Dennis on her debut: “It was a proud moment and a great experience” | OneFootball

Araya Dennis reflected on a ‘proud’ moment as she made her competitive debut for the Club and the impact from learning off her team-mates over pre-season.

Coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the Women’s League Cup last week, the young forward certainly caught the eye with her speed and power.

The 18-year-old, just minutes into her first minutes of the season, collected the ball on the right-hand side before advancing forward, evading two Charlton defenders, and she repeated it on a few occasions during her 23-minute cameo at The Valley.

Following her first outing in Lilywhite, we sat down with Araya and the England youth international admitted that she didn’t have the time to take in what was happening but was delighted to achieve the special occasion.

“It was a a proud moment for me to make my debut for the Club and also a great experience, plus it was important to get some minutes on the pitch and help the team to a win,” she told us.

“I didn’t really have time to register what was happening at the time, I also had to run over and let Drew [Spence] know that she was also coming on before going for another quick warm-up and going through set-pieces, so there wasn’t any moment to actually stop and think about what was happening.

“I have been used to that role of coming on and trying to make an impact in games, especially as a young player gaining experience, so I didn’t really feel any pressure when I came on and I knew what I needed to do to try and help the team.”

Araya joined us in February, 2024, after signing a professional contract with the Club before spending the second half of the 2024/25 campaign at Crystal Palace, where she made 20 appearances in the FA Women’s Championship.

Having now spent an entire pre-season with the squad while being involved in the opening three matchdays in the Barclays Women’s Super League, she has relished the opportunity to learn from her team-mates and be around the environment.

“It has been really good and helpful, but also been interesting to see the different characters within the squad. It has helped me come out of my shell quite a lot,” she added.

“The players I’m also around every day are very experienced at this level, so it has been a great opportunity to learn from them and also play alongside them, it’s only making me better.”

Watch - Highlights of our victory over Charlton