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Wroxham Women: Back In Action!

Ahead of our partner club Wroxham Women’s return to action this Sunday against Cambridge City Development, Ben Gilby spoke in depth to captain Jess Horn, vice-captain Grace Birchall and new signing Harriet Meers, who Impetus is proud to sponsor.

Artwork: Graphics by PW

Wroxham Women, previously Acle United, have been one of the top clubs in the fifth tier Eastern Region Football League Premier for several seasons now. Whilst due to the pandemic, they must wait at least another year to achieve promotion to the FA Women’s National League, they have returned to training and are about to embark on a series of games between Sunday and the end of May.

Whilst Impetus readers may be familiar with the background of the club’s Harriet Meers (https://impetus885775742.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/harriet-meers-lots-to-look-forward-to-in-2021/) , who we are delighted to be sponsoring, this was our first opportunity to touch base with club captain Jess Horn and vice-captain Grace Birchall.

Therefore, we opened our conversation by going back to the very beginning of their footballing journeys.

“I’ve played football since I was able to walk!” laughs Jess Horn, “I have an older brother, Jack who always put me in goal to shoot against! I joined my first team when I was four or five in Brandon. I’d be playing games; friendlies, scoring goals, but the results didn’t mean anything. Everyone got a medal at the end of it, which me, with my inner-competitiveness hated because I wanted the results to stand and to be named the winner!”

“I was there until I was eleven or twelve and then moved over to Thetford Bulldogs and was there for a few years and started playing at the Suffolk Advanced Coaching Centre (ACC). I got into their under-16s a year early. I was playing for two teams, one on a Saturday, one on a Sunday in the Suffolk League and the Norfolk League. I then moved to West Ham United where I had the progression to play for their first team when they were still in the FA Women’s National League, but that was the year that they got their FA Women’s Super League licence and I was only sixteen. My old coach at West Ham took over at CK Basildon in the third tier. We didn’t win a game and got relegated. They changed their name to AFC Basildon, so I played there for a year under new management and was in and out of the first team and played some games for the Development side to get some minutes.”

“Things ended at Basildon towards the start of the first lockdown in March 2020. I knew Bex (Burton, Wroxham head coach) after having done a few training sessions there when the club were Acle United before I joined Basildon. I joined in the pre-season there for 2020/21 and have been at the club ever since.”

Above: Wroxham captain Jess Horn captured in training. Photo: Wroxham Women FC.

Grace’s early experiences were similar. “Yeah, like Jess I was kicking a ball as soon as I could walk. I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t kicking a ball in the garden. I also had an older brother to contend with, so that’s always a challenge when you have someone older to prove yourself against as to who was the better footballer.”

“I started playing among the boys at primary school and many a game of two on one against my brother and my Dad in the garden. That quite often ended with an angry Grace! I got a lot out of it though, I definitely learned to lose a lot!”

“I first played for a local team called Red Rose. Whilst I was there, a few Dads who had come along to watch asked my Dad if I had tried out for Norwich City. He said that I hadn’t and they said I should because I was a good player. I tried out at Norwich City when I was eleven and I got in and I played for their Football in the Community (FITC) team. I guess it’s sort of like a girl’s academy side. I was there until I was sixteen.”

“At this stage you move on to women’s football. I played a couple of games for the first team but it didn’t really fit with how I wanted my life to go, so I decided to move in order to enjoy football rather than pursue football. I based that on my last year with the under-16s where we had an excellent coach, Darren Moss, and I had my best season. I was at the age when I thought ‘If I don’t get picked for England, then football is not for me’. I didn’t get picked for England, so I thought I needed to go on and find somewhere to enjoy the game.”

“I then looked around for local teams and went to Hethersett for a few years, which I absolutely loved. I’ve still got friends there and we played in the same league that Wroxham are now in. I then went to university in Sheffield and played for Rotherham United for a couple of years when I was up there.”

“Northern leagues are definitely a lot harder than our leagues! It was definitely a different style of football – a lot rougher and much better quality, so it certainly kept me on my toes.”

Above: Wroxham vice-captain Grace Birchall in action for the club against Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly. Photo: Colin Lock

“After university I came back to Norfolk and had a bit of time away from football because I wasn’t coming back to a team and I didn’t know if I wanted to. I knew Bex (Burton, Wroxham head coach) through Norwich City before I first came to Acle United. At that point she was also a player as well as coach. I knew quite a few of the Acle girls and I thought that it was the place where I would start to enjoy football again. So, I joined and every year it has got better.”

