Pre-Pontypridd United | Kerry Walklett
Ahead of Sunday's Adran Premier fixture against Pontypridd United, we caught up with January recruit Kerry Walklett.
After signing for the Club earlier this month, the midfielder made her City debut in a 3-0 win over Wrexham at Cardiff City Stadium last time out.
“It felt really good,” Kerry began. “I was glad to get my debut under my belt, I was really excited for it, but I think when you’re out of football for a few months after leaving West Brom, I was a little bit nervous and apprehensive in terms of where I was going to be at with my football. I was really pleased to get on the pitch and hopefully help the girls to see the game out. It was really exciting to be out there in front of all the fans.
“It was brilliant to play at Cardiff City Stadium. It was great to be able to showcase the Women’s team in front of all of our fans. Hopefully, we’ll be able to generate some of those fans at our game on Sunday. For us, it was a great occasion and after the game as well, to be able to interact with the fans was really important. We hope that it will encourage new fans to come and support every week.
“I thought we really dominated the game and we looked comfortable. Going into a stadium game, it usually causes nerves for players and the pitch is bigger, but we dealt with that well. I don’t think you would have looked at our side and noticed that we don’t play there every week. As I came on the pitch, we were 3-0 up and I thought the performance was really good.”
A huge positive from the victory over Wrexham was the support from the City fanbase, with 1,312 in attendance at CCS.
Kerry continued: “I thought the fans were brilliant. They made noise throughout the game and gave us a warm welcome when we went over to them after full-time. I think that’s massive. To have all those people wait around after the game in horrible weather, it was wet and windy, some of our fans would have had school in the morning, but to have so many of them stay behind was amazing.
“I wanted to show the fans what I can bring to the team. My stepover and turn to create space in the box hopefully was a little glimmer of that, but I could have done better in front of goal. That probably comes down to match sharpness, but hopefully I’ll build that up in the coming weeks."
This Sunday sees the Bluebirds welcome Pontypridd United to Cardiff International Sports Campus, 2pm KO.
In the reverse fixture, City claimed a brilliant 5-1 victory, whilst also recording a 3-0 win in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup.
“Training has gone really well this week," Kerry added. "We’re preparing for them to play a certain way and we’ve spoken about how they set up in the previous game. We know that physically, it’s going to be a tough game and we’re going to have to be confident with the ball in tight spaces. We’re in a good place with it and I think we’ve prepared well.
“Absolutely, the aim is to break into the starting team, but I recognise that it is a tough task. I can see in training and on Sunday that there is a brilliantly talented squad around me. For me, it’s just about focusing on what I can bring to the side and try and show that as much as I can in training and when I get opportunities on the field.”