City in Focus: 100 up for Madison Lloyd
Combining her record for the Bluebirds’ U16, U19 and senior sides, Madison Lloyd has reached the remarkable feat of 100 goals for the Club.
The striker netted four first half goals in a recent victory over North Cardiff Cosmos U19, with the latter seeing her reach the milestone.
“Week on week, I’d be scoring goals and me and my dad just casually started counting how many goals I had,” Madison began. “To know that it’s got to 100 goals made me feel really shocked.
“I knew before the game that I needed four goals to reach my 100th goal. After I scored my fourth goal, it was a really proud moment because it was the first time that my cousin had come down to watch.
“We had a little celebration that If I scored more than a hat-trick, I had to do it, so I was really happy that I got to share that moment with my family and the coaches. To have them know how far I’ve come over the three seasons is amazing.”
Madison made her senior debut earlier in the season against The New Saints, going on to net her first goals for the senior team in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup against Llanelli Town.
It’s also been a breakthrough season for some of her U19s teammates, with eight of the U19s squad featuring for the senior side this campaign.
The likes of Marnie Gingell, Summer Bowen-Quirk, Brooke Arthur, Olivia Basham, Mali Ackerman, Demi Parry and Grace Phillips have all gained invaluable experience for Iain Darbyshire’s side this season.
Madison added: “It’s definitely a proud moment when it’s not just you. There are others in the team that are experiencing it at the same time. It’s a massive achievement for us and to do it at the same time, it just makes it feel even better.
“Being on the pitch with a good group of girls that always want the best for each other is great. Scoring goals and having everyone ecstatic for you, it gives you a really good feel-good factor and it just makes you more confident knowing that you’ve got a team around you who have confidence in you.”
City have a wealth of talent in Madison’s position, with senior players Eliza Collie, Rhianne Oakley, Molly Kehoe and Mackenzie Olden all having positive campaigns so far.
Despite the Bluebirds’ attacking options competing for a starting position, Madison has been made to feel right at home with the senior team.
“I’ll always remember the first game against The New Saints and Eliza told me to be confident, to go for it and not hold back. She said that the girls would support me regardless of what happened.
“In training, Rhianne has always supported me, she’ll give me pointers and she’s always there if I need to ask a question. She’ll always pick me back up if I make a mistake as well.
“I’m really grateful for that. To know that I have that support of both teammates and coaches is just amazing, I feel like I can go to them for anything, whether it’s to do with football or not.”
