Anna Morphet leads her Wolverhampton Wanderers side into their Women’s FA Cup second round clash with Stoke City on Friday night – in front of the TNT cameras.
Being live on television is a new experience – and a thrilling one for a player who grew up watching the men’s competition.
The 24-year-old was one of the first Wolves players to sign a contract as the club shifted towards its new hybrid model, with the ultimate aim of reaching the WSL.
And as a little girl, she would never have dreamed that one day she might be playing in a match broadcast across the country.
“It’s been a bit of a slog and a bit of a fight at times,” she told SheKicks.net at a press conference on Wednesday. “That adds to why we’ve got such a good group now – we all, for a long time, played purely for the love of it. There’s an element that we obviously still do. Yes, it’s great to say it’s almost like a part-time job, but the commitment that we show for for maybe the journey that we’ve been on…I don’t think people quite understand sometimes what everybody – it’s not just us – has worked for.
“So that’s why it’s so rewarding to see [women’s football] start to go really in a really good direction and get maybe the audience and the attention that it has.”
Like many other players, Morphet was thrilled to see Middlesbrough host Cheadle Town Stingers in the first round proper and become the first teams to have their match televised that early in the competition.
“It doesn’t feel like a million years ago that you played in front of your mum and dad and the family in the stands, and now to see it on TNT and so many people, people messaging you from work to say that they’re coming, people from local teams, and it’s so great to be a part of these type of occasions.”
Anna Morphet: We want to keep going in this competition
Wolves have had a sensational start to the season under long-serving coach Dan McNamara – unbeaten in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier, and second to leaders Burnley with a game in hand.
And their Women’s FA Cup run should attract plenty of fans to cheer them on as they seek to reach the next round.
Of course, knowing that there is going to be a big crowd in to watch the match at the SEAH Stadium in Telford adds a touch of pressure.
“There’s obviously going to be a bit of nerves, a bit of excitement too, because this is the first time any of us have played in front of the cameras like we will do,” she says, but adds that they’ll take some heart from their clash with Manchester United in the same competition last season, which was aired on YouTube and drew over 5,000 fans.
“That was the biggest crowd I think any of us have ever played in by miles, so we can try and draw on that experience and how we dealt with it.
“I think actually for a lot of us it’s important as a group that we keep our routines the same, and try and not get caught up in the experience, because there will be some nerves, but it’s just about trying to keep things as normal as possible for us, because ultimately it’s that consistency that’s meant that we’ve had such a great start to the season and we want to make sure we go as far in this competition as we can.
“But we’re looking no further than Friday. That’s the main focus.”
