Holdt on dream debut: “It’s the best thing to have ever experienced” | OneFootball

Olivia Holdt couldn’t have envisioned a better debut than she experienced on Sunday.

The 23-year-old stepped off the bench in the closing stages of the game, after recovering from a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, to make her first appearance in our colours after signing for us earlier this month.

And, despite being on the pitch for only the final 10 minutes of the clash in Sutton, she made an instant impact.

Stepping over a free-kick on the edge of the box, in the fifth minute of injury-time, Olivia curled the ball into the top left corner, sparking jubilation on the pitch as it ensured we edged Crystal Palace 3-2 in the Barclays Women’s Super League.

From not originally taking the set-piece to scoring the winning goal on her debut, Olivia described that moment as ‘one of the best things to have experienced’.

“I think Anna [Csiki] described it really well in the interview after the game, it’s like a dream and it’s the best thing to have ever experienced, to come on for your debut and to score the winning goal to help the team win the game and the three points,” she told us.

“I didn’t think I was going to take the free-kick, I grabbed the ball to give it to one of the other girls as I thought there would have been some sort of agreement, so I didn’t think I was going to take it.

“However, I trusted myself that I could score from there, as I have done it a few times before, so it was good from the team that they trusted me and for Anna to give me the ball because I’m sure she would have done the same.

“It was amazing, although I would have preferred it in better weather,” she added, reflecting on making her long-awaited debut.

“I have been wanting to make my debut for some time now and it was just nice to be on the pitch with the girls, the staff being around me, it was just really nice and so glad to have finally made my debut.”

Next up in the WSL is our clash with Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (6.45pm UK) – tickets remain available to buy – and the Denmark international is excited about the prospect of her first outing at the world-class arena.

“I’m really looking forward to it, these are the games are the reasons you play football, in the big stadiums and in front of thousands of people,” she said.

“I have heard the girls talk nicely about the stadium and the atmosphere, so I just can’t wait.

“The fans have been really nice, I have watched two games from the sidelines and I have been hearing them the whole time, they gives us a lot of energy and we need them throughout the 90 minutes.”

Join us in N17

We're back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday with Manchester United the visitors to N17 in the Barclays Women's Super League (6.45pm UK).