Ella Franklin-Fraiture says last weekend’s performance against Manchester City has given Aston Villa a boost, as they prepare to face Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Sunday.
Villa lost their Barclays FA Women's Super League opener to the Citizens, but Franklin-Fraiture and co. are now ready to kick on and get their first win in the top-flight under their belts.
“We’re really looking forward to facing Reading”, said the young full-back.
“The performance against Manchester City has given us a lot of confidence and has shown us that we can compete against the top sides in this division.
“We were all really nervous (about the first game) because it was the first in the Super League, but I feel those nerves are now gone and hopefully we can put in a really strong performance at the weekend.”
Franklin-Fraiture echoes the thoughts of fellow full-back Caro Siems, who also admitted to first-game nerves playing its part in Villa’s shaky start against City.
But the feeling is now one of excitement and freedom, which will now begin to show for Gemma Davies’ side.
“You’ll now start to see players expressing themselves a bit more”, insisted Franklin-Fraiture.
“With every game that goes by this season, we will look to improve a little bit more and grow into each game.
“You will see players playing with more flair and freedom, because we do have a lot of talent in this team.”
Last weekend proved to be a significant milestone for Franklin-Fraiture on a personal level.
The 23-year-old missed all but eight games during the 2019-20 campaign with a dislocated ankle, and the game against Manchester City was her first competitive action in almost a year.
“It feels great to be back playing and to have got 90 minutes in the first game of the season”, she said.
“Nothing quite prepares you for the first game of the Super League season; I think it took me a few minutes to adjust to the speed of play.
“Overall, great (to play again), but a lot to work on and improve on going forward.”
Looking ahead to Sunday's opponents, Franklin-Fraiture expects the intensity to remain very much the same, but wants the team to focus on what they can control.
Reading are going to be a tough opponent on Sunday, like every team in this league" she said.
"They’re very experienced.
"They’re physically fit and they press aggressively.
"Like every game, we will try to focus on our own play and focus on what we can do to get a good result."
