Rise Park were the only team to come through the SSE Women’s FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round on September 6th by way of a penalty shoot-out, so midfielder Lisa Jones (pictured) told us of the win over fellow East Midlands League side, Mansfield Hosiery Mills.
SK: Tell us a little of your personal footballing history
LJ: I’ve been playing football since the age of eight. Having played for quite a few different teams, I would say my greatest footballing achievement was playing for Lincoln City.
SK: What was the feeling around the team ahead of the FA Cup tie?
LJ: Going into our FA Cup game, I couldn’t help but feel there was a sense of tiredness around the team during the warm-up due to midweek games. We did however manage to pull ourselves together to build up some good play and eventually take the lead.
Rise Park’s Claire Wilmott makes a great save right on the line.
SK: How did you feel the game went for you and how did the scoring go?
LJ: Personally, the game was a hard one to put my all in to, even though I managed to score the opening goal of the game. Scoring my first goal of the season did however lift all spirits. After taking the lead twice, to then concede, resulted in Rise Park having to go into extra-time and penalties. This was quite disappointing, as I’m sure the team would agree.
SK: Were there any volunteers for the penalties and who was most nervous?
LJ: We really came together as a true team at the end when Georgie Herring, Jess Waplington, Vicky Belshaw, myself and Ceire Kinsella bravely volunteered to step forward for the nerve-wracking event. I felt particularly nervous due to not having a great penalty scoring record during our summer tournaments. Thankfully, I scored and ended the shootout with a Rise win and, after a.great save by keeper Claire Wilmott, we only had to take four penalties.
SK: What do you think about your next cup opponents?
LJ: Our next opponents, Long Eaton, are a much harder team to play against. It will take a great team effort if Rise Park want to continue in the cup.
SK: What are your aims for the season?
LJ: We’ve had a great start to the season so far, Rise aim to continue the winning streak and be a massive contender to win the title.
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