“The transition with the club going from being Acle United to going to Wroxham has been excellent. The standard that we’ve now set ourselves is so much higher.”

Turning to Harriet Meers, Impetus last touched base with the defender who we sponsor in February. She updated us with what she has been up to since that last conversation:

“In some ways it’s been handy to have a bit of time out from football as I’ve had so much uni work. I’ve used the time though to increase the distances I’ve been running and then last week training finally came back and I feel kind of battered, to be honest! I had uni football training last Tuesday and Wroxham training last Wednesday. We just played games and stuff, but already my legs are all bruised up. I couldn’t walk down the stairs on Thursday morning. I did a half marathon and felt absolutely fine the next day, but I can’t do an hour of football, which is great!”

With Wroxham now back in training it has brought to an end a very difficult period of keeping in touch with each other online. From Jess’ perspective as club captain, that also had additional responsibilities from a pastoral perspective.

“It was hard because we have a big squad and you want to make sure everyone is OK. We tried to keep a discussion going in the main group and people were putting in the runs they were doing and fitness work, but others don’t necessarily like to praise themselves by showing what they had done, so we got a Wroxham Women Strava group going (a fitness social network) which meant we could see what everyone was doing.”

Above: Harriet Meers, who Impetus are proud to sponsor. Photo: Rebecca Burton.

“We did lots of Zoom calls and quizzes in the January period which was nice, but they fizzled out because it went on for so long as we had them in the first lockdown and people began to get sick of them again. It’s nice to be back now though and actually see people’s faces in real life!”

With Grace at university completing a second degree, it has enabled some aspects of her life to continue to something approaching normal to some extent:

“I was on placement through January and February working from nine until five, but I’ve really missed my hobbies! I didn’t have that normal release in the evenings and weekends that we all had before. Trying to stay active has been the main thing for me. The Zoom calls were good. Jess mentioned the quizzes and I think it was good that it wasn’t just the coaches that organised them, it was actually some of the players sorting them out and running them. That made it fun. Having said that, it still didn’t compare to the first night back at training last Wednesday and seeing everyone face to face properly again and having a proper giggle.”

We then reflected how the experiences of the last twelve months had changed the players both as people and as footballers.

“I definitely appreciate things a lot more,” said Jess, “These periods we’ve had of lockdown have been the longest spells I’ve had without playing football since I was three years-old. I think I almost took having team-mates and a football family around me for granted. You don’t actually realise what a difference it makes seeing them every week.”

“Getting back to football last week really showed me how good it is for your mental health,” identified Harriet. “You think you’re fine doing all the running and solo fitness stuff, but when you’re back and involved with all the laughter and stuff, it was brilliant. It’s just so de-stressing. We didn’t really do much in terms of fitness and actual football, but the fact it was there from a social and psychological perspective was really good.”

Above: Grace Birchall heading for goal. Photo: Wroxham Women FC.

“For me, it’s helped to me to appreciate what I’ve got and what we’ve got at Wroxham,” said Grace. “Coming back in to training could have seemed a scary thing as we haven’t been socialising in large groups. Yet we came back and it was as if we’d been training the whole time. Everyone just felt back into having a good time with each other – taking the piss out of each other and smashing the tackles in, Jess shoving me off the ball for example!”

Jess outlined what that first training session was like in terms of content: “It was more of a ‘let’s get everyone back together, it’s been rubbish for however long, let’s have some fun’. It was all about getting us to remember how much fun football is.”

“You know, there’s running fitness and there’s football fitness. Right now it’s the football fitness we need to concentrate on like changing direction and having Jess shove you in the back!” added Grace.

The club now return to action this Sunday. The Eastern Region Football League have put together a Champions League style competition with clubs divided into groups. Each side will play each other once with the top placed teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals.

“We have a group stage with Cambridge City Development, who we’ll play at home, Dunstable and Haringey Borough who we will both play away,” explained Jess, “Additionally, we will come into the Norfolk County Cup in early May at the Quarter-Final stage.”

With Harriet having signed for Wroxham just days before the December lockdown and now finally able to aim for selection for the squad for the first time, I wondered what her personal goals were between now and the end of May.

