What an interesting last few months this has been. It was impossible to imagine that one day we would experience and go through something like this. But, there has been positives and negatives to come out of this experience. The year 2020 started so well for me. In January we came third in the U23’s Asian Cup played in Thailand, earning the opportunity to fulfil the dream of every athlete and play at the next Olympics.
The rollercoaster of the football season was still to continue after returning from an international camp in February. We at Ebbsfleet United had a big task ahead of trying to earn safety from relegation in the Vanarama National League.
Once the leagues all around the world started calling their games off, I began to realise the coronavirus situation started becoming a lot more dangerous. However, this produced one of the strangest moments of my career. Our league match against Halifax FC was the only live televised football game in the UK at that moment, and it was great to get a win and a clean sheet before the league finally postponed the competition.
That is when everything hit me. No football was just the tip of the iceberg, with cities all around the UK closing down and lockdown restrictions being enforced. Isolation is not easy for anyone, but we must listen and abide by the government guidelines to keep everyone safe. It was frustrating not being able to fly home to Australia for the end of the season to see friends and family, but that is just how it is, and we need to accept the situation.
Good news is that lockdown life is slowly getting more relaxed, with live sports coming back to TV. Getting up early in the morning to watch rugby league being played back home in Australia I am super happy about.
Make sure you all stay safe and follow all the rules. We stick together, and this will be all over soon!
Jordan Holmes