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Impetus Launches Partnership with Chorley Women & Lisa Topping Sponsorship

Impetus is delighted to announce the latest of our player sponsorships and club partnership relationships with FA Women’s National League Division One North side Chorley Women. The deal sees Impetus sponsor Chorley’s Lisa Topping, who played top flight women’s football for Liverpool at the age of sixteen. In addition, we will run regular features on both Lisa and the wider club to give our readers a taste of what it’s like to be a club and player at a National League level. To launch the sponsorship, Lisa spoke to Ben Gilby about her footballing journey, her influences and what life is like at Chorley.

Speaking about the announcement of our sponsorship with her, Lisa said: “Receiving sponsorship to play football is fantastic. The financial benefits it brings to myself and the club is something so important to the women’s game and Chorley Women, who rely on sponsors to successfully function. This year has been tough financially for people and receiving sponsorship makes things that bit easier. Knowing that someone has faith in you or supports you is a great feeling. I really appreciate Impetus Women’s Football Site sponsoring me!”

Lisa then introduced herself to our readers: “I’m 29 years old and was born in Preston, Lancashire. I grew up five miles down the road in Leyland where I attended Worden High School and Preston College before heading out to Texas, USA for University on a full-ride soccer scholarship. I returned to my home town in December 2016 and continue to live in Lancashire now with my partner and rescue beagle. I have an amazing nuclear family of my sister, mum and dad who are and always have been extremely supportive of me throughout my life and endeavours.”

“Away from football, I work in research, monitoring and evaluation, which I really enjoy. I love statistics and data so it’s a very fitting job. I do like to keep fit away from football training so I do spend some evenings running or doing my own ball workouts in the local park. I have a passion for dogs and animals and have a Lemon Beagle who I rescued from a dog pound in Texas and flew back to the UK. I spend a lot of my weekends and evenings taking her for walks or hikes with my partner and family. Like most people, I’m also a fan of binging Netflix movies and overindulging on chocolate!”

**Above:** Lisa Topping in action for Chorley against Brighouse Town this season. **Photo:** John Shirras.

Lisa’s love of playing the game started from an early age: “It all started when I was eight years old during P.E class in primary school. I was the only girl to join in as football was offered to the boys and netball to the girls. I had a brilliant primary school headteacher, Mr D, who always supported my love of football, including allowing us to wear astro-turf trainers to school so that we could play properly at break time!”

Like many players, Lisa’s family played a key part in her development: “My Dad has been central to my football career from giving me extra training and advice to encouraging me to make the step up and take the opportunities that came my way. He encouraged me to go down and join a girls’ team.”

Joining a girls’ team meant that Lisa began to be exposed to the work of coaches: “When I was ten, I had a spell at Penwortham Girls before moving on to play for Euxton Girls FC for a few years. I had great coaches here including Steve Barker who really propelled my love of the game. His daughter, Nicola Barker, also played on my team, and now does an excellent job in coaching at the club. At the same time, I was involved in Blackburn Rovers’ Centre of Excellence at U14 and U16s age levels. These required trials to get in. My Dad told me to wear something that made me stand out, so I rocked up with a bright yellow Cameroon National Team football shirt which obviously caught their eye as I was successful in getting selected for the sixteen person squad. At fifteen, I left Euxton Girls and signed for the first Blackburn Rovers Ladies U16s team.”

**Above:** Lisa battles for possession for Chorley against Newcastle United this season. **Photo:** John Shirras.

Lisa had some memorable moments when she moved on to Liverpool. “At sixteen years of age, I played for their first team in the FA Women’s Premier League, which was the top-flight football league at the time. We travelled to play the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, which was a great experience. Here I played with some really experienced players, such as Jo Traynor and Gayle Formston, who had national team experience. They were really welcoming, and although I was much younger, they made me feel part of the team. I still remember Gayle saying me to me before a game against Chelsea “your lungs will burn, that’s normal – run through it. It will go away.” I now actually use this line with some of our younger players!”

After two years at Liverpool, Lisa moved further afield: “I moved to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, USA on a soccer scholarship to play and study for my degree. Here, Dewi Hardman was my coach who really helped me to develop my game from left wing to centre midfield. He was a tough coach and demanded quality – but looking back this has only helped me to get better. After playing for four years, I then spent four years coaching in the States whilst studying for my post graduate degree and working.”

Lisa returned to England in December 2016. “I had a short spell at AFC Fylde Women for the second half of the season. I had lost some desire to play but my Dad said to give another team a go and see if that passion returned. So, for the 2017-2018 season I signed for Chorley Women and four years later I’m still here! There are so many influential people at Chorley, one being Janet Mitchell our previous captain and current Chair. The passion she and her family have for the sport and the club is second to none and this really cascades down to the management and players involved in the club.”

**Above:** Firing in an effort for Chorley: **Photo via:** Lisa Topping.

I asked Lisa to tell us more about why she feels Chorley Women are such a special club: “It is a great club to be part of, as a player, as a coach, as a supporter. There is a special vibe at this club that makes it a fantastic and supportive place to be. The team always get on so well on and off the pitch, which is so important, and there is a real focus on family. We have annual social and fundraising events that really build that sense of community and teamwork.”

“Playing at Chorley is fun yet focused where development of players is key. The coaching is fantastic where there is a real emphasis on learning and improvement. I feel that I learn something and improve every training session, which is so important. We have the ethos of ‘one club’ where a clear progression pathway is in place. This is vital for the longevity of the club. In terms of team-mates, Chorley Women have the best group of girls. There is never a dull moment on the training pitch or in the changing rooms and everyone is extremely welcoming, supportive and positive. Although small, in relation to other clubs, Chorley Women have big ambitions. We want to be a force to be reckoned with in the FA Women’s National League as well as producing quality and successful players along the way. The pathway we have in place gives us the opportunity to really help young players move through the footballing system in a positive and well-coached environment.”

We then touched on some of the challenges that Lisa has faced on and off the pitch throughout her career: “The biggest challenge I faced as a footballer was juggling working, studying and training. When I was a student-athlete in the States, the demand across all of these domains was extremely intense. Plus, doing this whilst being alone at eighteen years of age, in a different country, without your family was tremendously hard. I remember being awake at 5.15am for two hours of morning training before a full class schedule, ending with mandatory study hall, volunteering and coaching children. It was hard, but looking back I gained some valuable life lessons and built a ton of resiliency.”

**Above:** Lisa going for goal for Chorley. **Photo via:** Lisa Topping.

Coronavirus restrictions have brought their own unique difficulties: “It’s been tough both on and off the pitch. Personally, off the pitch it has been a real struggle not seeing family as often as usual, as we are really close. But, football has always been my outlet in stressful situations so getting to be part of Chorley Women, with supportive managers and amazing teammates, makes Covid frustrations a little easier. Off the pitch, there has been struggles with long gaps with no training or playing games. It’s really hard to get on a good run when this happens as just as you think things are starting to get going it suddenly stops again. Our management team at Chorley have been really good about organising fitness competitions and virtual sessions to keep team moral and fitness high, which has been really beneficial.”

