Club 'still in shock' after death of teenage goalie

Oxford United is "still in shock" following the "devastating" loss of 15-year-old academy player Amelia Aplin, the head of the club's women's set-up has said.

The goalkeeper had been playing in a Junior Premier League game against Fulham at the Oxford training ground in Horspath on 7 March when she collapsed.

Over the past weekend, teams across the Women's Super League held a minute's silence in memory of Amelia - who had been described as a player with "immense promise".

Almost a fortnight on from her passing, Oxford United's Gemma Sims said Amelia's death had been "devastating for everybody" at the club.

Sims, who is Oxford Women's general manager, said: "Everyone is still in shock and obviously the staff and the players who were present on the day are finding it tough.

"It's obviously been devastating for everybody at the club, but something like this doesn't just hit the whole club, it's hit the wider community as well."

Liam Gilbert, manager of Oxford Women's first team, echoed similar sentiments, saying it had been an "extremely difficult" period for the club.

"Amelia was a very talented individual who had a really high ceiling and was very well thought of," he said.

"The most important thing there's been for us is just getting around each other - it's really united the entire club."

Tributes to Amelia have been paid across the football world - including at Watford on Tuesday night, where an applause was held during the 15th minute of the Hornet's Championship game against Wrexham.

Amelia had been a "massive fan" of the Vicarage Road club, Sims explained.

Gilbert said the support from the "wider football community" had been "astonishing".

"Hopefully it's something that we can use in a positive way as we move forward," he said.

Tributes to Amelia have poured in, including from Oxford United legend Peter Rhoades-Brown - who addressed the Kassam Stadium crowd ahead of the men's first team game against Blackburn Rovers last week.

"She was a goalkeeper of immense promise, playing for our girls in the Under 18s side at just 15," he said in his tribute speech.

"Amelia was a teammate, a friend, a sister, a niece and a daughter. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her."

Members of Amelia's family attended the game, alongside her teammates - who went on to the pitch before kick-off.

"It's going to take a long time [to recover] - people will grieve differently at different times," Sims said.

"For us, it's just important that we take things slowly, that the girls only return to training as and when they're ready.

"We'll support them as much as we can."

Gilbert added: "We love football, we love what we do but there are some things that are bigger than football."

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