Gotham FC winger Guro Reiten was finally able to catch her breath after making her 46-minute NWSL debut in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Bay FC.
The 31-year-old Norwegian was asked to play left-back, given Gotham’s injury crunch. Bruninha (hamstring), Mandy Freeman (lower leg), Lilly Reale (lower leg) and Emily Sonnett (lower leg) were all unavailable, and Kayla Duran is out for the season with a knee injury.
“It’s been a hectic week,” Reiten said in the mixed zone following the match. “[I’m] trying to get to know my teammates on and off the pitch. I’m always glad winning the first game… I think the first week has been perfect.”
Reiten looked comfortable and composed on both ends of the pitch. She combined well with her teammates and came very close to recording her first assist for her new club early in the first half.
Tierna Davidson Praises Reiten’s Adaptation
“I’m very happy for Guro,” captain Tierna Davidson said during her post-match press conference. “It’s quite the welcoming to play outside back in this league in your first game. I thought she did great.”
Gotham head of analysis Zoë Mattheson and lead assistant coach Shaun Harris joined Juan Carlos Amorós during his post-game press conference as Amorós wanted to credit the work of his technical staff.
“She might not have expected to do that, but we feel that she has the attributes to at least give us some stability in that position when needed, and we needed it today,” Mattheson explained. “[It’s] not too dissimilar to some of the roles she’s played previously in that wing-back type role, outside back, but a little bit higher.
“For her national team, she’s done that on occasion and on occasion she’s done that with Chelsea. It’s not too dissimilar in the style that we play when we have the ball. She’s pushing a little bit higher.
“From our perspective, she stepped in straight away, she looked comfortable with the group, she was communicating really well, concentration level was very good and the output was positive. The first half of football for us was a very good performance.”
Busy Stretch Ahead Means Gotham Will Need More From Reiten
Reiten stated that she felt ready to assume the role after Mattheson and Gotham’s technical staff prepared her.
“It was a lot of information to take in, but I had to go out there and do my best,” Reiten said following the match in the mixed zone. “My team has been unbelievable. They have been supporting me and helping me in the training sessions and in the game today. My experience with left-back is minimal.”
After winning 13 major trophies with Chelsea, Reiten is excited about her new chapter with another collection of talented teammates at Gotham.
“We have a lot of good players,” Reiten said. “I can already tell, based on the short amount of time that I’ve been here – on the ball and off the ball, [it’s a] really good squad. I’m really looking forward to this.”
Starting with Wednesday’s visit to Chicago, Gotham plays three matches over a span of 11 days. Though she is just starting to get her feet wet, the Bats will soon need to lean more heavily on Reiten during this busy stretch.
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