United chose Le Couvant, the home of Rozel Rovers, to make their debut appearance as a football team on a sunny Sunday morning, the perfect test to benchmark where they are now, and where they can be in the future. It is the first club that has formed a female football team for the Portuguese community in Jersey and all the players were clearly proud to be out there together, wearing their national team colours. Rovers were too strong for United in his match but it was not important.
‘For them, it was all about enjoyment,’ said United’s coach Vitor Cardoso. ‘We are a new team. We don’t know how to play yet. Hopefully things will start running better and we will work hard for that.
‘They are the first Portuguese women’s team in Jersey so they are really excited to play. We have scored one goal and they are really happy.
‘We need to get fitter. You can see the difference between the two teams but we don’t worry because it is our first game.’
Throughout the game, United continued to battle and never let their heads drop. They may not have had too many training sessions together but it was clear a particularly high defensive line was one of the things they had worked on, even if it still required some fine-tuning. They tried to pass the ball to feet when they had it and their consolation goal, courtesy of Daniella Calasa – a tap-in that came at the end of a well-worked move – was a just reward for their perseverance at nine goals down.
‘We don’t have much training together, most of us are working or looking after our children but for our first game, we did well,’ said United’s captain Veronica Andrade, who laid on the assist for Calasa’s goal.
‘It is not all about the score but the team spirit and to keep together. We need to keep enjoying ourselves. We know that no-one likes to lose but we’ve just got to go for it every game.
‘It is important for our community. It will help bring us all a bit closer. It is like a family.’
For Rozel, it was particularly special moment for 16-year-old Leah Morris, making her senior debut for the club just two days after picking up the JFA Player Development Centre’s Sid Guy Award for 2020. She opened the scoring in just the second minute and finished the game with a well-taken hat-trick. Former Island captain Eve Watson and Hannah Campbell also claimed a hat-trick each, while another 16-year-old debutant, Macie Wyse, also got on the scoresheet, with Lucy Even.
‘We learned we’ve got some pretty good young players coming in this season, which was pleasing to see,’ said Rozel manager Tim Pryor. ‘We’re quite hopeful of having a positive season with these young players and we’ve learned that they’re ready today we’ve that performance.
‘It’s great to see a new club forming and it was great to have them here at Rozel for their first outing and I’m pretty pleased they got on the scoresheet as well. Even from the Rozel camp it was nice to see and they showed a good battling spirit to keep going.
‘There’s such a big Portuguese population in Jersey, it is only right that they have a club with both men’s and women’s teams entering the league and to have a new club coming in is a real positive.’
It is not all about the score but the team spirit and to keep together. We need to keep enjoying ourselves
Portuguese United Women
manager Vitor Cardoso