Above: Jess Horn in action for Wroxham. Photo: Edward Payne.

“The step up to Level Five football is a big one for me. I haven’t played Regional level football. I’m fairly confident off the ball but I want to work on my confidence on the ball, because I don’t want to be in a panic!”

“I want to learn about the other players and how they play around me, additionally.”

With Wroxham being linked to Bure Valley Youth FC as part of their player pathway development, the youngsters at that club have been speaking to Impetus about the importance of female role models and how the Wroxham Women fulfil this for them. Jess spoke about the importance of this.

“It’s been really hard because of Covid we’ve not been able to go down and see them or help them with training. They haven’t been able to come to our games this season as well. We love knowing they are there for us and we’re there for them and it will be great to be able to get that going again.”

Grace added: “Having a pathway and female role-models is just so important. When I was younger, my favourite player was Michael Owen as he was small, fast and could score goals and I wanted to identify with that.”

“I did have female players that I looked up to as well. My main one was Rachel Yankey. She came and played for England at Carrow Road, I think it was against Iceland (in March 2006). She was a winger and I was a winger at the time. I really liked watching her play and watching how she played. I was lucky enough to get her shirt after the game, so that really excelled my interest in looking up the women’s game and thinking that these were the players that were paving the way for us and that is important at any level.”

Above: Harriet Meers – hoping to make her Wroxham debut now that football is back! Photo: Rebecca Burton.

“Rachel Yankey was playing at the elite level and, obviously we’re not that at Wroxham, but we’re still paving a way for those girls at Bure Valley and that’s so important to know that there is somewhere to go for them to play.”

Harriet was also very clear about the importance of female footballing role models. “Unlike Jess and Grace, I didn’t have anyone around me in football and I didn’t start playing until I was fourteen or fifteen. If there were women footballers around me I would have become more aware a lot earlier. I got made to do ballet and stuff like that which definitely wasn’t for me!”

“I started coaching eighteen months to five year-old children before I even started playing, so even me kicking a football round with them, so the odd few girls that turned up to these groups and the boys would look up I think and make it less scary for them. It’s really important to have female role models in there as well.”

“It’s all well and good having a male coach with you, but when you have an actual female player coming along you can see where you can end up. I would definitely be a better player than I am now if I had started earlier.”

Harriet’s point about male coaches then sparked an exchange about why there were still far more males coaching in women’s football than women.

“I guess it’s probably because of a lack of promotion of women coaches when they themselves were younger,” suggested Jess, “In years to come, because there has been more promotion for it and people like us coming into the game, you will get more females coaching.”

Above: Leading the way – Wroxham captain Jess Horn. Photo: Wroxham Women FC.

“You’ve now got more females going into being pundits, like Alex Scott, for example,” Jess continued, “You are starting to see people moving into areas which were totally male dominated in sport and there is a lot of praise for her, which is really good for promoting women in football.”

“There’s also more schemes in place for women in football now,” Harriet highlighted, “At uni I did my Level One coaching in the first year and it was subsidised. Every year there are more subsidies for females to start coaching badges which means they might pay less than a guy would to do which is a great way to get them involved, even if it is just at the grassroots level.”

With Wroxham and previously, Acle United consistently challenging for promotion into the FA Women’s National League, I wondered what the players felt the team needed to do to ensure that Level Four status could finally be achieved and then maintained.

“Every year that I’ve been involved at the club, things have got better and better,” said Grace. “The recruitment that Bex and Richard Giles (team secretary) do gets better. As our profile rises further, more female footballers recognise our name and that brings more interest from higher level players, which is what we will need for promotion.”

“You can’t discredit the coaching that we get. I think we have the best coach in the League and I think Bex would be one of the best coaches in the League above (FA Women’s National League Division One London & South-East).”

“It’s all about finding that nice combination of bringing in the right players. It’s not about bringing in the best players, it’s bringing in the right players. You need to fit in with the team and be a team player, so finding that combination of training and improving plus bringing in talent to challenge.”

Above: Grace Birchall. Photo: Wroxham Women FC

“Nobody should feel like their spot in the team is a given. They should feel like they have to take their spot every week. That’s the type of squad we need. Everyone has to be challenged. Once we have that, then we’ll really start to see where we can go.”

