Gemma Fraser notched a first hat-trick for her new side Leafield Athletic at the weekend as they beat Sutton Coldfield Town 4-0 in the FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands.
And she puts it down to some words of wisdom from coach Tash Tezgel.
“The previous game [against Barnsley] I had a chance on goal, and I got absolutely wiped out by the defender – maybe a great challenge, it would have been a VAR moment, for sure!” she tells SheKicks.net.
“We ended up losing 2-0, and that [chance] would have put us 1-0 up. I was really in my head about that.
“When I got put through in the first half this weekend, I massively over-thought it, and it ended up being a great double save from the keeper, so I was in my head again.
“During the [first] half Tash gave me a real helpful reminder – keep working hard and you’ll get something out of it.
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— Leafield Ladies FC (@LeafieldAthLFC) September 24, 2025
“At half-time, she gave the team some clear points – she wanted to see more runs into the box to get on to the opportunities that we were creating.
“She made a comment in the second half – I think I’d scored a goal by this point – it was just ‘play like you would have at Chesham’. It was just a reminder for me to not overthink and have a bit of faith in what I do. I had scored a lot of goals for Chesham so it was a reminder that she has confidence in me and knows what I’m capable of.”
Gemma Fraser’s decision to join Leafield Athletic
Gemma is understating her goalscoring haul for Chesham United, the club she represented for 12 years. Last season, when they finished just outside the relegation zone in Division One South, she scored 22 goals in 24 appearances, finishing as the league’s top goalscorer across all competitions as well as winning player of the year at the FAWNL awards.
“The club’s aim was to avoid relegation, and we did that, so on a personal level I was proud of what I achieved and it was a really nice way to sign off my time at Chesham,” she says, “and I’m just pleased my goals contributed to staying up and them being able to have another shot at tier 4 this year.”
Gemma had offers from several other clubs, and she says that they were all possibilities, with great players, nice atmospheres, and a strong set-up, but Leafield’s long-term ambition was what lured her there this summer.
“The staff are great, there’s a real big push on mental health and finding that balance between a love of football but it not being all-consuming.
“The girls – they all want to do really well. It’s a massive squad, hugely competitive, and I figured being older, maybe not so many seasons left in me, I want to be the best version I can be in those few final seasons, and the girls definitely bring that out of me.”
Gemma Fraser’s day job – and gaining kudos from kids
And there’s a very good reason that she doesn’t usually set herself goalscoring targets – although that might change this season.
“I’ve realised as I’ve got older that I play much better when I don’t overthink, so for me it’s a case of score as many goals as I can, be as clinical as I can, but then what tends to happen is the competitive side of me comes out and I end up wanting to be the top scorer in the league!
“For the last few seasons I was top scorer at Chesham, so there tends to be someone pushing me on to score as many goals as possible.
“This year might be different – new team, squad rotation, so I might set some targets.”
Gemma’s day job is as a teacher in a secondary school in Coventry, covering PE and health and social care, and she is also a head of house. Her students know about her footballing achievements.
“It’s given me lots of experiences that I can talk about with the kids. It also makes me much more relatable – it’s thrown into every assembly I do for my house, and I join in with the students when I can as well, non-contact, of course, but I love the opportunity to show off something and get a bit of kudos! A big part of building relationships with students is having something in common.”
Leafield Athletic’s next match
Gemma and Leafield have a big match this weekend, travelling to face third tier West Bromwich Albion on Sunday in the group stages of the FAWNL Cup.
“They’re the league above so we’re automatically the underdogs, but I think we’re likely to rise to that – there’s less pressure on us in that respect. We want to do well in the cup, we want to top the group.
“Cup games are great – everyone looks forward to those. Hopefully we can cause an upset.”
