Albion midfielder Maisie Symonds said it was emotional to have her family back watching her play after making her England Under-19s debut.
The 18-year-old had her close family at AFC Telford’s New Bucks Head ground watching on as England ran out 4-1 winners against the Czech Republic – the first time they have been able to watch her play since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was a really proud moment to represent my country, but even more so to have my family there. A lot has happened for me in my footballing career since we went into lockdown and they’ve missed out on those moments like my debut for Brighton,” said Symonds.
“There weren’t any tears, but it was quite emotional to have them there cheering us on.”
Symonds’ preferred position is in central midfield, but she was played at wing-back as England cruised to victory.
Having gone 1-0 down after 17 minutes, England were 2-1 in front going in at the break, before Symonds saw her cross into the Czech box deflect in off visiting defender Lucie Jelinkova, with Grace Clinton rounding off the scoring for the Lionesses with 20 minutes to play.
“I’m not sure if my cross counts as an assist. Either way it was nice to be involved in a goal!” she added.
“We changed formation from what we played at younger age groups and it really worked. I am obviously not used to playing in defence, but I quite enjoyed it especially as we won on my international debut at under-19 level.
“We had a really good nine-day camp at St George’s Park and I feel ready to go back to Brighton now to really push to be in the team.”
Albion’s Barclays Women’s Super League campaign starts on Sunday 5th September, when they face West Ham United.