Charlton Athletic defender targets improvements against London City Lionesses

Sophie O’Rourke is hoping for a more complete performance by Charlton Athletic as they take on London City Lionesses on Sunday.

The 23-year-old defender made her competitive debut for the Addicks as they won 2-0 at Southampton last weekend in their opening fixture of the new FA Women’s Championship season.

Emily Simpkins emphatically converted a 22nd-minute penalty before Melissa Johnson wriggled through on the left of the box before finishing across Saints goalkeeper Kayla Rendell soon after the second half got under way.

“Everyone wants to start a new season off well and get the three points – we did that – but we know as a team that we can play better than that,” said O’Rourke, a summer signing from Lewes.

“Now it is about watching that game back, analysing it and how we can work on other areas.

“The positives are that we got a clean sheet, scored two goals and had another penalty as well. We created other chances and on another day we score them. We could have done better in controlling the game and keeping the ball for longer spells, making it less transitional – especially being 2-0 up for the majority of the game.”

Reading-born O’Rourke joined the Royals academy and had seven years on their books before a few months in the Icelandic Professional League with Grindavik.

“I reached the stage where I wanted to get game time, so I was looking to move club anyway,” said O’Rourke. “One of the coaches at Reading had an opportunity for me out in Iceland, that was for the second half of their season. It was only a short spell but a different experience for me, I think I’d only just turned 19 at the time. It was my first time really playing professional women’s football.

“It really helped me develop as a player and as a person, living abroad at such a young age and being involved week in and week out.

“The European leagues, especially back then, were very good. I was with another player and we got given accommodation, a car, a grocery card and a wage on top of that.

“We had the same facilities and stadium as the men’s team as well.”

That same level-handed approach was the case at O’Rourke’s next stop in 2018, with Lewes. The East Sussex club decided in 2017 to pay their women’s team as much as their male counterparts.

“They did this whole Equality FC – having the same playing budget for both sides,” said O’Rourke.

“Everything was split down the middle 50-50, the same as in Iceland.

“I came back after the Icelandic season finished and I knew I really wanted to settle down in the English leagues.

“I got hold of an agency and asked them to put contacts out to the Championship clubs. Lewes came back and I went there on trial nearly straight away, they signed me after a couple of sessions.

“We made a bit of a habit of beating the champions at the end of the season. I remember we beat Leicester 1-0 and last season we beat Liverpool 2-1 as well.

“I’d been at Lewes for nearly four years and it was my decision to move on and get a new challenge, really kick on in my football career.”

The hope is that Charlton’s match this weekend can see a new record attendance at The Oakwood, topping 671 for last season’s fixture against Liverpool.

Season-ticket sales have substantially increased and every men’s first-team season ticket holder can redeem a free ticket for the Lionesses match.

It is hoped that the women’s game will get a boost at club level after England won Euro 2022 – their first major tournament success.

“We had about 2,500 fans at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday,” said O’Rourke. “That was really good. Even though it was mostly the opposition’s fans there it was still a really good atmosphere to be a part of.

“We know we’ve got a good group of players and we’re capable of competing for the league. But it is a competitive league and a lot of teams will be saying the same thing.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD