Brentford Women’s B Team left back Madeline Heavingham Ford made her First Team debut against Sport London E Benfica on Sunday afternoon, coming off the bench on 85 minutes.

Following some outstanding displays for the Women’s B Team, Heavingham Ford was rewarded with a call up to the First Team squad.

Speaking on her debut she said: “It’s great to know that my performances for the B Team have been noticed, it feels good that us girls in the B Team have an opportunity to break into the First Team if we show the quality we have.”

The Bees found themselves 1-0 down at half-time after Sport London E Benfica attacker Kimberley Castro, opened the scoring for the hosts on 40 minutes.

As the Bees searched to find an equaliser, Manager Karleigh Osborne brought on Heavingham Ford, who played the final few minutes and made a positive introduction to the game bringing the visitors energy and commitment they needed to push on to find an equaliser.

Chloe Logie found the net moments after the defender came on to the pitch, seeing Brentford leave Rectory Park with a share of the points.

Heavingham Ford said: “We definitely didn’t play the way we wanted to in the first half which caused us to go a goal down, but in the second half we did a lot better and managed to get a goal which we worked hard for.

“In the end I think we could have got the winner, we were putting them under real pressure, but we just ran out of time.”

Despite being introduced late on in the game, Heavingham Ford was left cheerful after her debut and is excited for the prospect of possibly playing for the First Team again.

“I was really happy when I got onto the field, when I joined Brentford I aimed to break into the First team set up, so it was a great feeling running onto the pitch to make my debut.

“I am hopeful that if I continue to put in strong performances for the B Team then I will gain more opportunities to play under Karleigh, today was a great experience and I hope this is the first of many.”