Katie Johnson has described winning Wolves Women’s Players’ Player of the Season award as a ‘surreal moment’.
The defender, who has risen through the ranks at Compton, has played 31 games in all competitions throughout the campaign, cementing her place in the heart of Dan McNamara’s defence. And her efforts were rewarded by her teammates, as the youngster collected the prestigious accolade at Molineux last weekend. Speaking after the Birmingham Challenge Cup final defeat to Rugby Borough, Johnson has reflected on the game, emphasised the importance of being better next season and her pride at winning the award.
On reflections on the final
“There’s a lot to take from that to be honest. It was a very disappointing first half from us and it wasn’t good enough at all.
“We weren’t at the races and they wanted it more than us. We had a good chat in the changing room at half-time.
“Everyone got ourselves up for it and I think the fight and the determination shown by everyone – standouts for me were Tammi (George) and Liv (Fergusson) just getting in front of everything. Amber (Hughes) was running her socks off, everyone on the pitch – it was outstanding for us to come back and even go 4-3 down and get the goal again. It was just so disappointing to lose on penalties, but it’s football at the end of the day.
“There’s nothing we can do about it apart from recharge and go again next season.”
On going for it in the second half
“I think our heads did definitely drop first half but we had to get ourselves in at half-time and regroup.
“We had nothing to lose at that point. We’d already lost our clean sheet, were 2-0 down and we had to just go for it.
“We put ourselves on the front foot, got on the second balls and I think we completely lacked that in the first half.
“It was really good from the girls second half, just disappointing overall.”
On going again next season
“We need this rest that we’re going to have for the next few weeks now and recharge and go again next season.
“We’ve got something to fight for next season just to prove more of a point now Newcastle are out of the league.
“Even fourth place is disappointing for us but hopefully we can put our heads together and go again. We want to get this trophy back next season and hopefully a better league position.”
On being voted Players’ Player of the Season
“At Molineux, it was a surreal moment and I wasn’t expecting it from my teammates. I know I’ve cemented my place this season and become more comfortable within the squad, but it was a really special moment for my teammates to vote for me.
“It’s good to see how much I’ve improved from last season, cementing my place and having the backing of my teammates.
“It was a proud moment because my Mum and Dad were there watching as well. When I was walking around the pitch, it was a really proud moment for me on a personal level.
“Personally, it’s been a positive season for me but, as a group, we’ll reset and go again. We’ve got an extra year and another season of knowledge. This will hurt but there’s another year under young peoples belts and we’ll go again next season.”