The conversation then moved on to matters off of the pitch – Lisa’s own footballing heroes: “They not world-famous. They are my Dad and Grandad – Steve and Derek Topping, who both had successful careers in the sport as well as supporting me fully with mine. Without them, I would never have had such a successful and exciting career in football. Since I was five years old I would spend my Saturdays stood with my Grandad on the side line watching my Dad play. When my passion for football exploded, my Dad gave up playing to allow me to pursue my career. He also spent endless evenings and weekends kicking the ball around with me on the local park, helping me get better. Both my Dad and Grandad still ring me up before a game to give me advice and motivate me and they are both on the side lines twenty years later.”

We concluded our chat by looking to the future and Lisa’s aspirations for the next few years of her career: “I want to play and enjoy the game for as long as I can. I’ve seen players have the game they love snatched away from them too soon due to injury. I want to continue to be a driving force for Chorley Women and support the young talent that we have coming through. In five years time I’d love to still be playing with Chorley Women and competing in the FA Women’s National League. When my playing time is up, I want to remain involved in the game possibly in a coaching capacity where I can continue to support the positive progression of the women’s game.”

Impetus will be catching up with Lisa each month to find out how things are going on. We will also be carrying features on the wider club at Chorley. To find out more about the Lancashire side, we published an interview with Chorley Chairwoman Janet Mitchell in October. It can be viewed here.

To find out more about our club partnership and player sponsorship deals with various grassroots women’s football clubs, click here.

Artwork: Graphics by PW.

Returning Hero Heyman Settles Classic

Canberra United 4-3 Adelaide United

By Kieran Yap

This game was a classic, by the end of the evening even Canberra’s returning star Michelle Heyman looked like she could barely believe what she had been a part of. This game had everything, seven goals, one hat-trick, two long range rockets and end –to-end football for the majority of the night.

**Above:** Club legend Michelle Heyman marked her return to Canberra United with a match clinching hat-trick. **Photo:** @CanberraUnited

Canberra United began the game on the front foot, trying to control possession and attack early speedsters Nicki Flannery and Paige Satchell flanked Heyman as the centre forward. Adelaide took about half an hour to settle, absorbing early pressure and escaping an early Canberra chance after Heyman found space in the penalty box and whipped a ball across the face of goal.

Although Canberra had looked more dangerous early, Adelaide scored with their first real chance of the game, new signing Fiona Worts intercepted an attempt to play out from the back and fed Maria Rojas who still had plenty to do. The Chilean international twisted and turned into the penalty area before finishing sublimely past Sally James.

**Above:** Maria Jose Rojas (right) in action on her debut for Adelaide United. **Photo:** @AUFCWomen.

Canberra looked to respond positively with Heyman missing an opportunity after running onto a long ball but Adelaide extended their lead after Emily Condon dissected the Canberra defense with a perfect pass for Isabel Hodgson to place past James with a wonderful first time finish.

Adelaide’s defence was holding up but also testing the limits of good fortune, they were lucky to avoid either Koulizakis or Satchell scoring from close range and Flannery would also have expected to score with only the keeper to beat. At half time Adelaide looked to be in control but Canberra’s fans had seen enough to be hopeful, why wouldn’t you be if you had the number 23 up front?

Michelle Heyman had publicly wondered about making a return to W League football and it was met with enthusiasm, when she announced her official comeback it was exciting, when she scored the first goal of the night, it felt inevitable. Matilda McNamara had proven to be a stubborn opponent all game but once Heyman accelerated past Adelaide defense she was able to finish coolly past the oncoming Fryer-Mclaren and the ball settled into the bottom corner, Canberra had deservedly pulled one back and confidence was high.

**Above:** Fiona Worts crossing the ball in on her Adelaide United debut. **Photo:** @AUFCWomen.

The second goal was born of persistence, Canberra were fortunate not to concede again after Fiona Worts hit the crossbar for the Reds and Canberra launched a long ball to forward which was kept alive by Flannery and substitute Haley Taylor-Young. In the penalty area chaos, Heyman managed to bury the ball into the net, striking on the turn and collapsing in celebration.

As the clock ticked over 80 minutes the scores were still locked at 2-2 but the final ten minutes were some of the most eventful and spectacular the W-League has seen. First Heyman hit the post after a deflected shot following a long run and pass from Kendall Fletcher, then as stoppage time began Laura Hughes took the lead for Canberra. She cleverly created some space for herself then crashed a shot onto the crossbar, which somehow hit the keeper’s back and rolled over the line.

As Adelaide surged for an equalizer, Heyman scored her third goal in the 91^st minute, gambling on a defensive error, the ball fell to her off a defender then she stylishly clipped the ball into the net. The home side was up 4-2 and the result looked safe but Mallory Weber had other ideas, Adelaide’s U.S international cut in from the left wing and sent a dipping shot over James into the far corner of the goal.

**Above:** Michelle Heyman back in green and back to her influential best. **Photo:** @Mheyman23.

In the end Canberra held on, they celebrated a famous comeback, a stunning win and Heyman played the dream comeback game. Adelaide showed that they might be able to trouble most teams and fans that had long awaited a return of “The Dub” were rewarded with a game for the ages.

Teams: CANBERRA UNITED: James, Foletta, Keir, Nash, Fletcher, Hughes, Satchell, Maher, Flannery, Heyman, Koulizakis. Substitutes: Richards, Goldstein, Ilijoski, Galic, Taylor-Young.

Goals: Heyman 48, 75, 90+3. Hughes 90+1.

ADELAIDE UNITED: McLaren, E. Hodgson, Weber, McNamara, Holmes, Campagnale, Rojas, Condon, Dawber, I. Hodgson, Worts. Substitutes: Grove, Kirkby, Mullan, Tonkin.

Goals: Rojas 21, I. Hodgson 28, Weber 90+4.

Referee: Kate Jacewicz.

Princess Perfect Seals Derby Day Revenge For Sydney

Western Sydney Wanderers 0-3 Sydney FC

By Kris Goman.

Featuring Kris Goman’s photos which are EXCLUSIVE TO IMPETUS.

Sydney FC fronted up to Wanderland (Bankwest Stadium) against Western Sydney Wanderers in the Sydney derby to gain revenge for the 5-0 thrashing they received on their last visit to Parramatta.

**Above:** Georgia Yeoman-Dale at the centre of much of Western Sydney Wanderers’ early threat. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

However, Wanderers have a very different team now with none of the foreign superstars like Denise O’Sullivan, Lynne Williams, Kristen Hamilton and Sam Staab or even the local talent that went OS such as Ella Mastrantonio and Amy Harrison that helped them to the finals last season.

Saying that, Sydney is also missing players like Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy, Chloe Logarzo, Aubrey Bledsoe and Veronica Latsko but somehow the Sydney team still looks and feels much like it did last year, relying instead on its home grown, younger talent.

**Above:** Ally Green crosses in for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

From the start, Sydney looked tighter, smarter and faster. Back from a two year for injury, Georgia Yeoman-Dale (why does no one call her Yeo-da?) injected some pace down the side and along with Leena Khamis, they looked dangerous but Sydney had the bulk of possession.

