Mariona: “I just missed Kyra’s goal!”

Mariona Caldentey and some of her fellow half-time substitutes just missed out on witnessing Kyra Cooney-Cross’ screamer live, but quickly caught up with the action!

We beat Charlton Athletic 5-1 in our final pre-season match, Cooney-Cross’ goal the pick of the bunch - an absolute rocket into the top right from distance.

But Mariona had to watch it back, she explained: “We just missed it because we were walking after the subs and after the gym, but then we saw it on the iPad and it's just amazing. She deserved it.

“It was good to win the game, to score a lot of goals. I think it was a good feeling. Of course, it's just pre-season, so we have things to improve, but I think it was a good night.”

Our super Spaniard was tasked with starting the game on the left wing, and felt comfortable with Ona Batlle behind her.

“I’m not used to that [left wing] anymore, but I think it's good,” she said. “The more positions you can play, you can stay longer on the pitch and that's what we want. It was fun today. I’ve played a lot with Ona, so it was nothing new.”

Olivia Smith was also among the goals, and both Mariona and Liv enjoyed Tuesday night at the PFA Awards.

“Yeah, it was a great night,” she said. “I think the PFA organised a really good event and we enjoyed it. We managed to go one day back and play today and she scored another good goal. I hope she can score more during the season.”

Newly promoted Charlton proved stubborn opposition during the first half, so what was Mariona’s first impression of them?

“It was hard in the first half,” she said. “I think they did a good job. They had a low mid-block and it's hard to score goals. I think they got a bit tired and we had a lot of subs. We needed to be patient, but we did really well.

“I’m really excited [for the season]. I think the team we have is promising. We have a lot of different qualities, but great players. I can't wait to start. I hope it's going to be a good year for us.”

Lastly, we informed Mariona that we’ve sold out our away allocation for the first game of the season away to Brighton.

“I didn't know, but I'm not surprised,” she responded. “Our fans have always been amazing in the away games. What we can promise is that we will work hard and try our best. Hopefully, we can bring trophies home.”