TALENTED Bromsgrove player Chloe Peplow has spoken of her delight after her first season as a professional in the FA Women’s Super League.
The 17-year-old put pen to paper on her maiden professional contract for Birmingham City Ladies in January, having risen through the ranks of the club’s development system, and has since proved a pivotal player in their fourth-place league finish.
It has been a season in which former South Bromsgrove High School pupil Peplow has seen immense change, both on and off the pitch, but one in which her game has come on leaps and bounds.
And having also reached the final of the Continental Cup, where Blues Ladies fell to a 1-0 defeat to champions Manchester City, Peplow insists the future is bright for the club, and she is already counting down the days until the start of the new campaign.
“It’s been a really long season, and in the first half, I started or came on as a sub in every game for Birmingham,” said Peplow, who benefits from being part of the SSE Next Generation programme.
“We had a really good start to the season, and we ended up finishing fourth, which is higher than in the last couple of years.
“This was my first year of professional football and it has been such a good experience, I really enjoyed it.
“I’ve gone to full-time training now so there has been a lot of change, but I’ve developed so much in all areas of my game and learnt a lot from the experience.
“It’s helped me to excel at England level too, getting fitter and doing so much more training. The more experience of playing you get, the better you become so it has really brought me on.
“We were so happy with coming fourth in the league, because at the beginning of the season, I think people thought we were going to get relegated.
“We had no expectations coming into the season, but it has been a really good one for us, especially with reaching the cup final as well.”
But while the winter marks a period of well-deserved rest for most of her teammates, the action doesn’t stop for Peplow as she turns her attentions to the national side.
Having played at the Under-19s European Championships earlier this year, she has firmly established herself in the England youth set-up, something she admits fills her with immense pride.
“I’ve got an England camp coming up at St George’s Park this month so it’s all about keeping myself ticking over ahead of the next season,” she said.
“I love playing for England because it’s another completely different environment to go in. I play a slightly different position for them than I do at club level, so it’s more challenging but it has been really good for me this season.”
SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen.
