Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams escapes Hurricane Harvey, runs into eye of Irma
IT should have been the best-timed transfer in world football, but Lydia Williams endured one of the most bewildering fortnights imaginable after escaping Hurricane Harvey.
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IT should have been the best-timed transfer in world football — the unexpected deal to take Lydia Williams out of Houston in the midst of the hurricane barrage pummelling America’s Gulf coastline.
But thanks to a bizarre quirk of the fixture list, the Matildas goalkeeper has endured one of the most bewildering fortnights imaginable.
Her body is in Parramatta, preparing to face Brazil on Saturday, but Williams is the first to admit her mind could be anywhere.
It began in the final days of last month when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, her home for the past 20 months.
After not evacuating, Williams and her housemate were flooded in for five days, unable to get out of the house.
In the midst of it, she received a phone call to say that her club, Houston Dash, had agreed to trade her to Seattle Reign.
It wasn’t a bad move, given Williams had unexpectedly lost her place weeks before and Reign were higher up the table.
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“But we just couldn’t get out to complete it, so in the end we made a break for it and drove three hours to Austin,” Williams said.
“From there I was able to fly to Seattle and complete the deal. But that was just the start of it.”
Murphy’s Law dictated that her first game for Seattle would be away — to Houston Dash last week.
Because of hurricane damage the game was moved to Dallas, but still it meant returning to Texas immediately, and being told by her new coach that she was being thrown in against her old teammates after training for two days with her new squad.
“That took some getting my head around but, yes, it was a good feeling to have that confidence from the coach and be playing again,” Williams said.
“The way Seattle play, really attacking and playing out from the back, suits my style and it’s quite similar to the Matildas.
“But it was all a bit crazy as our next game was away to Orlando, so we decided to stay down there.”
A 1-0 win for her new team over Houston took Seattle into the playoff spots on the table.
But with Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida, the Orlando v Seattle game had to be brought forward amid the mass evacuation of Florida residents.
After securing a point with a 1-1 draw, Williams began the dash to get out of America and join the Matildas before Irma made land.
“We drove to Jacksonville initially, that was two hours, then we had to drive on to Atlanta,” she said.
“That should have taken another two but it ended up taking seven hours because there were so many people trying to get out.
“At least I’m back in Australia now, though I think it’s all catching up with me.”
It’s doubtful Williams will have time to catch her breath, though, because a sellout clash against Brazil looms on Saturday in Penrith.
“It’s a new experience for all of us, with 17,000 coming. Usually that’s as many are watching on TV,” she laughed.
“But we’re ready to prove to the world how good we can be.
“Since the World Cup in 2015 we’ve been developing our own style and we’ve done well, but it’s all been overseas.
“Now it’s important we put on a good show at home, and perform the way we can in front of our fans.”
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