‘It’s her time to shine’ – Charlton Athletic boss Hills reacts to Brazil’s winner at Bramall Lane | OneFootball

Charlton Athletic head coach Karen Hills said that it’s Ellie Brazil’s time to shine after the forward netted the winning goal in The Addicks’ 1-0 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane this evening.

Brazil signed a one-year deal with Charlton Athletic in the summer after leaving Tottenham Hotspur. The 25-year-old has scored three goals in the South East Londoners’ first two Barclays Women’s Championship matches of the new season.

The forward endured something of a stop-start period prior to joining Charlton Athletic with Brazil having been hit with two Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries and given limited playing opportunities but head coach Hills believes that now is the player’s time to shine.

“She’s a top girl and she works so hard for the team,” Hills told WSL Full-Time. “She’s a fantastic character to have and I’m super-excited that she’s with us. You see her intensity running with and without the ball, she just works tirelessly.

“I couldn’t be more happy for her. She’s had a tough couple of seasons but it’s her time to shine and we are going to give her the platform to do that because she’s a great kid and a fantastic signing for us. If she can keep scoring goals like that, we will be in a fantastic place.”

Reflecting on her side’s performance against Sheffield United, Hills admitted that Charlton Athletic had not been at their best but she was pleased with how they ground out the win.

She said “I thought Sheffield United did well today. They played some really good football in the first half and they caused us a few problems. We knew that they’re a new team with a lot of young players, experienced players as well that we know.

“When we went in at half-time, we knew that we hadn’t played as well as we could, so we knew that we had another couple of gears in us and in my honest opinion, I thought that they were playing the best that they could. I knew that we had another gear, that we are fit and able to deal with 90-minute games.

“We started to take control of the game and credit to the girls, it’s a 5.30pm kick-off which is a bit different for us, a lot of travelling. There are no excuses, the girls rose to the challenge and it’s always difficult to come to Sheffield and get a win, we haven’t done that for a couple of seasons.

“I’m super-proud of the girls, super-proud of the group. We weren’t at our best today but we showed that we are a good team, we can grind it out and put in a performance that we can be proud of.”

Charlton Athletic will now turn their attention towards next weekend’s fixture against Durham at The Valley. It promises to be a thrilling encounter with both sides boasting back-to-back wins after two rounds of matches.

“They’re all huge games,” Hills said when commenting on the importance of the Durham fixture. “Every game in the league will be different and will give us different challenges. We know Durham well, they’ve got a lot of experienced players, they’ve brought in some new additions as well and have had a great start.

“We have got to focus on what we can control, make sure our performance is good on the day. They’re coming to The Valley and we know what they’re about.

“It’ll be a tough game, it always is against Durham. Let’s make sure we are in the best place that we can be for next week. We will be fully-prepared and ready to go and give a good account of ourselves.”

Charlton Athletic’s Barclays Women’s Championship fixture against Durham at The Valley kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday 22 September 2024.