After picking up maximum points against both Birmingham and London City, Addicks goalkeeper, Jess Gray, offers praise to her teammates for their ‘determination’ as well as previewing this Sunday’s meeting against Durham, as Karen Hills’ side will look to seek their third win on the bounce:
“We’re really happy with how we have performed as a unit and, we feel that the last two results are a testimony to how hard we worked in pre-season and our determination to always push to be better.
“We’re constantly working to make each other stronger, and we’re finally getting to show the league how resilient we can be as a team.”
After fellow shot-stopper Sian Rogers was injured during Charlton’s meeting with Watford in early September 22-year-old Gray was called into action midway through proceedings at The Valley to make her first appearance of the season.
And since then, the shot-stopper has started the Addicks’ last two matches picking up clean sheets on both occasions! Gray, who joined the Addicks in November 2022 from third-tier outfit Billericay Town signed her first professional contract with the club in the summer of 2023 and has continued to impress since:
“I’m really happy and proud to have my first two starts with two clean sheets! I feel comfortable in our defensive unit and they’ve been outstanding in making us a team that puts everything on the line to defend.
“I’m also really grateful for the confidence the coaching staff have in me and my ability and it’s given me the confidence to go out and perform at my best.” The shot-stopper was also keen to praise her teammate’s ‘togetherness’ after recording two wins on the bounce:
“I think as a team, we’ve gelled so much since July and become such a close group. I think it’s clear that our last two performances compared to how we started the season are a clear sign of how close we are and that we can be completely open with each other to quickly problem solve and get results.”
Karen Hills’ side will welcome Durham to The Oakwood on Sunday, October 8th. Gray and her teammates are under no illusions that the Wildcats will be another difficult test:
“The Championship has always been a close league and this season it’s showing that you have to come into every game knowing it’s going to be a battle.
“Durham are a very physical side that have a lot of great players but we’ve built a lot of momentum over the past weeks and I’m confident we can continue to perform to carry on that momentum into the rest of the season."
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