Competing in the inaugural London edition of the seven-a-side competition, with our 18-player squad a mixture of first team staples and young Academy stars, we bowed out at the group phase but we certainly left our mark across the two days with plenty of flair and showcasing our next generation of players at the club in our fixtures with Aston Villa, West Ham United and Manchester United.
After a battling and excellent campaign, a record-breaking season for us in the Women’s Super League with our highest-ever points tally, the tournament was the perfect opportunity for players to express themselves on the pitch for one final time this season – and Lawrence spoke about how much the group enjoyed their time together over the two days.
“This is a tournament for the players really, first and foremost, and I think we saw the togetherness of the group,” he told us, reflecting on the time at World Sevens. “We brought a young group, lots of young players, who haven't even trained with us before, and I think we saw the collectiveness and resilience of the group, but also how much we enjoy each other's company.
“I don't think we ever went into this tournament worrying too much about the results. We just wanted to have fun, play football together as a group and it was another opportunity to spend more time together on and off the pitch. If you look back to yesterday, there's definitely a steep learning curve in terms of the rules being different; the offsides, the nature of the game and how hard it is physically, especially in this heat.
“We got to grips with that a lot better and you saw that probably in the first game. The second [game] was a great opportunity for 16 and 17 years old to test themselves against some of the best in Europe, so it was fantastic.”
Our Academy players certainly didn’t shy away from the task at hand, going toe-to-toe with some of the WSL’s best players this season, and caught the eye with their brave performances in competitive encounters – with Jhanaie Pierre shortlisted for Breakout Player of the tournament.
When asked about the youngsters stepping up to the occasion, Lawrence praised their ‘bravery’ and the mentoring from the senior players to help them settle in.
“It was really good to see the older players looking after [them] and mentoring the younger ones and, as a group, I think you could see both - off and on the pitch - that we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our football too.
“They've been amazing with the younger ones in terms of welcoming them into the group and probably from the outside looking in, you wouldn't even notice that they weren't part of the squad to begin with. Their performances were really brave and it was exciting as a group.
“Throughout the season, we've been a young, hungry team and we probably showcased it even more to an extreme side today in terms of the youth of the players that we brought, to compete against the best is amazing.”