Bournemouth has turned out to be the perfect fit for Kenni Thompson who flourished throughout her debut season with the Women’s National League Division One South West outfit.

The Bermuda winger joined the Cherries from Spanish side Eibar in January and hit the ground running by scoring on her club debut in a 3-0 home win over Swindon Town.

Thompson’s season also ended on a high after dispatching her eight and final goal of the campaign and being named player of the match as she and her fellow team-mates prevailed 3-1 against Southampton in the Adopt South Women’s Hampshire Senior Cup to retain their title at Aldershot’s EBB Stadium on Monday.

The 23-year-old was welcomed with open arms upon her arrival at Bournemouth, which aided in a smooth transition to the club and success on the pitch that followed.

“It’s a very welcoming environment; everyone from the girls in the team, staff and people around the club have made me feel like a part of the club since I arrived,” Thompson told The Royal Gazette.

“Everyone tries to make it both an enjoyable and fun environment whilst also being a hard working and competitive side.

“We’ve got a lot talent in the team but what’s been the stand out is how close we are as a team. The team’s cohesion has been what’s helped us push through the difficult times we’ve had to go through in order to go unbeaten and win a trophy.

“This team is ambitious and to have the club are backing us means a lot. There’s so much potential from this project and I’m excited to be part of it.”

The talented player also attributes her successful campaign to previous experience playing in England with Chelsea and London Bees as well as Spanish side Edibar.

“Having played in different countries in a lot of different styles of play is always going to help,” added Thompson, who groomed her skills playing for Espanyol and Barcelona at youth level and training with EU Cornella.

“Being able to adapt and adjust having experienced it before makes coming into new environments a lot easier.”

Despite going unbeaten in the league, Steve Cuss’s team were pipped for the title and sole promotion spot on offer after being held to a 1-1 against eventual champions Exeter City in their season finale.

“Going unbeaten in the league is an incredible achievement and it’s not easy to do,” Thompson said. “I think it’s a shame I haven’t been able to enjoy such an achievement as much as I should due to not winning the league.

“No losses and three draws in the league is incredible and it definitely hurts since it wasn’t enough to secure promotion like we wanted, but the story isn’t over and we’ll come back stronger.”

Despair over losing out on the title and promotion quickly turned to joy a week later as Bournemouth triumphantly raised the Adopt South Women’s Hampshire Senior Cup for the second straight, with Thompson playing a leading role in the hard fought win over the Saints in the final.

The daughter of North Village head coach and Bermuda assistant coach Kenny Thompson opened the scoring from the penalty spot after her initial shot was handled inside the box and also had a hand in Bournemouth’s second goal after Lucy Cooper bundled in her corner from a goalmouth scramble.

Thompson went close to adding to her goal tally with a header that grazed the post and was again unfortunate not to get on the end of team-mate Molly Barron-Clark’s flick on.

“We played a good side. They competed for 90 minutes, but so did we,” added Thompson, reflecting on Monday’s see-saw battle that was a repeat of the previous final between the two sides, which Bournemouth won on penalties.

“We created the clearer chances and got the three goals, but we also defended well to stop them going forward.

“We always want to not just compete but win. That’s the expectation we hold for ourselves and we’ve got a squad that can do that.

“We knew we were going to come up against a difficult side but we always have the belief that we can go out and get the job done.”

As for her sparkling individual display, Thompson said: “I always try and help the team. But when there’s a big game, and even more when there’s a trophy at stake, there’s more need to step up and make things happen.”