With her first season at Durham almost at the midway point, Jess Clarke sat down with Laura Smith to reflect on the campaign so far…
You got your first Championship goal of the season at Coventry. How did it feel?
Brilliant. I think collectively we’ve been doing quite well. Obviously we’re a new team, we’re trying to get that fluidity on the pitch and I think on Sunday we eventually showed that in front of goal. We scored five goals, which is nice. A couple of questionable ones, I think we could have had more, but it was nice as a front three for all of us to get on the score sheet.
What have your thoughts on the team’s start to the season been?
I think the league itself is getting more competitive. Now that there are more full-time teams, every game is a challenge and it’s a new challenge. There’s only one team that gets promoted, so it is very competitive in that respect. From what I’ve seen the league is changing, which is good, and the results are going either way. You just don’t know who’s going to come out on top on the day. In terms of us being a new team, I think we’ve got the ability to go out and do great things. It’s Durham’s first year of being full-time. We are coming together and you can see the relationships on the pitch gelling, I think we’ve been unlucky in some of the results we’ve had so far.
It’s been a few months since your move to Durham now. How have you been finding it?
It’s been great, the team has been so welcoming. I love the environment. Durham itself is a lovely city, I’ve still got a lot to explore and stuff like that. But like I say, it’s a new team, new season, I’m having a fantastic time and I’m really enjoying it.
The attendance and support at home games has been fantastic so far, hasn’t it?
It’s been brilliant. Even at Coventry, we had a few away supporters and it’s nice to have them there, cheering us on, especially when times get difficult. I really felt the crowd behind us in the Manchester United game and I think that helps us on the pitch to keep believing. We scored in the last minutes and the fans were brilliant and just got behind us. I think if it weren’t for them, it would have been a tougher task for us to go on and beat Manchester United, so I’m glad that we could do that for them, especially considering they’re a WSL side. The fans have been great.
Obviously there’s a couple of big games coming up – how are the preparations for the last games of the year going?
Yeah, they’re going really well. Coming off a league win the spirits are high but what I’ve learned from this team, which is good and that’s why I think we’ll go on and do great things, we’re always demanding to be better. Even in times of wins, I noticed that on Sunday, and even against Manchester United. It was great and we had a great feeling, but we continue to keep building and growing. Even the little things in games, we’re looking at and analysing and seeing how we can get better, so with that the preparation is going well. Hopefully we can end the year on a high going into the last few games.
Have you got a message to all the fans planning on coming out for the home game?
Just to continue the great support and to get behind us. As players, we turn up on the pitch and try to give 100%, but their cheering and support goes a long way to try and help us get the wins that we need.
