“Everton feels like home and my family”- Katrine Veje
For summer newcomer Katrine Veje, Everton is already starting to feel like home.
The Blues have three games left in the 2022/23 Women’s Super League season, and the Dane has started all three, achieving two victories and surrendering only one goal.
A strong showing for the defence, whose first triumphs in royal blue came in unexpected ways.
Veje was one of several Everton players who outplayed and outperformed Liverpool in the 3-0 Merseyside derby victory on September 25 at Anfield.
Four days later, the squad was back in action at Walton Hall Park for their rescheduled opener, and they had to demonstrate patience and commitment to break through Leicester City’s defensive grit and find a victory in the closing embers of the game.
While Veje agreed the winning goal was a stroke of luck for the hosts, the 31-year-old Danish international believed the grit exhibited by Brian Sorensen’s team merited the result.
“I’m overjoyed,” Veje stated. “We were a little unlucky, but we had opportunities to score.”
“The squad continued pushing and believing in ourselves, which gained us a crucial three points.”
“We weren’t good enough in the opening half against Leicester.”
“We pushed so hard in the second half to make up for it and, happily, found the goal in the end.”
Two victories in a row is only part of the story.
Months of preparation have resulted in an excellent start to the season, with the Everton squad’s togetherness being one of the most significant breakthroughs during that period.
“I remarked after the game at Anfield that I feel this squad is so positive with each other,” Veje concluded.
“We’re sticking together. We workout hard and push each other to our limits with each session.
“We didn’t give up, and that’s why we gained three points against Leicester.” That is really crucial.
“I’m at ease here. We had a great preseason; I knew several of the guys and Brian Sorensen before I arrived, which helped me adapt fairly fast.
“Everyone has been very friendly, and they all feel like family to me now, which is crucial for us as a team this season.”
“Everyone has been so welcoming and honestly, they all feel like family to me now – which is so important for us as a team this season."
Katrine Veje 🇩🇰💙 pic.twitter.com/wltqxuTCrs
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) October 6, 2022
“The fans are also a part of it.” It was fantastic to hear them sing my name throughout our first home game!”
While it is still early in the season and stiffer challenges await, Sorensen’s team’s defensive strength this season is an unsettling possibility for potential adversaries.
However, Veje admitted that the club cannot be complacent and must continue to enhance standards if they are to improve on their league result from previous season.
“We’ve only let up one goal in three games, which is good,” she remarked.
“We have a strong backline and a tight unit.” It’s simply a matter of being clinical when those opportunities arise farther up the field, as well as being resilient in our defence.
“It was satisfying to win in the final minute against Leicester, but we don’t want to have to wait that long to score.” Hopefully, we’ll be able to score sooner in our next game.”
Tickets for Everton’s forthcoming fixtures against three of the WSL’s greatest teams are currently on sale: Chelsea [Sunday, October 16 at 1 p.m.]; Manchester United [Sunday, October 30 at 2 p.m.]; and Manchester City [Sunday 20 November, 1pm]
