Fixtures
- Aston Villa Women Vs. Bristol Rovers Women – Sun, Jan 12th 2025, 17:45
Jill Baijings made her long-awaited Aston Villa debut on Sunday evening after fighting her way back from a six-month injury lay-off.
The Netherlands international joined Villa back in July but soon found herself facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a back injury in pre-season.
The 23-year-old marked her return with an impressive second-half performance as she helped pull the strings in the side’s 9-0 Women’s FA Cup win over Bristol Rovers.
Reflecting on making her bow, Baijings said: “It was really special, these last couple of months were really hard for me.
“I came new at the club and got injured so that was really hard so making some minutes tonight and scoring my first goal for Aston Villa feels really good.
“I was hoping that we would score a lot of goals first-half so I was like ‘yes, it’s 5-0 I can come in at the break’.
“It’s good that I can play this game and get some minutes – 45 minutes is really good.”
The midfielder also got off the mark in the Claret and Blue as she netted the Villans’ ninth and final goal of the contest with a great solo effort.
“Everyone said just enjoy coming on and just enjoy the game but you’re still hoping for more and I didn’t want to get a lot of pressure on me, but it always feels good to score goals.”
Baijings also expressed her gratitude to her teammates for their support during her time on the sidelines.
“I got injured in pre-season so I wasn’t around the team all the time, but they were always there for me and supported me,” she shared.
“They always asked, ‘how do you feel’, ‘how’s your injury’ and ‘when are you back’, so I felt the support from everyone at the club.”
Baijings, who is on a season long loan from Bayern Munich, is now eager to kick on during the second-half of the campaign.
“I’m happy to be here, I want to play here.
“It’s a new league for me, a new club.
“I want to develop myself here and I want to play minutes and that’s what I’m here for.”
