Huddersfield Town Women goalkeeper Bethan Davies living up to leadership role
Town keeper Bethan Davies believes it’s important she’s one of many leaders in the group as they look for success this season.
Bethan Davies has experience at higher levels, including winning the WSL 2 title with Doncaster Rovers Belles in 2018 and during games can be seen marshalling her back line as well as advising the rest of the team.
After Town’s win over Loughborough Lightning, Davies spoke to We Are Terriers and explained how she knows leading from the back is part of her job.
She said: “We’ve got a good few leaders on the pitch but my job is to prevent so it’s in my job profile to be vocal.
“I need to organise, talk and encourage all the time. My job is to build people up and make sure we’re playing constantly and positively.”
And it’s not just during the game where Davies’ experience comes into play. This weekend’s win over Loughborough saw tricky conditions which were prime for goalkeeping errors.
But not for Davies, whose preparation meant she was ready for anything.
She said: “It’s stuff me and [Lauren] Joyce speak about and we’ve had it before so we know what to look for in the warm up.
“We’re constantly looking at how the ball moves on the pitch. Is it picking up? Is it sliding through?
“We do some dippers and skidders stuff in the warm up which helps us understand what we need to do in the game. So do we need to parry the ball or try and hold it more?
“It makes it a lot more challenging but we prepare for every eventuality.”
Davies was also quick to heap praise on the defensive unit in front of her - together they’ve only conceded four goals in the league all season.
She added: “Having this defence in front of me definitely makes things easier. We’ve got a really strong ground of defensive players.
“We’ve obviously got a few injuries at the minute but we’re still performing. We’ve got brilliant strength in depth and that’s really clear to see.”
Davies re-joined the club in the summer from Sheffield United and manager Glen Preston was delighted to secure her services.
And her leadership was one of the key attributes that meant signing her was a no-brainer.
He told We Are Terriers: “Bethan is the best in class at this level. You won’t find a better goalkeeper because she has it all. She’s got tremendous leadership qualities.
“She can play out from the back but when teams want to come and press she’s got the ability to clear the opposition back line with her kicks and push us straight through on goal. So she keeps teams guessing.
“They don’t know whether to press high or sit off deep so teams can be stuck between a rock and a hard place just because we have a top quality goalkeeper.
“Having her in goal is absolutely massive for us. It’s one of the key signings I’ve probably ever made.”