NewsOlivia Smith interview: LFC Women debut, Leicester draw and 'amazing' support

The 20-year-old summer signing from Sporting CP made her Reds debut on Sunday, catching the eye of the home supporters with some fantastic touches and dribbles.

Sophie Roman Haug headed in from a corner just before the break to give Matt Beard’s side the lead but they were pegged back by Jutta Rantala’s equaliser early in the second half.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Smith reflected on her Liverpool bow and what it felt like to play in front of the fans for the first time.

Read on for her post-match thoughts...

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On her WSL debut at St Helens Stadium…

I think we settled in well and all of the fans were amazing and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

On the frustration at not taking all three points…

It was frustrating letting a goal like that against us happen. We just need to stay switched on at all times. But this was just our first match, so hopefully we do that better next game.

On a new strike partnership with Roman Haug…

She’s so fun to play with – she is strong. I think it is very easy to work off her as well. She is strong in the air and I was looking for the flick-ons, and I thought we worked pretty well together. We are a very diverse team and to have Sophie up there with her aerial threat is a big thing for us.

On what strengths she feels she can bring to the team…

I think I’m pretty physical and very creative as well. I’m also very adaptable, so I can play with Sophie and I can play with other players up front. But again, I’m just an adaptable player.

On handling pressure after arriving at the club…

I think obviously from the outside it can look like a lot of pressure. But again, with my mentality I kind of go, ‘It’s just another game.’ So, the outside noise doesn’t really affect me.

On what the team can do to make St Helens a fortress…

Of course the wins, but all of our fans making that atmosphere loud for us. Their support means everything. Going into a long, tough season, they are going to be the rock for us. Our fans are amazing and I’m really looking forward to the future games, seeing more fans come out. We need more noise and that’s very important the team gets it. We are a very talented team and responding to the fans shouldn’t be a problem for us. So, I’m just very excited and looking forward to the season.

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