Midfielder Drè Georgiou used her usual pre-match nerves to provide the extra fuel for a lung-busting performance that earned her the Player of the Match award at Saturday’s Championship Promotion Play-Off.

Speaking ahead of the game last week, she has said that Watford would need to find that extra bit of something to beat Nottingham Forest and, in the process, gain revenge for their League Cup Final defeat.

Georgiou did her part and more, driving the team on from midfield with a combination of tough tackling, constant harrying and the skill to know when to play a simple pass and when to carry the ball.

“I get nervous for every game and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. But that meant I had a bit about me today, and I’d put my body on the line,” she said.

“I would do anything to stop them scoring and for us to get the win. That was my main aim: to put my body on the line and make sure we got promoted.”

The experienced 27-year-old said she used the half-time interval to remind some of the younger players that the job was far from finished.

“When we went in at half-time at 1-0, me and Megan [Chandler] made a point of saying we had another 45 minutes to go and it wasn’t done,” she explained.

“You never know how the other team is going to come out in the second half. They had nothing to lose. It’s not a game that could be drawn, there had to be a winner at the end.

“We knew they would come out and have a go, and it was important we stayed aggressive in our performance.”

In her pre-match interview, Georgiou admitted she’d happily win a dull game 1-0 rather than be a loser in a thriller, like the 3-2 cup final defeat. She hadn’t forgotten that…

“I said to you last week that I’d take a boring 1-0 win, rather than an exciting defeat like in the cup final - so I’m very happy with the 1-0!

“I get nervous before games like I said, but in the last 15 minutes at 1-0 up – no nerves. I felt we had the game under control.

“We knew it was a game of two different styles of play. We like to keep the ball and pass it around, they are more direct.

“On a pitch like we had today, it helps us play our football.”

Now, Georgiou and her teammates face a return to the Championship and even tougher tests on the pitch, which means she is planning to start preparing.

“We train three times a week, we play a match and in my spare time I like to get down the gym too.

“Now we’re going to be playing Championship football - we’re going to celebrate - but my pre-season will start very soon.

“I’ve got to get even fitter because the Championship is a far more competitive league.

“Hopefully we can make the step up and show teams the way we want to play football, with the style of play under the new management.

“Our goal will obviously be to stay in the Championship and we’ll focus on doing that.”