The Sky Blues kept pressing until about 25 minutes in when Remy Siemsen, one of last year’s golden boot winners, took it down the left side and passed across the back of the box to Cortnee Vine who took one touch into the box and struck it cleanly into the net for her first goal of the season against her old club. It stayed 1-0 in Sydney’s favour until the break.

**Above:** Teresa Polias’ influence grew as the game went on. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

At the 60 minute mark, Teresa Polias sent a long ball out to Princess Ibini on the left. She brought it forward towards defender Danika Matos, sidestepped her on the right and sent the ball past keeper Courtney Newbon to the top right hand corner. It’s pure top bins and Newbon had no chance.

At 2-0, Sydney had the match in the bag. Khamis and Yeoman-Dale, Wanderers’ most experienced players, both went off at half time and it was hard to see how the Western Sydney side could come back from this.

To add salt to the wounds, just before full time, Polias headed the ball over the Wanderers defence to Mackenzie Hawksby who passed it to substitute Allira Toby on the right. Toby made a little no look pass through the defence to find Ibini who ran onto into the clear and popped it into the top left past Newbon’s outstretched arms for her second goal of the day and Sydney’s third.

**Photo:** Princess Ibini (left) dispatches her second goal into the net. **Photo:** Kris Goman

In the end, it’s a convincing win and just revenge for the thrashing last time Sydney were on the receiving end of here.

Teams: WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS: Newbon, Matos, Nevin, Chauvet, Cooper, Copus-Brown, Middleton, Price, Yeoman-Dale, Khamis, Henry. Substitutes: Willacy (GK), Gomez, Galea, Keane, Russell.

SYDNEY FC: Mathyssen-Whyman, Maclean, Green, Brush, Tobin, Polias, Hawkesby, Ray, Siemsen, Vine, Ibini. Substitutes: Offer (GK), Cholakian, Hristodoulou, Lowe, Toby.

Scorers: Vine 27. Ibini 60, 86.

Attendance: 3,027.

Referee: Kelly Jones.

Magnificent Micah Prevents Brisbane’s Roar

Brisbane Roar 0-0 Melbourne City

By Ben Gilby

Brisbane Roar totally dominated defending champions Melbourne City in the season opener at Dolphin Stadium, but a combination of below par finishing and some outstanding saves by City keeper Teagan Micah ensured that it was a frustrating afternoon for the Queensland side.

Roar were absolutely rampant from start to finish and, apart from a brief Melbourne City improvement towards the end of the middle quarter of the game, the home side dominated territory and possession to an extent that was embarrassing for the Sky Blues.

Within the first two minutes, Australian international Emily Gielnik was causing problems down the right as just one example of the Roar’s real hunger to take the game to City.

Seconds later Winonah Heatley put Gielnik in again and her curled effort towards the back post found fellow Matilda Tameka Yallop. Her effort cannoned down off of the cross bar and out.

Before the fifth minute mark Gielnik again weaved her magic to get past Tyla-Jay Vlajinic and play a ball in to Mariel Hecher whose effort was narrowly wide.

Hecher came agonizingly close again on the quarter-hour mark when she combined with Gielnik on the right of the hour. The dominant Roar striker found Isobel Dalton who in turn laid it off to Hecher who saw her effort come back off the post.

**Above:** Leticia McKenna hits another effort goal wards for Brisbane Roar against Melbourne City. **Photo:** @brisbaneroar

Brisbane continued to dominate possession but could not make it count on the scoreboard.

Six minutes before the break, the team in orange created another golden opportunity. Heatley played in Yallop who was in acres of space but frustratingly, she took one touch too many which resulted in her having to cross rather than shoot. Yet that cross created chaos in the City penalty area despite Teagan Micah managing to get a hand to it. First Leticia McKenna and then Hecher had efforts but City escaped.

There was time for two more chances for Roar before the break. Gielnik’s rampaging down the right caused yet more carnage. She found McKenna who was clear through only to be denied by a sensational block by the legs of Micah.

Right on half time, there was an incredible miss from Yallop. Dalton got free down the left and crossed. City defender Tori Tumeth completely misjudged the bounce and allowed Tameka Yallop, in the six yard box to get an effort away, but such was the midfielder’s surprise at getting the chance, she scooped her effort over the bar.

The second half was equally one way traffic. Within four minutes of the re-start, after claims of a penalty for a potential foul on Yallop were waved away, Emily Gielnik put a follow-up effort wide from the right.

Gielnik’s outstanding performance continued with another great run which ended with a pass in to Mariel Hecher. Her exquisite lay-off into the path of Leticia McKenna who was only denied by yet another superb stop by Teagan Micah. To add to Brisbane’s frustration, Katrina Gorry’s eventual follow-up then came crashing off of the top of the bar.

**Above:** Teagan Micah was in sensational form for Melbourne City at Dolphin Stadium **Photo:** @TeaganMicah.

Two more opportunities came and went for the home side. First, Hecher found Yallop. Her deflected shot needed yet another world class save from Micah to prevent it hitting the net. Then, in stoppage time Dalton’s effort from the edge of the area was comfortably stopped by the City goalkeeper.

Despite their inability to transfer total dominance into goals, this performance by Brisbane Roar against the reigning champions is one which confirms their status as the team to beat in the W League this season.

As for Melbourne City, their inability to create anything in the attacking third means the jury is out on their chance of retaining the title. For now.

Teams: BRISBANE ROAR: Worth, Heatley, Rankin, Polkinghorne, Carroll, Dalton, Hecher, Gorry, Gielnik, Yallop, McKenna. Substitutes: Aquino (GK), Murphy, Horsey, Freier, Sutton.

MELBOURNE CITY: Micah, Johnson, Tumeth, McCormick, Davidson, Vlajnic, Allen, Cain, Dobson, Palmer, Robinne. Substitutes: Barbieri (GK), Sardo, Thomas-Chinnama, Muldeary, Withers.

Attendance: 1,174.

Referee: Rebecca Durcau.

2020 – The Year The Impetus Increased

In this second part of his review of the year on Impetus, site founder Ben Gilby focuses on October to December, months when the influence of one article on an Australian international transformed the site from one with a small but loyal UK based readership to one with a large global one. It was a period which led to a total site redesign and allowed us to form sponsorship and partnership deals with grassroots women’s football clubs and attract new contributors from across the world.

OCTOBER 2020:

The new month opened with a feature on Helston Athletic a club who thanks to some incredibly creative social media content, hugely talented players and coaches and a great relationship with the club’s men’s team are achieving great things. Our piece on the Cornish side who had a great run in the Women’s FA Cup this season can be read here.

**Above:** Chorley Women – a great story. **Photo:** John Shirras.

This was rapidly followed up by sharing the fantastic story of Chorley Women. A club who can boast a victory over Manchester City in their past and continue to overcome the odds in the National League Division One North. If you missed it the first time, be sure to catch up here: Chorley Women: Still Defying The Odds.

Then came the moment that Impetus was transformed from a women’s football site with a small UK based audience to one which is now read worldwide in ever increasing numbers. Over the weekend of 10^th and 11^th October, Australian superstar Sam Kerr came off of social media as a direct result in the ever growing amount of abuse she had received from some “fans” due to them believing she had not scored the number of goals that were expected of her.

