Durham midfielder Beth Hepple says that the club are beginning to get to grips with life as a full-time operation.
The Wildcats have had a tricky start to the season after moving from part-time to full-time over the summer. Durham recorded a morale-boosting 5-3 penalty shootout victory over Sheffield United at Maiden Castle yesterday in the group stage of the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup following a thrilling 3-3 draw in normal time.
Hepple scored twice in the tie whilst also netting in the shootout. When speaking after the match, she said that Durham are getting used to operating on a full-time basis.
“It’s transition,” Hepple said. “Everyone thinks that if you are going full-time, things are going to magically click but that’s not the case, it’s going to take time and the model has got to adjust. We’ve got to learn as a club and as players, your lives change – I’m not working every day, I’m here every day and that mental shift is difficult.
“We are getting there, we are settling in and getting used to it now so hopefully, we can kick on.”
Durham let a two-goal lead slip on their way to recording a 3-3 draw with Sheffield United after 90 minutes. Regardless of the fact that The Wildcats dropped a point, Hepple was still relatively happy with the result overall.
She said “It was a bit disappointing, we should have won the game in normal time but that’s football, Sheffield United are a very good team and they came at us a bit in the second half.
“It’s nice to get a bit of a buzz at the end of the game so it doesn’t feel like a defeat. It’s good.”
Durham’s next FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup fixture is against top flight giants Manchester United at a sold-out Maiden Castle and Hepple is really looking forward to that match.
She said “There’s no pressure on us against Manchester United – a bit like last year, the pressure is on them because they’ve got all the international players. It is exciting as an individual to be playing against that.
“We are going to have a brilliant crowd, it is sold-out already. It’s exciting.”
Durham’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup match against Manchester United is scheduled to be played on Wednesday 26 October.