SheGulls were invited down to the Elite Performance Centre last week to speak with some of our players about the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. In this edition tough-tackling defender, Caitlin Hayes, gives us the her thoughts ahead of this incredible event:

Duncan Price: What does it mean to you personally to reach an FA Cup final?

Caitlin Hayes: I would struggle to put that into words. I think it’s a tournament that is obviously magic in my opinion. I think it’s an opportunity to be on probably the biggest stage in England. It’s a massive occasion and anything can happen. Friends, family, all coming. I just think it’s wonderful and the stuff of dreams.

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DP: You mentioned your family there. We always see them at the games and they’re always in with our fans. What does it mean to have that support behind you going into important games like this?

CH: Yeah, of course, it’s massive. I think every emotion that you go through as a player is also felt by your family and friends. I think as a player, you become so selfish in this world sometimes and probably forget the knock-on effect that it has on your family. Definitely when you get to occasions like this, it’s for them to enjoy too and I think any support by family only makes you stronger as an individual.

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DP: You’ve won the Scottish Women’s Cup before, so you’ve got experience in these one-off crucial games. Would you say that gives you a little bit of an advantage going into the FA Cup final?

CH: Maybe. I think obviously I’ve played in some massive occasions with obviously my previous club and then obviously on the international stage with Ireland. So it’s not necessarily something I’m scared of or intimidated by. I love a big occasion and I love it even more when I’ve not experienced it before and that’ll be the FA Cup final.

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DP: I think everyone would say you’re a fan favourite. What’s it like to have people from your previous club, Celtic, still coming to see you and supporting Brighton because you play for them?

CH: It’s magic. It is. I was in a conversation the other day and I actually said, I think since joining the Albion, I think I’ve played in four games where there’s not been a Celtic fan present – which is wild. It says obviously a lot about the club Celtic. Once a Tim, always a Tim, as they say, and it’s a club like no other in terms of its support and its passion for football. That doesn’t stop just because you don’t wear their colours anymore.
I’m proud to obviously have them behind me, and I’m proud to be a part of this new organisation and have new fans like the SheGulls and things like that. So I also really enjoy the fact that they’ve all blended together. I think that’s wonderful.
I think that’s the most beautiful part of football, is it’s a community. It’s something to be a part of. It’s a reason to get up in the morning, especially on a Sunday to support. There’s no greater pride that I have than those that support and follow me.

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DP: In terms of on the field, you’ve become infamous for your loud cries of ‘up’. Quite a few of us chant along with them. How much pride do you take in setting that tone at the back?

CH: I shout “up”, to get us up as a team. It means we’re all doing the same thing and ultimately means we’re all on the same page. I just think it’s good to get out and get in faces as quickly as we can, but also I think you can get in someone’s face through shouting and through physically being in front of them. It’s just imposing yourself on somebody. Strikers don’t like it. They look around, they shout, “Ooh, that was down my ear.” Don’t care — not in blue and white, so…

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DP: How much do you enjoy playing against the likes of Manchester City’s attacking line-up? Is it a challenge you relish?

CH: It depends how the game’s going. No, I always think playing against the best opposition, in terms of they’ve just won the league and proved themselves through that – it’s great to go against the biggest names. It also is the opportunity to kind of say, “I’m here to compete as well”.
We’re under no illusion that probably people are writing off Brighton or maybe thinking we don’t have a chance, but I think this team also takes the opportunity of being the underdog and you don’t know how big a dog’s bite is until you’re actually bit by it.

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DP: It’s not so long since you actually beat Manchester City. Do you think that gives you a slight edge going into this game?

CH: No, I think ultimately you never really foresee an outcome, you just take what you’ve been given. I’m fine with whoever we play. Ultimately, we keep our eyes on ourselves and we give our best and that’s all we can do.
Obviously it helps that we’ve maybe had results from them in the past, but we’re also under no illusion that we could have probably been five-nil down in the first ten minutes.
There’s confidence we can take that we’ve put the ball in the back of the net a few times, but we’ve also escaped probably poor play by them not to take advantage. So there’s opportunities for us to learn what not to do in the first ten minutes of this game.
We’ll take City, we’re happy with City and it’s an opportunity to leave a mark on the winners of the league.

We want to thank Caitlin and the club for their time and assistance.

Now let’s go and win the FA Cup on Sunday! Up the Albion!