Brian Sorensen has said it was "really nice" to see Everton forward Jess Park score just 79 seconds into her England debut.
The 21-year-old, who is on loan from Manchester City, has been a standout performer for the Blues this season and her instant impact on Merseyside saw her earn her first senior international call up in September. Park joined up with England ahead of their clashes with the USA and the Czech Republic, however the attacker remained an unused substitute in both games and was inititally omitted from Sarina Wiegman's 25-player squad for the Lionesses' November fixtures against Japan and Norway.
However, after being called up to replace Chelsea's Fran Kirby, Park came off the bench in the 89th minute against Japan last week to cap-off a 4-0 victory for England at Murcia's Pinatar Arena. And the Everton boss has revealed he sent a congratulatory message to the youngster after her "whirlwind" debut.
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“It was really nice to see," Sorensen said, speaking ahead of Saturday's WSL clash with Manchester City. "I didn’t see the game live. I caught up after but I saw that she’d just come on and scored so I text her after the game and said congratulations.
"It was really nice for her. (It takes) a lot of confidence coming in and doing that on that level, on that stage - pleased for her.”
Park has featured in all six of Everton's league games so far this term, but Sorensen won't be able to call on the 21-year-old when her parent club, Manchester City, visits Walton Hall Park this weekend. Asked whether it was a blow to not have Park available against Gareth Taylor's side, Sorensen said: “It is, of course, but we knew that when we made the loan so now its for another (player) to take a chance and show what they can do.
"When we decide to bring in loan players we know we can’t have them against their team so it’s the way it is.”
Reflecting on Everton's role in advancing Park's development, Sorensen said: " We want to give a platform for those young players to perform on. We want to create a pathway at our club where they can see that we still have the ability to compete well but we also have a big, big development focus for especially young players coming to our club.
"It was one of the reasons that we (brought Jess in) to show the young English players especially that you can come here and do well and improve. Jess is the perfect example of that.”
City, who currently sit fourth in the table, have won all 12 of their previous Barclays WSL meetings against Everton; the best 100% record one team has against another in the competition's history. While Gareth Taylor will be hoping to extend that record in Saturday's clash, Sorensen thinks his side can learn from the United defeat and go toe-to-toe with City in front of a sell-out home crowd.
"They're a good team and a lot of new signings who look like they’re starting to come together. I still think we have a good opportunity to do something against them.
"Of course we have to perform on our highest level, that’s how it is. They’ve been doing good in some games where they’ve been really, really outstanding but I think also there’s been some games where you can still see its a new group that’s coming together so let’s see how they step up tomorrow."
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