Both Keira O’Keefe and Shurima Vine joined Cheltenham Town following Gwalia United’s relegation in the summer.
The Wales U23 internationals joined fellow Welsh prospects Amelie Curtis, Casi Evans, and Charlotte Salisbury-Williams, who are all in their second season playing for Cheltenham.
On top of this, midfielder Ruby Day has also represented Wales at under-19 level and joined the Robinesses this season after leaving Bristol City PGA (under-21s).
On making the move to Kayte Lane, O’Keefe said: “Yeah, life at Cheltenham has been really good; it’s a big change compared to last season.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, especially as I really like it personally, because overall the girls, and all the new girls, they’re all amazing people, alongside all the coaches and staff. Knowing some of the girls made the adjustment really nice. Ammo (Curtis) obviously knew the other girls, and we knew Ammo. Having someone in the middle obviously helped us a lot more,” Vine added.
Following the success of Wales U19’s, the Welsh FA hosted their first ever under-23’s camp in October to help bridge the gap from youth football to women’s senior football.
Curtis, Evans, Salisbury-Williams, O’Keefe and Vine all received call-ups to represent their country.
“It’s a huge honour. I don’t even know how to explain it, to be honest. The opportunities it’s given us is immense. It was the first ever 23’s camp; we’re lucky because we’ve just stepped out of the 19’s, and then to have that jump to 23’s is another huge privilege, and hopefully there’s more to come, which we need to keep pushing for,” O’Keefe claimed.
“It’s really good for women’s football as well; it’s a big jump from the 19’s to the first team, so I think something in the middle really helps players, and some players would get lost if they didn’t have that.”
Despite a tough start to the season, Tom Davies’ side have picked up back-to-back wins after registering wins against Swindon Town and Bristol City PGA.
A 5-1 win midweek against local rivals Swindon leaves the side sat ninth, four points clear of the relegation zone, whilst a win on penalties in the FAWNL Cup means Cheltenham have advanced to the second round of the competition.
“It’s been a bit of a rough start, we had a couple of hard games, but as we’ve gone on, we’ve added a few wins now,” Vine admitted.
Cheltenham have another tough test up next as they travel to Fulham, with focus returning to the FAWNL Southern Premier Division.
