Julie Blakstad: 'The goal is a great feeling'

Asked to describe the action-packed 7-3 win at Aston Villa on Sunday, Julie Blakstad replied with a popular phrase used in Norway called ‘Hawaiian football’.

With the Norway international explaining the term is usually used when games are end-to-end, it perfectly sums up what happened at Villa Park in the ten-goal thriller in the Women’s Super League clash, which we ultimately came out on top after seven fantastic finishes to see us return to winning ways in the competition.

With four different goalscorers, a number of first goalscorers for the Club and a healthy advantage at 6-3, our number 41 wanted to get in on the act and, with just five minutes left to play in normal time, she opened her account in Lilywhite, rising highest to Matilda Vinberg’s corner at the front post to flick home.

Nine goals prior to that, Julie provided an assist for Signe Gaupset – who also scored her first goal for Spurs – as the midfielder fired home the opener on 10 minutes, although that seemed like distant memory once the full-time whistle was blown in B3.

Making her third consecutive start for us, after joining us last month, Julie spoke of the ‘good feeling’ to finally get off the mark for the Club and the importance of showing character after setbacks in games.

“It feels really good,” she smiled, reflecting on her first goal. “It was a really good corner from Matilda and I just put my head on it, so it’s a great feeling.”

Talking about the game in general, she added: “We have this saying in Norway - 'Hawaiian football'. I don’t know if you have the same expression, but it was very back-and-forth.

“I think we created a lot of chances, but we also have to be better in our own box to defend our goal. Still, it was fun to play and there were a lot of good goals out there. We just have to keep it going like this. I hope the fans enjoyed it."

She was then asked about the instant reply after Villa’s goals, which Julie pointed towards the character in the squad. “I think that shows great character. That’s going to be really important towards the end of the season - that we stay strong and can bounce back even when we concede goals. We showed that we just keep going the whole game, which is really important.”