Haywood wants to 'give back' to fans in second half of season | OneFootball

Haywood, a former England youth international, has been restricted to just three starts across all competitions so far - something which has only made her more grateful to Newcastle United Women's fans and staff for continuing to have faith in her ability.

But the versatile attacker is keen to make up for lost time having made her return from injury last weekend against her former club, Sheffield United Women.

"It's always great to get out on the pitch, although it was sooner than I initially thought," she told newcastleunited.com ahead of Sunday's visit of Portsmouth Women.

"Personally, I've been slightly disappointed with the first half of the season and feel like I've been a bit unlucky with injuries and illnesses.

"It just feels like every time I've got a bit of momentum, something comes up and stops me in my path.

"I just feel like I've not been able to show my full potential to the fans and give back to them and the club for supporting me and putting faith in myself, so that's my aim for the second half of the season."

After their last-gasp draw away to Sheffield United Women last weekend, United currently sit seventh in the Women's Championship, although they do still have a game in hand on all of the teams above them.

Being back at Kingston Park will provide home comforts for United, who have only lost two league matches on home turf since September 2022.

Haywood and her team-mates have their eyes firmly set on moving up the table, and the Hull-born attacker is keen to get back to winning ways on Tyneside.

"I love playing at Kingston Park," Haywood admitted. "The atmosphere is incredible, and all of our fans are so supportive of all of the girls."

"With this league, you've got no time to dwell on any results because it's such a small division. Each game matters so much, and every weekend it's like a cup final because there are so few games.

"We go into every game wanting and expecting to pick up three points, as we have high standards, and this weekend is no different."

While Haywood has not seen as much action on the pitch as she'd like this season, there's still a lot of football left to play in which she can achieve her goals for the campaign.

United have at least 11 games left to play across all competitions this season, and in that time, Haywood is desperate to repay the faith people in and around the club have had in her since she joined in August.

"I don't set too many personal targets," Haywood explained. "However, scoring my first goal is something I'd love to do in the second half of the season.

"To be honest, I'd give a lot to experience scoring in a Newcastle United shirt - not just for myself, but to give something back to the club, staff, and fans for all of their support."

Tickets for Sunday's game at Kingston Park against Portsmouth Women are on sale here.