This prompted us to write the piece Enough is Enough: In Defence of Sam Kerr and the response was phenomenal. Over a thousand views in the first 24 hours alone – which, within three days had ballooned to over 3,500 views – had seen the piece read in huge numbers in Australia as well as in the UK and Kerr’s previous club playing location of the USA. It was shared widely and we received private messages from a number of prominent players and coaches from women’s football which completely took us by surprise. If this was incredible, what was even more surprising was the fact that we have retailed a big number of these readers. Impetus now gets over 25% of its readership from Australia and large numbers of regular readers from the USA, Scandinavia and France.

**Above:** An article defending the social media abuse of Sam Kerr transformed *Impetus* from a site with a small UK based readership to one with a large number of readers around the world. **Photo:** Ben Gilby

As a result of these statistics, the site has thought carefully about how to cover the game more widely in the countries that our new readers are based in as well as maintaining our support for the grassroots of the women’s game in the UK.

We began an occasional series on the women’s game in Australia, starting with a two part interview with the Matildas Active Support group – whose members do so much to make Australia’s women’s football such a vibrant scene. Part One of the piece can be read here with Part Two available here.

NOVEMBER 2020:

November saw us welcome new contributor Jean-Pierre Thiesset. His weekly articles which review all the action in the French top flight of women’s football, D1 Arkema, have provided a new frontier for our coverage. In addition to this, Jean-Pierre’s in-depth feature articles which unpicked the challenging situation within the French women’s national team were enjoyed by a large number of readers: Sarah Bouhaddi’s interview with OLTV and Amandine Henry’s incendiary interview on Canal + being just two of them. He also gave us a wonderful insight into what a normal, pre-Covid matchday from a fan’s perspective at Olympique Lyonnais was like.

**Above:** Matchday at Olympique Lyonnais Feminin – new contributor Jean-Pierre Thiesset brought new colour to our coverage of women’s football. **Photo:** Jean-Pierre Thiesset.

Also on the site in November was a feature on Sutton United Women – a club who we were to form an exciting relationship with in the near future. We also had a chat with Coventry United General Manager Jay Bradford about her FA Women’s Championship club who are about to enter an exciting full-time future.

The second part of our occasional series on Australian women’s football saw a feature on newly appointed Matildas Head Coach Tony Gustavsson.

With the huge increase in traffic to the site, it was now apparent that the original Impetus website and design was now not the sort of look that we should be showing and so things changed. But before they did, we re-visited the first feature article that appeared on the site, on the Swedish then third tier outfit Älvsjö AIK FF Dam. They have a staggering story to tell and had also achieved some amazing things over the past twelve months which was worthy of sharing: Exceptional Alvsjo – A Year On.

NEW LOOK – LATE NOVEMBER 2020:

Back in August, the site had run a piece on Paige Walder and her Graphics by PW company – check it out here. Paige had secured a partnership deal with Lionesses and Chelsea star Fran Kirby and was producing some incredible women’s football artwork. We got in touch with Paige who not only agreed to re-design our logo, but would also provide the site with all future artwork in an official partnership deal – something which has enhanced the look of Impetus in a way we never thought possible.

With our new look arranged, the site’s growing audience enabled it to secure an exclusive interview with Hedvig Lindahl’s The One Goal charity as it was in the middle of its #ShirtsForGirls campaign, where fans could donate for the chance to win one of over twenty match worn shirts from some of women’s football’s biggest names. All proceeds would go to the girl’s academy of El Cambio Academy in Uganda. Our interview with The One Goal’s co-founder Daniela Porcelli can be read here.

**Above**: An exclusive interview with Hedvig Lindahl’s The One Goal charity kicked off the new look of *Impetus*. **Photo:** @hedvig_lindahl.

DECEMBER 2020:

The month started with an announcement of the first of a raft of partnership and sponsorship with grassroots women’s football clubs. Our first deal was arranged with Penryn Athletic Ladies FC, who play in the seventh tier Earthbound Electric Cornwall Women’s Football League. The partnership allows for monthly features on the club with various players and officials which will give readers a true behind the scenes picture on the reality of women’s football at the grassroots. The partnership was launched with an exclusive interview with Penryn Athletic’s Player-Manager Yaina Andrew.

**Above:** The first in a series of sponsorship and partnership agreements was announced at the start of December with Tier Seven side Penryn Athletic Ladies. **Artwork:** Graphics by PW.

With crowds allowed back into FA Women’s Super League grounds for the first time in almost ten months, we celebrated with our first ever interview with an international footballer. Sweden and Chelsea’s Jonna Andersson did a great piece with us about her footballing journey and is well worth checking out here – Jonna Andersson interview.

I was very fortunate that weekend to be one of only several hundred people allowed into Kingsmeadow Stadium for Chelsea v West Ham United in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. It was a very different experience and one which prompted this article: Watching FAWSL Action in the Covid age.

**Above:** Jonna Andersson – the first international player to be interviewed by *Impetus*. **Photo:** Mia Eriksson.

A feature on tier seven club Brentford Women, who celebrated their thirtieth birthday in 2020 was followed by the welcome return of original contributor Daisy Wildsmith. Daisy’s piece entitled Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Some Wear Waistcoats was a thought provoking article designed to be a counter balance to the negative press that Lionesses boss Phil Neville had been racking up.

As we neared Christmas and the inevitable lockdown of much of the country, we needed some good news stories, and plenty were unveiled on the site over a two week period.

First there was an interview with Huddersfield Town Women manager Jordan Wimpenny about a club pushing for a place in the FA Women’s Championship next season with a superb player development pathway for girls as young as six.

Then, a flurry of announcements of extremely exciting sponsorships and partnerships with more forward looking and ambitious grassroots women’s football clubs.

First, with Wroxham Women of the fifth tier Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier with whom we announced a Player Sponsorship deal with Harriet Meers and club Content Partnership. The arrangement means that, as well as monthly updates from Harriet Meers, a 20 year-old defender at the start of her senior football career, we will be catching up with other members of the squad, coaching staff and those responsible for the club’s girls development programme at Bury Valley Wildcats YFC. It will be a great chance for readers to find out what life is like at this level of the women’s game. The first feature article, introducing the club appeared on 23^rd December – Wroxham Women Partnership.

**Above:** The second sponsorship deal saw *Impetus* become the sponsor of Wroxham Women’s Harriet Meers. **Artwork by:** Graphics by PW.

Christmas Eve brought about another major announcement – in partnership with the hugely respected women’s football site Since ’71, a Player Sponsorship deal with Sutton United Women’s Olivia Watson. Ever since our chat with the club’s founder Duncan Muller (see November), we had developed an increasing awareness of and respect for the great work going on at Gander Green Lane and had witnessed several matches that this club’s hugely promising young squad had played in the sixth tier London & South-East Regional Women’s Football League Division One North. The sponsorship of Olivia Watson, a 22 year-old attacking midfielder with huge potential will see us catch up with Olivia regularly to find out how things are going with her career and events round the club. The relationship is likely to grow to offer further content which will be of great interest to our readers.

