Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Chloe Peplow is looking forward to facing her former club for the second time this season, as Doncaster Rovers Belles visit the Checkatrade.com Stadium today.
Peplow had a short spell on loan at the Keepmoat Stadium earlier this season whilst at Birmingham City, and she knows the significance of today’s game.
She said, “Doncaster is one of the biggest games of the season and it’s going to be a big challenge.
“The game will be at Crawley, which is exciting as well. It adds a bit of extra excitement playing against my old team-mates, but it’s something I’ll look forward to.
“I came on for my debut in the reverse fixture. Donny is a great club and I got a lot of game time in the three months I was there and developed so much as a player there too.
“But my focus is completely on Brighton now and this is a game we have to win if we want to stay in the title race. I think everyone is aware of that, but all the girls are looking forward to it and are up for it.”
The 19-year-old rose to prominence in recent weeks, after claiming her first assist and goals in the wins over Sheffield and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
“They were good games for me and it was nice to get off the mark against Tottenham.
“I’m not always renowned for my scoring as a defensive midfielder, but it was nice to score and to have an involvement with the goal at Sheffield.
“Overall as a team, the performances are getting better too. As Hope said, there’s still a lot more to come from the team, but we’re getting there and the work has been put in in training and it’s starting to show on the pitch.”
Like many of the current squad, Peplow recently went away on international duty, with the midfielder called up to the England under-20 squad for a training camp in La Manga ahead of this summer’s World Cup finals.
“There was a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes with the squad to make sure we’re ready for all aspects of the tournament.
“Playing at the World Cup is every girl’s dream. I’ve still got to get selected and I put in a lot of hard work over the next couple of months, with more training camps before the squad gets released in July.
“It’s always been an aspiration and dream of mine. Hopefully it will come true in the summer."
Tickets are available on the gate at the Checkatrade.com Stadium, with adult entry at £10 and under-16/65+ tickets priced at £5.