Arsenal defender Steph Catley says that she is pleased with the work that she has done to develop her set piece deliveries.
The Australian international exploited a known weakness in latest opponents Leicester City’s defending by scoring straight from a free-kick in a 4-0 victory for The Gunners at The King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Catley has now linked-up with the Australian national team in preparation for their upcoming international friendlies against Sweden and Thailand. When speaking to Football Australia Media, the player said that she is pleased that her work on set pieces is paying off.
“I’ve always been involved with set pieces throughout my career but recently, I’ve really homed in on it,” Catley said. “I’ve been trying to get my technique right and mixing up my deliveries so that I have got a few different weapons.
“We get a lot of corners at Arsenal so I get a lot of time to practice them. It has been fun to develop in that area and I think it is now a quality that I can bring to teams as well.”
Looking back on her career, Catley could not remember another goal that she had previously scored direct from a corner at a professional level, making Sunday’s strike a first.
“I think everyone will expect that every week now,” Catley joked. “It is always nice to get on the scoresheet, it is something I don’t do very often, maybe once a year so that’s my goal ticked off for the year.
“I think that’s my first one at professional level (scoring from a corner), I’ve maybe done it at Under-7s 0r something.”
Catley is poised to win her 105th senior international cap for her country when Australia take on Sweden in Melbourne on Saturday.
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