Our overseas audience has also been catered for with the launch of a new weekly round-up of all the news from Swedish Women’s Football through new contributor @DandalBs and we are about to begin the most comprehensive coverage of Australia’s Westfield W League by any UK based women’s football website. This has been made possible by the introduction of new contributors Kieran Yap (who will report exclusively for us on at least one game per round) and Kris Goman (who will be sending us exclusive match photography from W League games). More detail can be read here. We will also be running the same weekly round-up of action from games that was so popular last season.

**Above:** A third *Impetus* sponsorship deal saw us team up with *Since ’71* to sponsor Sutton United Women’s Olivia Watson. **Artwork by:** Angelo Tirotto.

As we enter 2021, we have many exciting features up our sleeve – from more grassroots club features and sponsorship deals to interviews with women’s club fan groups and an interview with another international woman footballer!

Our huge thanks for being part of the ever growing family of Impetus readers, contributors and sponsorship/partnership clubs.

The Impetus has grown rapidly – and it is thanks to YOU!

If you missed Part One of this review of the year, click on this link to read it.

Maidenhead United Women: Progress Being Made At A Historic Ground

Ben Gilby spoke to Maidenhead United Women’s Media Officer Neil Maskell about the incredible history of women’s football at York Road and how progress is being made at this FA Women’s National League Division One South-West side.

Neil began our chat by outlining the history of the club: “Maidenhead United Women were formed in 2008, comprising mainly players from Burnham FC and Maidenhead Boys & Girls FC. The club were promoted from Southern Regional Women’s Division One in their first season and one subsequent promotion later we are in the fourth tier, FA Women’s National League Division One South West and this is our fourth season at that level. Women’s football has been played at our York Road ground as far back as since 1895 when British Ladies Football Club played an exhibition match at our home ground and there’s some incredible newspaper reports from that period of 125 years ago in our archives:

**Above:** Archive cuttings showing that women’s football was played at Maidenhead United’s York Road ground as long ago as 1895. **Photos via:** Neil Maskell.

Maidenhead United’s historic York Road ground may have seen many things in the past, but it had never experienced a year like 2020 due to the challenges of coronavirus. Maskell highlights how the club have attempted to mitigate the risks: “The players are of course not professional so – as unfortunate as lockdown is – the club is able to shut down during such periods. The players have been given strict fitness plans by coach Nev Saroya in the meantime and the players seem to enjoy these fitness schedules in lieu of actual football believe it or not!”

Other than coronavirus, the club’s media officer highlights finances as the other major challenge that the club face, in common with many other sides below the top tier: “The players effectively have to pay to play for the club. There is not a huge amount of capital floating around tier four women’s football so we are indebted to our fantastic sponsors Kensington Mortgages for their support in keeping the team going.”

Allied to this is the relatively loose ties between United’s Women team and the men’s Maidenhead United club, who play one division below the Football League: “In reality we just share a name with the men’s club,” Maskell admitted. “We do share the same ground but our finances are independent. The men’s club do try to involve the women’s team in events such as our annual Christmas event in the local shopping centre and the men’s players and staff have been known to attend Women’s matches on a Sunday.”

**Above:** Maidenhead United celebrating a goal at York Road where they have been tough to beat. **Photo:** Darren Woolley.

Maidenhead United are competing in National League Division One South-West, and for Neil, the league is better than ever. “The standard of the clubs in the division seems closer than before. Southampton FC have an attachment to a Premier League club and are clearly ambitious, but otherwise you look at the early season results and everyone seems capable of beating anyone else. Promotion-chasing Chesham United only won at York Road in September by an injury time goal. The matches largely seem to be close and competitive so far which is good for the integrity of the league. In terms of what we’re looking at achieving for this season, coach Nev Saroya simply wants the team to improve on last season. We were tenth out of twelve clubs when 2019/20 finished prematurely due to the pandemic.”

In terms of the future, I was keen to get Neil’s assessment on whether the club have plans on making the jump into the third tier of the game. “We have some fine players who I am sure would be keen to play at a higher level. Some have youth on their side and may even have ambitions of going pro. Maidenhead United FC are planning to move to a brand new ground in the next couple of years so improved facilities can only help Maidenhead United WFC too.”

Maskell highlighted how the pathway from girls football to the senior women’s team is growing, but remains one of the areas that the club are keen to develop: “Since the start of 2019/20, the club has a Juniors section attached to Maidenhead United men with thirty-five teams. Girls and Boys can play mixed until their late teens now, but we also have an Under 14 and Under 18 team exclusively for girls. We want more and more non-mixed teams to give local girls a chance to play in whichever format they are comfortable with.”

**Above:** Maidenhead United celebrate. **Photo:** Darren Woolley.

As with all clubs at grassroots level, Maidenhead United Women have some incredible volunteers giving so much of their spare time to help the teams to grow and thrive whilst still holding down a full-time job. “The likes of coach Nev Saroya and kit man Sega Makiza put in so much work in for the love of the team. Otherwise, the likes of Amy Saunders, Alex Dover and Tina Brett have been with the club since Maidenhead United Women first kicked a ball in 2008. They are wonderful ambassadors for women’s football and for Maidenhead in footballing terms too.

As ever, we finished our conversation by looking ahead to the future, and Neil Maskell revealed where he’d like to see the sport in general be in five years’ time. “For me, there is still a great disparity in terms of coverage of women’s football outside of the top level, but as social media becomes more sophisticated so do our methods of communication! I hope that in five years’ time, the respect for women playing football has continued to grow. As a man who volunteers to try and help out as best I can promote our brilliant and dedicated players and our club I still get disparaging comments – “why would you want to watch women’s football? It is rubbish”. We are winning the battle though!”

2020: The Year On Impetus

2020 has been a year like no other. Here, site founder Ben Gilby looks back on our content through a year when Impetus went from having a small but loyal UK audience to breaking through to a large readership across the globe.

This has been the first full year of Impetus’ existence after the site was founded in September 2019. This review of the year is an opportunity to re-share some great content that you may not have previously read or indeed a chance to rediscover it by clicking on the various hyperlinks. Here’s the first part of a month-by-month review of Impetus’ 2020.

JANUARY 2020:

Our first piece this year was a match report. Nothing to get too excited about there you may think – just regular fayre. Except, this report charted the debut in English women’s football of global superstar (and, yes, Impetus’ total hero), Sam Kerr. A crowd of over 2,800 at Kingsmeadow also contained a big contingent of ex-pat Australians all keen to see their star in action. It would be an article on Kerr that brought Impetus to a huge number of new readers – the vast majority of whom we are delighted to have retained – but that story comes in October. The report of Sam’s debut can be seen here: Chelsea Women v Reading Report 6th January 2020

**Above:** Sam Kerr in action for Chelsea on her FAWSL debut against Reading. The huge growth of *Impetus* can be directly linked to an article on the Australian star in October. **Photo:** Ben Gilby

As well as our regular W League round-up, we also featured a two part feature on Burnley Women – Burnley Part I and Part II – where the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier side revealed how they have been moving up the league system after sealing a close link with the male FA Premier League counterparts.

