Ellie Brazil reckons she’s never been in a better headspace than now, despite going on a prolonged run without a goal.
The 23-year-old suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November 2019 that kept her out for 13 months and hasn’t found the back of the net in her 47 WSL appearances since her return to action.
“If you sat a majority of strikers in a room and said ‘you haven’t scored in 47 games’, it would probably impact them quite a bit, but it doesn’t for me,” Brazil admitted.
“I am confident in the fact that when I score, they will all start coming, I am alright with that.
“When I first came back from my knee injury, I wasn’t getting into those spaces where you might get a chance. Mentally you’re still so conscious of making sure you land on your leg properly so your knee doesn’t buckle.
“I remember saying to Hope that I was scared to head the ball because I was worried about my landings. That’s gone now, it’s a hurdle I’ve overcome and now I want to be in the right areas to score goals.”
The England under-23 international says she has learned to find joy in Albion putting in strong team performances.
“Having been in this team for four years, you get more pleasure out of the whole team succeeding and winning than anything you do individually. Seeing us retain the ball, play some decent football and score goals, especially against Reading, was really enjoyable.
“Yes, I would have loved to get on the scoresheet, but at the end of that game I still had a buzz because I knew I had played my role in the team performance.”
Brazil’s positive mentality has come from a reset off the pitch.
“Having a positive outlook stems from outside of football – away from the game I am so happy now. People don’t realise how much of a positive impact that can have on a player’s game, when everything is going well away from the pitch.
“I’ve never felt so confident on the ball as I have in the last couple of months. It’s nice to be in this headspace.”