Lisa, you’ve been at Manchester United for 18 months – how would you sum up your story so far?
I feel like the first half year was mostly dealing with injuries and just getting into it. Getting my body fit for playing, basically. That was tough but it also gave me the chance to build myself up and now I haven’t been injured at all this season which, of course, I’m really happy about. After that, it took me a little while to get some proper playing time in the league with the team in the first half of the season but then I feel like I have shown that I have some qualities which can benefit the team. I’ve got some more playing time and I’m very happy about that.
You aren’t a player who hogs the spotlight but you’ve come up with a couple of big goals, including two in the Barclays Women's Super League against Bristol City and one in the quarter-final win over Brighton & Hove Albion…
That was very fun, I’m not used to scoring! I was just glad to contribute goals sometimes when we need them. I contribute whatever the team need, of course goals always help the team so I was happy to take the chances when they came. They were both very fun days!
English football is in a great place internationally and the domestic game is growing exponentially in profile. Having had a year and a half here, how would you assess the standards?
It’s been very nice and a great challenge for me to feel the physical and technical aspects of the league. It’s very good. It’s also so much bigger here in terms of having the fans around everything, it feels like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself when you’re playing here. It’s really nice to be a part of.
How would you summarise this season from your team’s perspective?
Yeah, it has been very up and down. We have had some great matches but also some horrible matches and lost points, which we really didn’t want to lose, so we’ve not been where we wanted to be and I have no clue what the reason for that is. Sometimes you just have seasons like that but it has been very frustrating when we’re a team who wants to be on top and achieving the best in everything.
When you scratch that itch and get that first piece of silverware, can it become a launchpad for more success?
Yeah. There are not a lot of players who get the feeling of winning a trophy in their career, so when you do, you want more, of course. It’s a great feeling, the most fun thing you can achieve and as a team to win something like that together, it doesn’t get better than that in this or any other sport.
You can read the full interview with Lisa in the official match programme for the Women's FA Cup Final. Buy at Wembley on the day, or order a copy online.
Find out where you can watch the Final with our global broadcast list.
