AFC Bournemouth
If Gemma McGuinness could've pictured her dream debut for AFC Bournemouth, it probably wouldn't have been far off what happened in West Sussex on Sunday afternoon.
Having put pen to paper with the Cherries in the summer, signing from Irish outfit Galway United, she already has her maiden hat-trick in red and black after just one game played.
A 13-0 win against Selsey saw the women's team kick-off their season in style and McGuinness more than played her part, with three superbly taken goals in the National League opener.
Having settled in well to life down south, she spoke with afcb.co.uk after the perfect start for her and her teammates.
“I went into the game hoping to get one at least, so to get a hat-trick was great!" McGuinness said.
“For the other new girls as well, it’s great to see some of them on the scoresheet. It gives a bit more confidence to get us going now and we have to keep it up for the rest of the season.
“It’s important that we don’t get too ahead of ourselves – it was obviously a big scoreline, but not all the games are going to be like that.
“Ultimately though, it was a brilliant win and you could see the quality in our team. Of course, we see it in training, but to see it on the pitch with the display we put on was great.
“It was a strong start and we had so many different names on the scoresheet, so that was a positive from start to finish for us.”
McGuinness went on to discuss the impact her side’s win could have and the precedent she hopes it sets for the remainder of the season.
“It’s a big statement and that gives other teams the knowledge that it will be a battle when they meet us. As I say though, we can’t get too ahead of ourselves and it’s important that we do take each game as it comes.
“We need to push for more and more every week, and that was a big thing from the second half. You can come out and sit back, but we didn’t. We wanted more and we wanted goals, we got that with our quality of football.
“We need to bring that mentality into each match and we can’t get complacent in any moment during the season.”
With McGuinness having spent the majority of her career to date competing in the Irish leagues, she described how it felt to begin the season in England, comparing it to what she’s been used to previously.
“It was good!” she said.
“It was definitely different to what I’ve experienced before in Ireland. It’ll take a bit of getting used to and the way that we play, with the formation we have.
“I’m obviously delighted with the way it’s started and hopefully it continues in the same direction.”
Support the women in their first home game of the season against Bridgwater United on Sunday. Kick-off is 2pm at Ringwood Town and entry, as ever, is free.
