Keira Walsh heaped praise on Chelsea Academy graduate and fellow midfielder Lexi Potter after the 19-year-old scored her first goal for Chelsea in only her second ever start for the club on Wednesday night.
Chelsea went ahead against Brighton through Alyssa Thompson early in the first half, but we were almost immediately pegged back by the visitors. Having been included in the starting XI for only the second time in her Chelsea career, it was Potter who stepped up and scored what turned out to be the winning goal at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Walsh started the match with the captain's armband in the absence of injured Millie Bright and rested Erin Cuthbert, and the experienced England international was delighted with how those who came into the side stepped up and secured the three points.
'We've got a busy few weeks ahead, we've got a lot of injuries, so I think the girls did really well,' said Walsh afterwards. 'Brighton are a tough team. I think we put in a great performance, especially first half.
'I think we controlled the first half really well. Obviously, in the second half, they threw a lot at us, but we withstood that. The girls who came on, Chloe (Sarwie), who is also a young player, came on and really made a difference in what was an important game for us. So I'm really pleased with the squad and really pleased with the result.
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor explained after the match that Walsh was deployed in her usual deeper midfield role against Brighton, while she played Potter in the traditional number eight position, slightly higher up the pitch.
Walsh was keen to praise her young team-mate's performance, and gave some insight into how they come up against each other in training sessions at Cobham.
'I wasn't surprised by her performance,' said Walsh. 'I play her in training every day. I play against her, and it's not easy. One thing I like about playing with Lexi is that she always recognises where the space is, and I think we play really well in terms of working off each other and playing off each other's space.
'So yeah, I enjoyed tonight, and I'm really proud of Lexi.