Rianna Jarrett has revealed she nearly gave up the game after three anterior cruciate ligament injuries while playing for Wexford Youths and the Republic of Ireland.
Jarrett grabbed the winning goal against West Ham on Sunday afternoon - her first goal in the WSL - a fixture that fell during the FA's Women's Football Weekend with all the top-flight matches being shown live.
The 26-year-old has now played for three years without any issues, but at one stage wondered if there was a future for her in the game.
“I suffered the same injury three times in the space of four or five years – twice in my right knee and once in my left.
“I didn't play too much football at the time so I never knew if I would have got the opportunity to go full-time, and if I had whether my body would be able to withstand the pressures involved.
“It was a difficult challenge mentally. But only you can get the work done if you want to return to playing.
“I dealt with the first two injuries pretty well, but for a couple of weeks after the third one it was a real struggle, I didn't know if I actually wanted to play football.
“I am still really good friends with everyone at Wexford and it got to the point where, even though I was struggling, seeing them play made me realise I wanted to get back. So allowing myself to be upset and to question everything made me realise that football was what I wanted to do and it spurred me on.
“I had a couple of setbacks and ended up being out for about 14 months, but I have been playing since December 2017 without any injuries so the hard work has certainly been worth it.”
The Republic of Ireland international knew her career was back on the right path when she made a return to international duty.
“When I was called back into the international team it was for a match against Norway in May 2018. Colin Bell was the new manager and I had never played under him. I remember he came to watch one of our league matches and I had a good game.
“He spoke to me after about being involved in a training camp so he could take a closer look at me and two days later he rang me to tell me I would be in the next senior camp which was two weeks away.
“I came on against Norway for the last five or six minutes, which proved that all the hard work I put in had been worth it. From there I have gone from strength-to-strength. I played well for Wexford, I have established my place in the Ireland squad and managed to get the move across the pond to Brighton. It’s been a whirlwind few years, but it all seems worthwhile.”
Jarrett admits that the transition from working 9-5 for a credit reference agency in Wexford while playing part-time to full-time football with Albion in January has been a challenge.
“We were amateurs at Wexford. We trained twice a week and then played on the weekend. Up until I signed for Brighton I was working full-time and playing football on the side.
“Going into full-time football has its own challenges, but it’s something that I love. All my free time when I wasn't working went into football, so now I am in this professional environment I have some free time, which is a bit strange!”