We ended the month with features on two sides outside of England. First, a wonderful story from Northern Ireland where we spoke to Tony McGinley, manager of Sion Swifts. The Strabane based side have been going for ten years, with a player pathway from the age of six. Incredible success has now seen the team pushing for a place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. It’s a great story and can be read here: Sion Swifts.

Finally in January, we chatted to Cardiff City Ladies media officer Lewis Rogers about the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier side about their challenges and how the Welsh women’s football scene is in a really exciting place. Check it out here: Cardiff City Ladies.

**Above:** Sion Swifts – an incredible story of a club from Strabane. **Photo via:** Tony McGinlay

FEBRUARY 2020:

A month mainly taken up on the site with international action. First, full reports of The Matildas three group games in Olympic Games Qualifying against Chinese Taipei, Thailand and then the highly dramatic final group game against China when a late rocket from Emily van Egmond guaranteed top spot and a place in the final qualifying play-off.

We ended the month with a piece examining how Middlesbrough Women had been building on the Lionesses’ home game with Brazil at the Riverside Stadium to develop interest in their talented FA Women’s National League Northern Premier side. It can be read here: Middlesbrough Women Feature.

**Above:** Middlesbrough Women’s Tyler Dodds during the 2019/20 season. **Photo:** Colin Lock.

MARCH 2020:

The last few weeks of “normal” non-Covid life and we had a thorough round-up of a big month of international football, starting with the She Believes Cup, Algarve Cup and Pinatar Cup before the play-off for the Olympic Games plus Euro 2021 Qualifying News.

The month continued with a really interesting feature on Ashford Town (Middlesex) Women. Founder and chairman Will Boye told us about how his club have rocketed up four divisions and won several cups in their short period of existence. It can be read here.

Coronavirus’ grip was highlighted by the fact that the 2020 W League Grand Final was played behind closed doors. It was a real shame as the match was a really enjoyable affair. Our report on the game appears here: 2020 W League Grand Final Report.

**Above:** We heard all about Ashford Town (Middlesex) Women during March. **Photo via:** Will Boye.

APRIL 2020:

With all football now cancelled due to the pandemic, we kept things going on the site with two club features. We spoke to Ewan Greenhill, head of Women’s Performance at Yeovil Town about the club’s incredible history and how they are rebuilding after leaving the FA Women’s Super League. It can be read here: Yeovil Town Women

In difficult times, we ended the month with a really heart-warming story and one which provided undoubtedly my most memorable club feature so far on the site. FA People’s Cup winners Plymouth Warriors Women are a phenomenal club who provide football for players with conditions as wide ranging as Anxiety, Depression, BPD, PTSD, Fibromyalgia, Asthma, Autism, ADHD and Crohn’s. Our chat with Melissa Curtis, the club’s head coach was nothing short of inspirational. It is well worth another read: Plymouth Warriors.

**Above:** The fantastic Plymouth Warriors with the FA People’s Cup. **Photo via:** Melissa Curtis.

MAY, JUNE AND JULY 2020:

With all regular football still side-lined and people trying to make the best of a difficult situation, the site took a break over these three months.

AUGUST 2020:

The women’s football scene came back with a bang, albeit still behind closed doors, as the delayed final stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League took place. Due to the ongoing pandemic, home and away legs were not possible, so the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final all took place over a week in the Basque country cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian. We provided detailed reports of the Glasgow City v VfL Wolfsburg and Paris St. Germain v Arsenal quarter-final ties. This was followed up with full reports of the hugely enjoyable semi-finals which saw VfL Wolfsburg edge past Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais defeat Paris St. Germain. We also reported on Olympique Lyonnais’ record breaking victory in the final over VfL Wolfsburg – which can be read here.

Meanwhile, at Wembley, a new season of English women’s football got underway with the resurrected FA Women’s Community Shield – a big occasion which saw Chelsea comfortably defeat Manchester City. Our view on the game can be read here.

**Photo:** Another UEFA Women’s Champions League title for Olympique Lyonnais. **Photo:** Damien LG via @OLfeminin

SEPTEMBER 2020:

With women’s football just brushing off the cobwebs after five months away, with one exception, our coverage this month surrounded match reports from the big return. Among those appearing on our pages were Manchester United’s opening day draw with Chelsea, Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur and Everton’s win over Chelsea at Goodison Park.

There was also the first sign of Impetus’ breaking through to a larger audience. Our interview with Dulwich Hamlet Women’s first team manager Ryan Dempsey and media officer Hugo Greenhalgh became, at the time, by far our most viewed article ever – and as we will see in the second part of this review of Impetus‘ year – those larger numbers of regular readers were about to become a regular occurrence.

**Above:** Our piece on Dulwich Hamlet Women was the early indicator that *Impetus* was starting to break through to a bigger audience. **Photo:** Ollie Jarman.

The second part of this review will appear on Impetus tomorrow morning (31st December 2020).

Connor Wroe Reviews 2020 – Part Two

In the second part of his in-depth look back over the year in the top four tiers of the women’s football pyramid in England, Connor Wroe focuses in on the four National League Division One regional divisions.

Starting off in the National League Division One North, where games played range from three to six, Chester-le-Street Town, who have played six, currently sit top and undefeated. But all bar one result (6-1 vs Durham Cestria) has seen them scrape away with all three points and in two cases one point. They will be enjoying their time at the top. It is a hard one looking at this division to say who will finish top as it is a division where anyone can beat anyone, with the level of football across the league consistent and entertaining. Chorley are presently third from bottom, but having played just three games and only having lost one of them, it won’t be long before they move up. It is unfair to review Bolton Wanderers, who are currently bottom at this moment in time having only played three games.

**Above:** Chester-le-Street Town – top of the National League Division One North. **Photo:** @CLSTladies1

In the National League Division One Midlands, most teams have played around six or seven games making it a bit more reflective of the team’s abilities as they have faced most teams within the league. Wolverhampton Wanderers currently have a perfect 6/6 record and sit top, much of this can be credited to their defence having only conceded three goals. The fight across the team to win is evident and on their current form playing two games less than Doncaster Rovers Belles in second, Wolves could run off with the league. Towards the bottom of the table, it is a different story with a relegation battle looking likely, Wem Town sit three points above bottom side Leafield Athletic but they will not be worrying about that yet as they have three games in hand over their fellow strugglers. Burton Albion might be worrying as we head into the New Year despite having two points more than Leafield, they have conceded twenty-one more goals. With them conceding forty-seven goals so far this season – the most goals any side has let in across the divisions – it does not bode well for them as their defensive problems might be what sees them finish bottom.

**Above:** There has been plenty to celebrate for Wolverhampton Wanderers Women this season so far. **Photo:** @WolvesWomen.

It is exceedingly rare when you look at a table that the top two have equal amounts of points and so does the bottom two. In the National League Division One South West this is the case with Southampton F.C and Chesham United level on twelve points at the top, whilst Poole Town and Brislington are yet to get off the mark, however it is important to point out Brislington have three games in hand and have only played three games. Despite how the top and bottom looks, the chasing pack in mid table is interesting with only five points separating first and sixth and teams across the league conceding goals. Southampton F.C have the best defence in the league, only conceding two goals. It is another hard division to judge due to the huge variation of games played across the division meaning there is still more to happen before the league can truly be judged.

