the Addicks, who were below par in the first 45, before rallying in the second to bring themselves level, before going ahead, only to be pegged back deep into extra time.
Hills said: “Super proud of the group today, I thought we had to dig in. I thought the first half we definitely wasn’t at our best. Credit to Southampton, they took the game, they took their goal really, really well, and we needed to find something within us to bounce back.
“I thought the girls were outstanding in that second half, and two game changers came on and made the difference. Obviously, just disappointed we couldn’t see that last little bit out, but these players have worked so hard, and I’m so proud of the character they showed, and we’re going to take that into the game next week.”
After going behind, two substitutes were the difference for Charlton, with Gillian Kenney scoring from the second phase of a corner, before Emma Bissell scored a 91st-minute penalty with her first kick of the game.
Karen said that the game changers who came on are always ready, as the whole team know how they can contribute when called upon.
“We’ve all known what our roles and responsibilities are when anyone is called upon. Every single player in that squad has been impactful and been a part of where we are at this moment in time. Everyone has their role and responsibilities, and sometimes it looks a little bit different from game to game, based on how I see it.
“Every player I brought on today knew what they were coming on to do, and they felt it, and they were ready. And, two game changers, Gillian coming on with the set piece and scoring, and then Emma Bissell, calm as you like, comes on, steps onto the pitch in the 90th minute and scores a penalty, that pressure penalty, and she took it like it was a walk in the park.
“So for me, I’m proud of every single one of them, and like I said, the character they showed in that second half when we had to dig deep. We didn’t play our best football, but we showed a lot of character and identity today.”
Hills’ side are a point above Birmingham City, who are the visitors to the Valley on the final day of the season. Despite such a big game ahead, Hills said nothing changes, with the team keeping up what has got them to this position.
“Nothing changes; we’ll just make sure we get back on the bus, we get home, we’ll recover, and then we’ll go back into this week of work, and we will be proud of where we are. We should be excited, we are excited to go into this last game.
“If you said to me at the start of the season, this is where you’d want to be, absolutely, we’d want to be in this position. We’re playing at our home ground, we’re playing against another top top team that we know is going to be a fantastic game in front of our home crowd as well.
“It’s going to be a really interesting game next week, but this week is all about us recovering, knowing that we’ll set the game plan, the players will execute it as best they can, and we’ll look forward to that game next week.”
Charlton Women play Birmingham City at The Valley on Saturday, May 2nd (KO 2pm). Tickets for this huge game are on sale, so secure yours now.
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