Millie Bright has spoken of her pride at ensuring her 250th Chelsea Women appearance would be a fond memory by opening the scoring in a 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa, but took even more satisfaction from the team’s dominant performance at both ends of the pitch.
The Chelsea Women captain hit a significant personal landmark in the Women’s Super League victory at Aston Villa, her 250th in a Blues shirt since joining the club from Doncaster Rovers Belles almost nine years ago.
Given the occasion, it seemed only fitting that Millie Bright would be the one to get the scoring under way, volleying in from a well-worked corner midway through the first half, setting us on our way to an emphatic victory, even if she didn’t realise the significance of the moment herself at the time.
‘People thought I looked angry and asked why I wasn’t celebrating more! I actually completely forgot that it was my 250th appearance,’ admitted Bright.
‘It’s a massive one and it’s at a club that I absolutely adore. It’s home for me and to be able to score in my 250th game is nice, but I’m mostly just pleased that we got a good win and lots of different scorers on the scoresheet.’
Indeed, Bright was one of six different players to find the net for Chelsea at Aston Villa, while keeping a second clean sheet in three games, sending us top of the WSL table. It was that combination of a relentless attacking display with a solid back line which left our skipper particularly pleased with the performance.
‘In previous games when we’ve been up we’ve potentially left teams in it at 1-0 or 2-0 and conceded sloppy goals in the second half. So we wanted to keep going with the goals, not stop at two or three, and when opportunities came be ruthless at that end. I’m really pleased that we kept a clean sheet as well.
‘We’ve wanted to be more efficient at the other end while keeping clean sheets and for me it was a complete performance. Just the mentality of our team and players stepping up, it’s incredible, and I couldn’t have asked for any more from the team really.’
Millie also felt this was an especially important performance as it came directly following the latest international break, and immediately before a testing run of five matches in the space of 15 days for the Blues, which starts with a trip to Everton in the WSL next Sunday.
‘For us as players, the first game back after the international break is the hardest,' added the centre-back. 'I think we all know that. Everyone’s coming from different teams and different styles of play, so it was really important that we connected.
‘Only having a quick turnaround after the international break, I’m very proud of the girls and the mentality and the focus. It’s massive.
‘We know more than anyone that momentum is key and getting that momentum immediately after the international break is crucial. We take all the positives now and hopefully we can take this momentum into our next game. It’s a busy November so we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas.’