Midfielder Drè Georgiou is hoping she can help Watford Women secure promotion on Saturday and at the same time start to erase the memory of last season’s relegation.

Going down is hard enough, but when you are beaten by a 30-yard free-kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time by the team that leapfrogs you to send you through the trap door, that really hurts.

It’s exactly what happened when Watford lost 1-0 to Coventry at Vicarage Road a year ago, and Georgiou wants to win on Saturday to try and repair the damage.

“The way it happened is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” she said.

“The girl who scored the free-kick hadn’t got one past the wall in the whole game, and then in the 97th minute she puts one in the top corner.

“That will never happen again. You could put the ball in the same position 10 times and I don’t think she could repeat it.

“Plus I don’t think it was even a free kick in the first place – and I don’t know where the seven minutes stoppage time came from either, if I’m being honest!”

Georgiou only signed for Watford in March 2022, and so was immediately thrown into a battle to try and avoid relegation.

“I only joined during that season so I didn’t get the full range of emotions the other girls got, but it still hurt me a lot. I know how hard we all took it,” said the former Crystal Palace midfielder.

“It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget, but it might be a blessing in disguise. Maybe we needed that to drive us, and we needed to go down to come back up again.

“The style of play and the football we play is so much better this season than last season, so it’s had a positive effect.

“The recruitment this season has been spot on. We’ve got loads of players who have played in the Championship before, and you can see that in the way we play.

“Winning the league wasn’t easy but because the girls in the squad have experience of the next level up we play in a way that when you watch us, you can tell we have quality all over the pitch.”

Despite being one of the more experienced players in the squad, the 27-year-old admitted she’ll be nervous come 1pm on Saturday afternoon when Watford kick-off against Nottingham Forest in the promotion play-off at Stadium MK.

“I’m nervous for most games but this is a special one and I’m nervous but also excited for it. I think most of the girls feel exactly the same,” she said.

“We’ve just had two tough games that we’ve had to deal with, and the girls responded really well. I’m hoping that we do the exact same thing on Saturday.”

One of the two tough games she referred to was the trip to Billericay on the last day of the season two weeks ago.

Watford had to win – which they did 3-0 – but were also relying on Ipswich taking points off league leaders Oxford to open the door to promotion.

“That final Sunday wasn’t really in our hands, but we knew we had a job to do, and we made sure we did that,” Georgiou said.

“We got ahead in the first half and had the game done pretty early.

“We were told that we weren’t allowed to know the score from the other game, but our fans started celebrating when Ipswich took the lead so us on the pitch knew what had happened.”

However, despite winning their league, Watford didn’t automatically get promoted. The structure of the women’s game meant they, as Southern Division winners, had to play Northern Division champions Nottingham Forest for the one promotion place to the Championship.

Next season both league winners will automatically go up, but for now it’s a one-game shoot-out where the winner takes all.

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“I know that’s changing, but this season whether it’s us or Forest that don’t go up, it’s going to be a real shame as a team that has won their league won’t go up,” said Georgiou.

“If you’ve won your league then you deserve to be going up because you’ve shown you’re good enough.”

Like Watford, Forest won their league on goal difference and having lost 3-2 to them in the League Cup Final last month, the Golden Girls have a good idea of what to expect on Saturday.

“They are a physical side, and obviously good enough to be where they are in their division. You’ve got teams like Burnley and Wolves in that division, and Forest have come top,” said Georgiou.

“We play very different styles of football and you could see that in the League Cup Final. They’re direct and we are more of a passing team, but that doesn’t mean they play any less football than we do.

“The cup final was a great game to be involved in, it was very up and down for both teams. As a centre-mid I was really blowing after 120 minutes!

“It was a really good game, but on Saturday I’d be happy for it not to be a good game and us to win. I’d take a boring 1-0 win!”

The cup final was played at Burton Albion – Saturday’s game is at Stadium MK, where the playing surface is likely to be more lush.

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“I’m looking forward to playing on a better pitch. For us, and the style of football the gaffer has got us playing, the bigger pitch and nice surface suits us.

“We played there during the season against MK Dons and won 5-0, and I’m hoping we use the pitch to our benefit like we did that day.

“But I’ve said to a lot of people, this isn’t a normal game. A lot will depend on who turns up on the day and has a bit about them to get the job done.”

Like all her teammates, Georgiou has been thrilled by the level of support the Women have received from fans this season.

“The men haven’t done as well as the women this season, and that has probably been a benefit for us, but I think people have also appreciated the passion in our play,” she said.

“We show that we care and we want to win. That’s not to say the men don’t, but we have that bit about us.

“We knew we had a job to do this season, and we’ve got it done so far. I’m happy that the fans have seen that, and that because we are females doesn’t mean we play any differently in terms of style, or that we care any less about the club.

“I hope the fans come along on Saturday and really make some noise.”