**Above:** Chesham United (maroon and sky blue) battling for promotion in National League Division One South-West. **Photo:** @Cheshamutdlfc.

National League Division One South-East in particular received some major media attention at the beginning of April when Spencer Owen and Hashtag United announced on Twitter the merger with AFC Basildon Ladies which saw the Essex side come under the Hashtag United banner. The men’s side of the club were formed in March 2016 by YouTuber Spencer Owen. When the club started it featured his friends and family as the club played exhibition style matches against other YouTuber football teams and playing club staff teams across the country and even some clubs over in America. Every game is filmed, and highlights uploaded to YouTube for his fans to watch the games. Their following quickly grew, and their online fans asked if they would go into the non-league pyramid. In 2017, Owen began talks with the FA about registering to play in the league system. They started in the Eastern Counties League in the 2018/19 season and won it the first time around.

**Above:** Whilst Hashtag United got the pre-season headlines, it is Ipswich Town who top the table. **Photo:** @ITFCWomen

The merger meant that the ladies’ team got exposure from games being posted online. With the Hashtag YouTube channel having 490,000 subscribers, this exposes them to a large following, which in turn can allow for more money to be available for the ladies.

Focusing more widely on the division now, bottom of the table Stevenage have played seven games whilst high flying Ipswich Town have only played four but sit top despite this. Hashtag United are sitting second level on points with Town with their only defeat to the Tractor girls early in the season. The New Year will bring an exciting title challenge as both sides have games in hand over the teams below and both are looking to be crowned champions. A surprise team in the division is Norwich City who are sitting in fifth with only four games played. Last season they struggled to get a win and leaked an alarming number of goals. They seem to have sorted out their defence issues and are now turning their eyes on joining the title challenge. The South East division is one to really keep an eye on with five teams in with a chance of being crowned champions. But with games in hand across the board it is hard to get a proper judgment on who could win it.

**Above:** Norwich City captain Millie Daviss – enjoying a better season this time round. **Photo:** @NorwichCityWFC

Let us hope fans will be allowed back soon to watch the quality football which is on offer throughout all of the leagues in the New Year.

Missed the first part of Connor’s review of the year? Click https://impetus885775742.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/connor-wroe-reviews-2020/ to read it!

Connor Wroe Reviews 2020

An original writer for Impetus, Connor Wroe begins a two part in depth review of the year 2020 in women’s football. This first part covers the FA Women’s Super League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, FA Women’s Championship and FA Women’s National League Southern & Northern Premier. His reviews of the four regional FA Women’s National League Division One divisions follow tomorrow.

What a year this has been for everyone, my heartfelt condolences to those who have suffered in this pandemic. But today we try and look at the positives to arrive this year in the women’s game and what to look forward to in the New Year.

We shall start off with the top of the women’s pyramid and the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. Going into 2021, last season’s champions and league cup winners Chelsea currently sit third, six points behind Manchester United albeit with two games in hand. Both teams are undefeated so far in the WSL and playing exciting football.

**Above:** Sam Kerr – back to her imperious best with Chelsea. **Photo:** @ChelseaFCW

Sam Kerr is looking to help Chelsea out with their title defence. It has been an interesting season with some teams performing better than expected and others not so much. Manchester United, still relatively new having reinstated their women’s team are seriously challenging for the WSL title in only their second season of being in it. They strengthened up in all areas of the pitch in the summer and the results are showing. It looks like the WSL title could possibly be decided in the reverse fixture between Chelsea and United at Kingsmeadow in January. Neither side looks like slowing down.

At the other end of the table, Bristol City will be hoping they can turn their fortunes around sitting bottom with only two points, failing to register a win so far this season. Their lack of clinical finishing in front of goal is a big issue only registering six goals in ten games. This is giving newly promoted Aston Villa hope of staying in the WSL despite having only scored eight goals in eight games. Yet they have managed to get two wins. If Bristol City fail to find their shooting boots Aston Villa, West Ham, Brighton, Tottenham, and Birmingham do not need to worry about having a relegation battle.

A quick look into the UEFA Women’s Champions League where Manchester City and Chelsea have managed to get through to the round of sixteen after brushing aside their first opponents, Kopparbergs/Göteborg and Benfica respectively. Both sides are hoping that they can lift this year’s trophy, but as always, Olympique Lyonnais are the side to look out for. The seven time winners are the most successful women’s team in the Champions League and are looking to make it six Champions League wins in a row this season.

**Above:** Olympique Lyonnais Feminin lifted the UEFA Champions League again in 2020. **Photo:** Damien LG via @OLFeminin

We now will turn our eye to the FA Women’s Championship where last season’s relegated WSL side Liverpool are looking to bounce back, but they are in a very difficult battle for the sole promotion spot. Leicester City are currently sitting top five points clear of Liverpool who are third, but only one point clear of unbeaten Durham. Durham’s 2-0 over Liverpool before Christmas could dampen Liverpool’s hope of returning to the WSL this season. Sheffield United, despite sitting six points off Durham have conceded the same number of goals and could potentially mount a serious late push for promotion if they can start converting more of their chances they are creating.

**Above:** Durham celebrate their outstanding 2-0 pre-Christmas win over Liverpool – a win that put them second in the Championship. **Photo:** @DurhamWFC

Down at the other end of the table, struggling Charlton Athletic have started this season off how they ended last, struggling to find the net. Charlton are an interesting team as they are not letting many goals in considering their position in the league, which is the same story of last season – conceding 1.7 goals a game and scoring only 0.7 goals a game. Charlton’s losses have all been by one goal, bar a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City. The Addicks’ defence is good, but when a side faces a struggle to score and keep conceding chances eventually one will go in. All is far from lost for Charlton though as they are only two points adrift and have two games in hand over fellow strugglers London Bees and Coventry United.

Looking into the third tier and starting off with the National League Southern Premier, where we have a tail of two ends. Hounslow and Plymouth Argyle are yet to get off the mark this season and have major defensive issues. Hounslow have conceded forty-two goals and are yet to convert a chance of their own eight games in. A lot could be put down to the fact only three games have been played at home, but when you average conceding 5.25 goals a game it does not bode well for the rest of the season. They are amid a rebrand with only recently this month getting a new set of kits, on top of that they are hunting for a new goalkeeper.

Fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle have at least managed to find the net twice. Looking into their games played this season, they just lack the clinical finishing needed to stay in the division. They have been unlucky at times with results not truly reflecting how they have played; they will be one side whose fortunes will be hoping to change come the New Year. Despite how their season is going on the pitch, off the pitch their social media is interactive, constantly promoting local photographers who snap their games and releasing articles on their players and the club itself. They are a team who you want to succeed due to their ethos.

**Above:** Sarah Wiltshire of Watford – looking for promotion to the Championship. **Photo:** @WatfordFCWomen

On the flip side at the top of the table four points divide first and fifth, with Crawley Wasps (fifth on fifteen points) having a game in hand over Watford (first with nineteen points) leading to an exciting New Year with all the sides in the top half having strong defences and attacks. This will be another division to keep an eye on as the season draws to a close with a battle for top spot potentially going the all the way to the final week.

