Innes' injury won't overshadow "deserved" win for SSFC Women

Monica Innes won’t let her ankle injury get the better of her, as she put in a star performance in South Shields Women’s opening pre-season game.

The defender came off with 10 minutes to go having torn her ankle ligaments, just minutes before the Mariners scored the only goal against Washington FC Women on Sunday.

“It’s not a good feeling getting injured in the first pre-season friendly,” she said afterwards, “but I’ve got time before the season starts to heal and get back on the pitch."

Nevertheless she was awarded the player of the match accolade for her strong defensive display which might help to soften the blow of being out of action for a little while.

Head coach Alex Miller had highlighted her “cool and collected” nature on the ball when playing out from the back and she also “dominated everything which came her way.” 

Innes continued: “It felt great to get player of the match for our first pre-season friendly.

“It was also unexpected, as overall I thought everyone had a good game. 

“It’s nice to hear Alex’s comments on how I played; the first one back always tends to feel a little rusty but I felt good.” 

The game itself was a low-scoring affair and it was possibly unlucky on Shields’ part not to score more, but Innes believes the team showed supporters what they were capable of. 

“A win is a win - whether it’s 1-0 or 4-0, we all worked well together to get the result we deserved. 

“It was great to see the rotation from the bench; plenty of minutes for everyone to get back into the swing of things after having such a long time off.

“It could have been a lot higher of a score. I thought their keeper did well to keep them in the game but we deserved what we got out of it. 

“We were determined to come away with a win; we had plenty of chances and never gave up, we played football our way and the determination reflected in the result.”

The lasses are next in action this Sunday against Wallsend BC Women Reserves at Longbenton Sports Ground (NE12 8AD). Find out more information later this week.