Lisa Fulgence is hoping to add a few goals to Albion Women’s title push after returning from a double injury setback.
But she admits she feared the big chance of a goalscoring comeback had got away.
The former Gillingham striker netted twice in stoppage time after going on as a substitute at home to lowly Plymouth last Sunday.
She thumped a confident right-foot finish low past the keeper and then headed home from close range to soothe any nerves in a 3-0 win.
And she was thrilled to be back in the thick of it on a long overdue senior debut for the club she joined 18 months ago.
She told The Argus: “I’ve been with the development squad for a couple of weeks but to get the message I’d be in the first team was a surprise – but a good surprise.
“Sometimes if you change things that late it can backfire.
“I missed what for me is a sitter (with a close range header which went wide) and I thought that would be my only chance.
“I was thinking ‘Great, I come on and miss a sitter’. But to get two more chances was great.
“It was a decent comeback. If I got more minutes it might be a different situation with the fitness.
“But I thought it was a decent little comeback.”
Fulgence was still recovering from a broken collarbone when she followed Albion boss James Marrs from Gillingham in the summer of 2014.
She made her debut for the club during the autumn with 90 minutes for the development squad – but it was a false start. “I thought I was on my way back and then in training I just turned and that was it – I did my ACL and meniscus,” she said.
“I was a long time out but I always thought I’d be back.
“I technically played for Brighton but I hadn’t actually played for them yet.
“It’s a hard thing to be in the gym for six or eight months while everyone is outside.
“I probably wouldn’t have put myself through that if I thought I might not come back.”
As a proven 20-goal striker, Fulgence’s return could be a major boost for an Albion side who tend to dominate games and create a lot of chances – but do not always put them away.
Their showcase game at home to Charlton recently, when a 2-0 scoreline came nowhere near doing their performance justice, was a great example.
Fulgence, who works in administration for the NHS, said: “We all think that, for the amount of chances we create, we should definitely score a lot more goals.
“I think sometimes we don’t realise how good the opportunities are when we are out there.
“I hope to help that situation. I’ve always been a goalscorer and I would hope that doesn’t change now I’ve come back.”
Albion host Tottenham at Culver Road tomorrow (2pm).
Original article
But she admits she feared the big chance of a goalscoring comeback had got away.
The former Gillingham striker netted twice in stoppage time after going on as a substitute at home to lowly Plymouth last Sunday.
She thumped a confident right-foot finish low past the keeper and then headed home from close range to soothe any nerves in a 3-0 win.
And she was thrilled to be back in the thick of it on a long overdue senior debut for the club she joined 18 months ago.
She told The Argus: “I’ve been with the development squad for a couple of weeks but to get the message I’d be in the first team was a surprise – but a good surprise.
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“Sometimes if you change things that late it can backfire.
“I missed what for me is a sitter (with a close range header which went wide) and I thought that would be my only chance.
“I was thinking ‘Great, I come on and miss a sitter’. But to get two more chances was great.
“It was a decent comeback. If I got more minutes it might be a different situation with the fitness.
“But I thought it was a decent little comeback.”
Fulgence was still recovering from a broken collarbone when she followed Albion boss James Marrs from Gillingham in the summer of 2014.
She made her debut for the club during the autumn with 90 minutes for the development squad – but it was a false start. “I thought I was on my way back and then in training I just turned and that was it – I did my ACL and meniscus,” she said.
“I was a long time out but I always thought I’d be back.
“I technically played for Brighton but I hadn’t actually played for them yet.
“It’s a hard thing to be in the gym for six or eight months while everyone is outside.
“I probably wouldn’t have put myself through that if I thought I might not come back.”
As a proven 20-goal striker, Fulgence’s return could be a major boost for an Albion side who tend to dominate games and create a lot of chances – but do not always put them away.
Their showcase game at home to Charlton recently, when a 2-0 scoreline came nowhere near doing their performance justice, was a great example.
Fulgence, who works in administration for the NHS, said: “We all think that, for the amount of chances we create, we should definitely score a lot more goals.
“I think sometimes we don’t realise how good the opportunities are when we are out there.
“I hope to help that situation. I’ve always been a goalscorer and I would hope that doesn’t change now I’ve come back.”
Albion host Tottenham at Culver Road tomorrow (2pm).
Original article