Forward Frankie Pim looks back on her start to the season including her step-up to the first team, netting her first goals for the club and her ambitions for the remainder of the season.
Peterborough United Women revamped their Girl’s Academy pathway at the start of the season and are already relishing the results with 16-year-old Frankie Pim enjoying a breakthrough season with both the U23s and First Team.
Having initially started with the U23s, Pim netted 12 goals in just seven appearances, including a brace on her debut in the season opener away at Wolves Women Reserves. Her consistent performances caught the eye of Dan Lawlor where she has made her bow for the first team.
Pim spoke about what has helped her make the breakthrough into the first team set-up: “I think the main reasoning is the coaches believing in me. Michael (Allsebrook), John (Curall), JP and now Dan (Lawlor) etc, have always believed in my ability and games and pushed me to become the best player I can be.”
She continued: “The first team players are always praising me in training and games which is a confidence boost, and I learnt a lot from them. I trained with the first team initially before playing with them which helped me massively to add a lot to my game.”
Pim reflected on the different in football between the U23s and first team; “There is a big difference in terms of the type of football that is played. Naturally, there is a big step up in quality, the opponents are stronger and more experienced but that only helps progress my football further.”
It was the FA Cup win against Wroxham where Pim made her debut; coming off the bench before netting a goal in extra time. Since then, Pim has been utilised by Dan Lawlor both in the starting eleven and as a substitute. Last weekend, she netted her first league goal for the first team with a close-range finish in the second half from Emily Brett’s low cross.
“I’m buzzing to have got my first league goal. I wanted to come off the bench and made an impact and I think I did that well. We’ve been working on it in training, getting into the right positions in the box.
Pim also spoke about her aims for the remainder of the season, “My hopes are to play as much first team football as possible. By doing that, I’ll progress as a player, constantly learn new things through my journey and hopefully score lots more goals!”
By Lauren Shiels
- Photo credit: Darren Wiles