Meet Palace's hat-trick hero Elise Hughes

Women

26 Sept 2022

Crystal Palace Women trumped Blackburn Rovers 3-1 to make their league start three wins from four games, with Elise Hughes bagging a hat-trick in the process.

Below, in a piece written for the matchday programme, she introduces herself to supporters after signing this summer.

At the start of the month Wales reached the play-off stage of the Women’s World Cup qualifiers, the furthest we’ve ever been in a major tournament.

I lived in north Wales for most of my life, even while playing with Everton and Blackburn Rovers, so moving down to London with Charlton Athletic was a massive change. I was used to a village in north Wales, and now I live in the biggest city in western Europe.

But I think it’s cool and, having made the move at a young age, believe it’s a really good life experience. Football takes you all over the world, so I’m glad I moved when I did.

I started with the national team through a regional setup, which is how it works in Wales. They split the country into sections – mine was north-east Wales – and you play as part of that squad against north-west Wales, or teams from England. If you do well enough you go on to play with north or south Wales, and then the national team pick players from there.

I got my opportunity at an early age and was playing in the Under-16s at 14, moving up an age group with every year. When I earned my first senior cap I was too young to represent the Under-19s, so ended up making that debut after my first-team one!

A few months later I was named Wales’ Young Player of the Year which, to this day, still hasn’t sunk in. Because I was around Everton’s first-team from a young age I was able to mature quite quickly and make the step up, but I still see myself as one of the younger ones at Wales despite having been there for several years.

It’s a bit of a cliché but the Wales squad is a massive family. From the oldest to the youngest player we’re all there for the same reason. You link-up with players you’ve admired for years and all of a sudden they’re your teammates. They soon become your friends, and then family.

Competing with players like that made me want to stay part of the senior setup. I didn’t want to be anywhere but there again, so I was motivated to keep going back to be among those teammates and staff.

My experience with Wales has helped to shape my game, too. Although I’m an attack-minded player, when I started international football everyone at Wales was defensive. My then-manager Jayne Ludlow saw me as having defensive traits, so initially lots of my caps came in defence or defensive midfield. I didn’t mind that at all – when I’m playing for the country I’d play in goal if needed!

Back Palace Women

Those games in defence were an experience I’ll always remember, because I was playing in direct opposition to my usual role. So when I switched back to being a centre-forward I knew what centre-backs hate, and tried to take that into my game.

Now Wales women have made history like the men have recently, I think we’re starting to become a prouder footballing nation. The men had success in 2016 and have now qualified for back-to-back tournaments.

The women are trying to replicate that success, and in our last World Cup qualifier we had a record-breaking crowd filled with young boys and girls who were inspired by the country’s football.

I was in France for Euro 2016 but before that there weren’t many opportunities to watch Wales at a major tournament. So seeing what the men did has helped, and you think: ‘Imagine us doing that. Imaging us in a major tournament, going away for five or six weeks as a little Welsh family competing with the top teams.’

We’re looking ahead now but need to remember how far we’ve come. We’re very proud of all the smaller things we’ve achieved, and the next step is making a major tournament.

Programme
Women
Elise Hughes

Related News

More News