Looking into the National League Northern Premier, Huddersfield Town sit on top with 25 points having played two games more than AFC Fylde who currently are the only side that could threaten to dismantle the Terriers. This is a division where every game is a great watch as goals are always on the table with excellent attacking prowess. Strugglers Loughborough Foxes have managed to get two points and are only three points adrift of Hull City who are one place above them. The Foxes have leaky defence which has been hampering their results with mistakes at the back resulting in goals. Despite currently being bottom they are not a side I can see being relegated as they do play good football. In the New Year, I can see them climbing the table and avoiding the drop. But it would be a great escape for them as they would initially have to rely on the likes of Hull City and Sheffield to continuing their current slumps.

**Above:** Lauren Nicholls in action for Loughborough Foxes (left) – there is still plenty of hope for them to avoid relegation in 2021. **Photo:** @LboroFoxes.

Tomorrow, we’ll publish Part Two of Connor Wroe‘s review of 2020 which features an in-depth look at the state of play in the FA Women’s National League Division One North, Midlands, South-West and South-East divisions.

Impetus and Since ’71 – proud joint sponsors of Olivia Watson

Impetus is hugely excited to announce that, in partnership with the respected Since ’71 Women’s Football Site, we will jointly be sponsoring Sutton United Women’s Olivia Watson for the 2020/21 season.

**Above:** *Impetus* founder Ben Gilby with Sutton United Women’s Olivia Watson at the club’s Gander Green Lane stadium to launch the sponsorship. **Photo:** Paul Loughlin.

Olivia is a 22 year-old attacking midfielder, brought up in Epsom, Surrey, who has been playing football since she was 10 years-old. She broke into Sutton United’s first team a few weeks before the second lockdown and has been putting in a string of impressive performances ever since which resulted in her scoring her first goal for the club in only her fourth start on 13^th December against Clapham United at Sutton’s Gander Green Lane stadium.

**Above:** Olivia Watson (number 26) scores her first goal for Sutton United against Clapham United on 13th December. **Photo:** Paul Loughlin.

Sutton United are currently playing in the sixth tier London & South-East Women’s Football League Division One North and Olivia is part of a hugely talented young squad with an excellent group of coaches behind them who have realistic ambitions to be playing in the FA Women’s National League in the very near future.

Speaking about her sponsorship by Impetus and Since ’71, Olivia said: “I was initially very surprised, as although I know about sponsorship in the women’s game, it is something I have never really contemplated before. I am very happy and excited to receive sponsorship because it has validated my abilities and financially has given me the opportunity to explore other ways to improve and develop my game, for which I am extremely grateful.”

Off the pitch, Olivia has just graduated from King’s College, London where she studied Psychology and now works in business administration in the charity sector.

She told us how her footballing journey began: “I started playing at school with the boys’ team. From there I joined, Beecholme Belles Girls FC when I was ten, thanks to my coach at the time Jim Hobern, who saw me at a school tournament and encouraged me and supported me to play for the club. He had a huge influence on me, as thanks to his coaching and mentoring, I have developed the skills and abilities I have now. When I was 17, our team at Beecholme folded as most of the girls went off to university. From there, I went to Kingstonian Ladies, who had just achieved promotion into the Greater London Women’s Football League, where I played for three years until the women’s team unfortunately folded. I then took a year out to focus on my final year of university. Now, thanks to my friend Sophia Demetriou, who loves the club, and people and who encouraged me to trial, I am now at Sutton United Women.”

**Above:** Olivia in action for Sutton United against Victoire in October. **Photo:** Paul Loughlin.

We asked Olivia a bit more about life at Sutton United, a club who have come a long way in a short space of time: “Sutton United is a great team to be a part of and play for. As soon as I joined, I was made to feel welcome and part of the team by all. I started playing with the U21s, who are a talented group of footballers and are all very motivated and dedicated to win the league this season, which they definitely will!”

“Recently, I have started playing with the first team, who are all exceptional footballers that are supportive and positive teammates. The past few weeks the morale of the team has been high, which has been seen with recent results and the quality of the football that we have played. The technical and high-intensity football played by both teams at Sutton United Women has been a challenge for me as it is a step up from the football I have played before but I’m really enjoying it.”

“The club has big ambitions this season to win the league, as well as achieve cup success, to follow on from their very successful season last year. Duncan Muller, who has done a huge amount for the women and girls’ side at Sutton, is dedicated to making the club even more of a success than it already is. Along with, Matt, Dave, James, Lydia, Courtney, Nathan and Pedro, who are all very hard-working, committed, fun but fair coaches. Together, the coaching team, the ambitions and goals for success this season and the highly motivated players, have created a driven, professional, and community-based environment at the club, which I am very excited to be a part off.”

Like all women’s football teams, Sutton United’s campaign has been stop-start due to coronavirus lockdowns. We asked Olivia how she found this difficult period: “Off the pitch, the restrictions have been hard but luckily, I am still able to go to work and still being able to exercise has really helped. On the pitch, the coronavirus restrictions have been odd, especially in June and July when we could only train in groups of six with no contact. However, I was just grateful to be able to play and be with my teammates. The new lockdown restrictions just announced are very frustrating as we have been doing very well recently, playing good quality football, which would have been great to continue. However, hopefully, we will be able to resume soon after lockdown and continue our form.”

Sport is full of challenges, and Olivia identifies one particular moment in her career that she found the hardest: “The biggest challenge I have faced as a footballer was when I injured my knee during a game against Crystal Palace Ladies when I was younger. I found that not playing was more difficult to come to terms with than the injury itself. It took me a while to recover from but overcoming this and getting back onto the pitch was a great feeling. Although, initially it mentally affected my play as I was more cautious and fearful of reinjuring myself.”

In terms of her own footballing hero, Olivia identified one particular player: “Rachel Yankey. She was the first female footballer I ever saw play when my team at Beecholme Belles were ball girls for Arsenal Ladies. Watching her athleticism and skill on the wing is something that has always stuck with me.”

We concluded by asking Olivia what her aims for her footballing career were and where she saw herself in five years’ time: “I want to play at the highest level that I personally can. Five years is a long time from now, but I hope to still be enjoying playing and maybe still be at Sutton United Women, who will have progressed up through the leagues.”

**Above:** Olivia Watson crossing into the box for Sutton United against Victoire in October. **Photo:** Paul Loughlin.

Olivia will be providing us with updates throughout the season as to how things are going for her and Sutton United and we are hugely excited to see her progress throughout this campaign.

There is more information about Olivia on Sutton United Women’s website Olivia Watson – Sutton United Football Club and about Sutton United WFC in an interview we recently carried out with club founder and head of women’s and girl’s football, Duncan Muller https://impetus885775742.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/sutton-united-full-of-talent-and-ambition/

Olivia is now part of an exciting group of sponsorships and partnerships with grassroots women’s football clubs that Impetus have entered into. Click here for more information: Partnerships (wordpress.com)