Kelly Smith says scoring the first goal in the FA Women’s Cup final gave Arsenal Ladies a much-needed boost on their way to an historic victory.
Shelley Kerr’s side won the trophy for the 13th time with a 2-0 win against Everton at Stadiummk on Sunday.
The Ladies have had a difficult start to the Women’s Super League season, and Smith - who opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a fine free kick - was pleased they delivered a big performance.
"I am really thrilled for everybody, especially Shelley in her last game. We dug it out, we grinded, we worked hard and got the rewards in the end"
Kelly Smith
“I am absolutely delighted - what a performance the team put on,” she told Arsenal Player. “I am really thrilled for everybody, especially Shelley in her last game. We dug it out, we grinded, we worked hard and got the rewards in the end.
“We have been waiting for that. Our league performances haven’t been up to scratch and we know that. We knew coming into this game that we needed to pull out a big performance and we certainly did that.
“I thought whoever got the first goal would get that edge, that bit of momentum so we were really delighted to go into the second half with the lead.
“I said to Rachel Yankey, ‘Do you fancy it because you won the free kick? Are you feeling it?’ and she said, ‘no, you’re up for it’. I just put my head down and thought that if I connected with it, it was going in. I was really pleased with it.”
Smith is confident that the result will lead to an upturn in the Ladies’ fortunes in the WSL when they return to action on June 29.
“We know what we need to do to win trophies like this but we need to bring it into our league campaign,” she said. “We can go away now - we have a month’s break - and come back and push on in the league.”
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