Following two pre-season friendlies in Spain against Granada (a 1-0 victory) and Real Madrid (2-1 defeat), we were back in action at Hotspur Way as we stormed to an emphatic 5-3 victory over the Blues on Sunday.
The defender, who joined us this summer from VfL Wolfsburg, was one of the five different goalscorers on the afternoon, grabbing her first goal for the Club with a header at the back-post, as she completed her second set of 90 minutes in a Lilywhite shirt.
Racking up important game time ahead of our Women’s Super League season opener against West Ham United on Sunday 6 September (12noon UK), the Netherlands international felt there was ‘good development’ in how we progressed throughout the game against the newly-promoted WSL side.
“The first half was a little bit difficult,” she told us after the game. “They were a compact team, stayed close and played a bit on the counter. We had a lot of possession, but then we lost the ball in transition.
“We did way better in the second half, you saw the difference between the first half and the second half, we were higher on the pitch, had more chances and scored more goals. So, there was good development in the game.”
“It’s good for your body and to have your minutes in your legs. It's nice to play so many minutes, if possible. It's also nice to play 90 minutes because you need that as well.
“It’s a good feeling,” she added, when asked about building positive momentum with a win. “It's important that we are winning our games. In two weeks, the league starts, so then we have to be really on, but we keep pushing.”
The summer arrival was also named in Martin Ho’s performance group – a selection of players to assist captain Drew Spence this term – and she spoke about the honour to be recognised with that opportunity so early on in her career.
“It's an honour that I'm in the performance group. Me as a person, I want to help younger people around here,” she explained.
“I want to try to help them get better. It's an important role and what I said, it's an honour that I'm in the group. I want to try and help myself, my team-mates and help the staff. We are one big group who are together.”