Steph Turner thanks teammates after shutout following unexpected stint in goal

Steph Turner might have been among the more unlikely players to keep a clean sheet for Swansea City Women, but she preferred to focus on the efforts of her teammates in helping ensure she did not concede when playing over half an hour in goal during the 6-1 Bute Energy Welsh Cup win over Cascade YC Ladies.

Turner pulled on the gloves for her side after Claire Skinner was forced off with a quad injury having made a routine save in the second half, with the Swans not having a recognised keeper on the bench.

The defender was called into action on a number of occasions, quickly making a good save from a long-distance strike, as well as cleaning up at the back from a corner.

Turner felt confident in her side's ability to support her through the game as she stepped between the posts, and is happy with the momentum they have found during a run of seven wins in eight games in all competition.

“I told everyone that I wouldn’t mind if I had to go in goal, I think Ellie [Lake] was quite keen to go in goals, but we had to think about the time and the amount of movement that it meant in the team,” said Turner.

“When I saw Claire [Skinner] go down I was hoping it wasn’t that serious, but straight away she said she couldn’t continue.

“I had full trust in all of the girls that they were going to defend even harder, which they did, so I was quite happy with that.

“I think I played in goal a little bit when I was younger, I can’t say I was very good at it!

“The shot that came in early on helped give me a boost of confidence. I did expect them to start firing shots in from distance without a recognised keeper in goal.

“I had full confidence in the girls that they would go and get a few more goals, and we did score some good goals.

“It was a difficult game, I think they made it difficult for us, they worked hard for 90 minutes, so we really had to work hard for our goals.

“But we are building momentum, I think we are performing better every week, we are scoring a lot more goals which is something we struggled with at the start of the season.

“I think things are really clicking into place now and we are coming into form at the right time.”