Nathan Hallett-Young is eager to continue the Gas’ campaign in the FA Women’s National League, after a 3-2 win against Bristol City Robins Academy.
Despite falling behind early, a clinical finish from Ruby Scahill found the leveller for the Gas Girls, playing in a headed assist from Laura Barrett. In an eventful clash, the Pirates fell 2-1 down before the break.
A triple substitution from Hallett-Young saw Charlotte Buxton, Maisy Collis and new signing Kelly Highman enter the contest. Highman drilled the ball into the corner of the net, and the Robins academy retaliated with an equaliser. However, Amelie Gould provided a stoppage-time strike, providing the Gas with a win for the New Year.
Speaking to BRTV after the victory, Hallett-Young reflected on the performance and previewed the upcoming fixture against Worthing at The Mem.
So, Nathan. A win to start 2026. Two impactful decisions off the bench. How do you feel about that?
“Yeah, I am buzzing. I think it’s nicer when you win the game. Obviously, a late winner is always great, but I think for us, the main thing about today was about getting ourselves going.
“It’s been frustrating that we haven’t had a game yet. We had a break week last week, and the game on the fourth wasn’t on. So, we’ve had to wait a while to get a game back on, and we’ve obviously lost a couple of players in the last couple of weeks as well.
“We’ve really had to adapt to what we have in front of us and for the new guys that have come in, they haven’t had loads of time to adapt, so for all us, and what we were trying to look for in terms of this game, it’s good that we got the result and I think the group have really come together and forced something to happen.
“I think the character of the squad, being able to come back from behind twice, shows that we’re in a really good place and hopefully continue to go forward.”
A month off from football, shaking off the cobwebs, a bit of a slow start. How do we look forward to Worthing next week at The Mem?
“Hopefully, we’ll go and finish the way we finish a game. We really showed that we were going to grow into the game and that we were a threat towards the back end of the second half, as soon as the second half hit.
“Yeah, okay, we rode our luck on a couple, but mainly for us it was most of our play. To continue that would be the big thing going into the Worthing game, and we definitely learnt a few things for us as well as the coaching staff. I think the best thing is that the squad has really come together.
“Obviously, we made the changes, and they’ve impacted the game. They finished off really, really well and got us over the line. It was a great finish from Kelly, and it’s a really good run from Amelie.
“That’s given us the launchpad, but obviously, in the first half, you have to mention Ruby’s screamer. That put us back into play, and we were unfortunate across the board; Chlo had a really good debut.
“I think across the board was something that we’ve missed a little bit, a bit more direct running in behind and movement. It’s going to take time for her to settle in perfectly, but I think there are some really good glimpses and good signs there.
“It’s unfortunate, though, with a header off the bar. We’ve definitely had chances in there to further things. We’ve had our luck as well, so I’m buzzing that we got the result and we can move forward from here.”
