AFC Bournemouth
Abby Jones might just be 19 years of age, but she’s one of the club’s longest serving players when it comes to the women’s setup.
Currently entering her fourth season within the senior squads, the defender also spent four years playing within the youth age groups, joining as a 12-year-old.
A regular starter for Steve Cuss’ side since stepping up, Jones is as enthusiastic as ever when it comes to football and was delighted to see her team pick up all three points in their opening game against St Austell on Sunday afternoon.
Up next is a trip to Portishead, with confidence high following a strong 3-0 victory to get proceedings underway at Ringwood last week.
“The game on Sunday went well,” Jones said.
“The first ten minutes was a bit nervy but that was to be expected from our first game of the season. The rest of the first half, we dominated the ball, showed what we could do and had some nice passing combinations.
“We won our one-on-ones and really showed off our talent, particularly when we scored our three goals.
“The second half we dropped off a bit, but at the end of the day we got a big three points in our first game and that's all that matters.”
With the season now underway, the right-back admitted how pleased she is to be up and running, after plenty of hard work over the summer period.
With weeks of preparation, the games now come thick and fast with a home game against Moneyfields just three days after Sunday’s trip to Portishead.
“Pre-season was tough, it always is and is always the worst part about the season.
“We did all gel together though, especially on our pre-season tour to Devon. We had lots of fun and enjoyed spending time with each other.
“We've got to grips in the last couple of weeks with our set plays and the more important aspects, so it's going to be a good season.
“The new signings have settled in really well. We've had them get regular minutes in pre-season and they've all been training with us.
“They bring good spirits to the team and some good laughs. They've really got stuck in and helped us prepare for the new season.”
With the Cherries hoping to build on last weekend’s three points, Jones knows all too well the test that Portishead will pose on Sunday, having played the Bristol-based side twice last season.
“We played Portishead last year and we had two even games.
“They had some of the ball, we had some of the ball, so we know we'll need to play really quickly when we do have possession.
“We need to play it round them, use our passing combinations and get some shots on target.
“Hopefully we can slide a few in the back of the net.”
Jones concluded by discussing the impact of the Euro success that England had in the summer, mentioning how she’d noticed a rise in attendance figures since pre-season.
She hopes that her and her teammates can act as role models for the next generation, who might one day want to step into their shoes.
“There's definitely been a big difference since the women's Euro's this summer,” continued Jones.
“There's been loads of fans at our game last week when we played St Austell and plenty of people wanting us to sign things or take photos with their children.
“It's really nice and the spirit at our games has been really high, even throughout pre-season when we had lots of friendly fans coming along.
“I think a lot of people have grown into the game more and it's nice to see more people coming. We can then try and influence all those young people watching and hopefully they can be like us one day.”
For a full list of the women’s fixtures for 2022/23, just click here.
