After a goalless first half between us and Aston Villa, I was feeling very frustrated. There's still another half to go, but this is the first game I've started and I've barely made any impact at all.
"Are you okay?", Leah asked me quietly as we made our way into the changing rooms.
"Bien", I replied shortly as I sat down on the bench and Leah sat beside me (Fine).
"I won't tell Katie you spoke in Spanish and make you put £5 in the jar if you tell me the truth", Leah whispered as a small smile broke on my face and I leaned my head on her shoulder.
"This is my first start for the team and I've made no impact", I said quietly as she rested her hand on my knee.
"Exactly, it's your first start, don't be so hard on yourself. We've had many chances because you've been making gaps in the defence by leading them away", Leah reassured me as I lifted my head from her shoulder. I'm falling so fucking hard.
"Thank you", I said as Jonas walked in and gave his half time talk. After he was finished, we walked back out onto the pitch and took our positions again.
It wasn't until the 51st minute where Lotte hits a long ball to Kim who manages to find the back of the net. We all celebrated with her before going back to our half with a new found energy knowing we can score more.
During the 57th minute, I found an opening through the midfield so I made the run. I seen Beth out on the right so I went to kick the ball over to her until I felt a set of studs come down on the top of my foot. I fell to the floor with a grunt as I clutched onto the top of my foot.
"Fucking hell", I winced as I covered my face with my arm.
"You okay, Liv?", Kim asked me as I clenched my jaw.
"I'll be fine, it was just a shock, I just need a minute", I breathed out as I heard shouting coming from above me. I noticed Leah, Beth, and Katie giving the Aston Villa player that tackled me a piece of their mind. Of course it would be those 3 and of course, it brought a smile to my face. Watching Leah be protective just does things to me. Stop, Liv. Other Aston Villa players got involved to try and settle things down as well as Lia and Steph. Pacheco received a yellow card and we were awarded a free kick outside of the box. Less and Kim helped me to my feet as the other 3 made sure I was okay.
"I'm okay, really", I assured them as they nodded and Steph walked towards me with the ball.
"All yours, Liv", Steph said setting the ball down.
"It's okay, Steph, really-"
"Take the damn shot, Liv", Steph said raising a brow at me before smiling and walking off.
"No pressure", I mumbled to myself as I line myself up with the ball. I looked up and immediately found Leah's eyes. She gave me a reassuring smile and nod as I took a deep breath and looked at the net. The ref blew her whistle as I made my run towards the ball and put my foot through it, sending it over the wall and dipping into the top right corner. Leah was the first to reach me as she picked me up and I felt the girls pat my back and shoulder.
"Thank you for letting me take that", I said to Steph as we jogged back to our position.
"Don't get too used to it", she teased before running off.
