Durham defender Becky Salicki says that there is much more still to come from the club’s exciting young players.
Defender Grace Ayre and attack-minded midfielder Lily Crosthwaite have both made the step up into the first team in recent times. The pair featured in a goalless draw against a strong Southampton side at Maiden Castle yesterday and neither player looked out of place.
Ayre and Crosthwaite have become important members of the Durham side and they look set for exciting futures with the Barclays Women’s Championship club. When speaking about the youngsters, teammate Salicki said that it is exciting to see players like Ayre and Crosthwaite come through the system and she believes that they will shine in the future.
“It’s brilliant,” Salicki said when speaking to FAWSL Full-Time. “We wanted them to come in for a while because we could see what quality they have got. Don’t get me wrong, women’s football is a step up from development phase but they’ve stepped into it really well and we are really proud of what they’ve done.
“You haven’t even seen half of what they have got, wait until they develop a little bit more and get into how we do things a bit more, you’ll see them shine.”
As an independent club, it is important that Durham produce and develop some of their own talent and Salicki believes that there are more young players who will be integrated into the senior team in the not-so-distant future.
She said “We’ve genuinely got some really good kids coming through. There are quite a few that we have trained with and they are ready to come into our phase now.
“There are some good young players to look out for and hopefully, they’ll make the step up in the next few months.”
Ayre and Crosthwaite will be hoping to get more game time under their belts when Durham welcome Crystal Palace to Maiden Castle next weekend for a Vitality Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie.
About The Author
