Markham hails Cherries resilience for response to first league defeat in 1,000 days

JENNA Markham praised the resilience of the Cherries squad as they have responded to their first league defeat in more than 1,000 days with three back-to-back wins.

Markham was on the scoresheet as AFC Bournemouth comfortably beat Cheltenham 6-0 at the weekend, opening the scoring after eight minutes.

That followed wins over Gwalia United and Real Bedford after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Oxford in February.

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“I think we were really disappointed with the Oxford defeat,” Markham told the Daily Echo.

“It was our first defeat in the league in a long time, so we were all very disappointed with that. But I think since then it's just been about reaction.

“Like we've said, we've all got the same goal— we want to get promoted and hopefully win the league this year.

“So I think it's just been about being resilient, building back our mentality, as well as bringing the results.

Jenna Markham (Image: Richard Crease)

“I think it's been a sense of togetherness, atmosphere, in training since then. I think that's been reflected on the pitch.

“We've worked hard for each other, and Cheltenham was a great performance on the weekend.

“We got a lot of goals, a lot of different goal scorers, and I think everyone just had fun, to be honest. It was a really nice game to play in, and yeah, it was nice to get on the score sheet as well.”

Markham’s goal took her tally for the season to 17.

Reflecting on her recent form, she said: “Obviously I was disappointed with my performance in the Oxford game. I think everybody was, obviously.

“But since then I've just been working extra hard in training. We've had Zoe [Barratt] come in, who's another brilliant player, plays in my position. So it's very competitive in training.

“It's just about working hard and making sure that you're the one that's on the pitch making an effect.

“It has been a confidence boost to score some goals in recent games and a few different goals, I think I scored a header on the weekend and it's always nice.

Jenna Markham (Image: Richard Crease)

“As a striker, it's easy to base your performance on the goals that you score. So it has been a confidence boost and I am feeling confident.

“I'm really excited going into the last couple of months of the season.”

Markham is relishing that competition in training, and said it helps to raise the levels of the whole squad.

“We've all got the same goal at the end of the day,” she said.

“We all want to win the league and get promoted, and I think the more competitive and the more quality we have in the squad in training is only going to build the quality that we play out on the weekend.

“If we're playing against the best players that we can in training, which I think we are, then it will set us up perfectly for whatever competition we face on Sunday.

“So, yeah, it's a really positive atmosphere here at the moment.”