For Jess, the important thing to highlight was standards. “There is a big gap between our League and the National League immediately above us. We also need to think about bringing more fans in, for example and having those ticket payments because, at the end of the day, that is what funds the club. Having people buying a pint and some chips to watch us play and see Grace score however many goals…”

“The way we are going,” Jess continued, “We are getting interest from players because they are seeing how happy everyone is at the club, how much a family feel there is and how together we all are.”

“I came to the club at the start of Lockdown One in March 2020 and I was just doing the Zoom calls, I’d never seen anyone face to face until June which was when we were finally allowed to train non-contact and I felt like I’d been at the club for years. Everyone was so lovely and so welcoming. I’d never been in a team with such a nice bunch of girls. There were no groups, no secret jokes that other people didn’t get.”

“There’s never an awkward moment, it’s like a family, pretty much. You have to have that to progress to the next League because you cannot have a team of individuals – it doesn’t work.”

Harriet agreed: “I can vouch for that. When Bex first messaged me about coming along to the club, I was so nervous. I had never really trialled anywhere else. Going along, everyone was coming up to speak to me and then they messaged me after the session – it just felt so welcoming. Even if I get nervous before a session now, as soon as I get there it just goes because everyone is so friendly.”

Above: Harriet Meers. Photo: Rebecca Burton.

We closed our discussion with the players making some aims for the next part of their careers.

“Ha! I’ll be so old in five years’ time!” laughed Grace. “I’d like us to get promoted because that’s what we’ve been pushing for the last however many years. I’d want to win a County Cup Final because that’s been a bit of a thorn in our side. We’ve lost finals and semi-finals and there’s been a lot of heartbreak involved in that. Being in the Final which has been held at Norwich City FC’s Carrow Road and bringing our modest fan base there with their big drums, singing their songs would be absolutely epic to make it and lift the trophy at Carrow Road.”

Jess sees some changes ahead in her career: “I want to go to uni to study to become a paramedic. That will take up quite a lot of my time. Obviously I still want to keep playing, but it will be interesting to see how I manage it. But, I want for us to get promoted and win trophies plus the awesome socials that we can have.”

Harriet emphasised the enjoyment aspect “Trophies are always a bonus! I just want to continue to enjoy the sport. That’s the most important thing for me. I don’t want to get to the stage where I am more stressed about football than enjoying it.”

Artwork: Graphics by PW

W-League Grand Final Preview: The Referee

**Above:** Rebecca Durcau – refereeing her third W-League Grand Final this Sunday. **Photo:** @WLeague

The best players want to play in the biggest games – and referees are no different. Which is why Rebecca Durcau is buzzing to have been appointed to referee in Sunday’s Westfield W-League 2021 Grand Final, when Sydney FC host Melbourne Victory at Netstrata Jubilee Oval.

It’s the third time Durcau has received the honour, recognition for her excellent season refereeing eight games in the Westfield W-League 2020/21 Season, and comes a year after she was appointed to the Westfield W-League 2020 Grand Final behind closed doors as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Durcau revealed she was called last Sunday by Strebre Delovski, director of refereeing for the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), to be told she would be in charge of the season’s showpiece event.

“It’s a really nice bonus after what’s been a choppy season because of all the issues associated with playing during COVID,” Durcau said.

“But though it sounds like a cliché, it’s just another game in terms of preparation – it’s the same effort to get everything right.

“You know the atmosphere will be there, and that passion levels will be higher because it’s a final, but at the end of it you want all the focus to have been on the game and hopefully no one’s talking about what we did.”

Joining Durcau will be Assistant Referees Laura Moya & Lauren Hargrave, Additional Assistant Referees Lara Lee & Isabella Blaess with Sarah Ho as the Fourth Official.

Durcau also officiated in the Westfield W-League 2018 Grand Final, and APL Commissioner Greg O’Rourke said her selection once again was fully deserved.

“We want the referee who’s most on top of their game to be in charge for such an important event, and you can see that Rebecca is in exactly that space,” said O’Rourke.

“Her third appointment to a grand final is testament to her professionalism and dedication, and I’m sure she will do her best to help produce a great game of football.”

WESTFIELD W-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL MATCH DETAILS

2009 – Queensland Roar 2 (Harch 6’, Butt 26’) Canberra United 0

Venue: Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane. Referee:Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,554.

Queensland Roar: Casey Dumont, Kate McShea, Karla Reuter, Clare Polkinghorne, Brooke Spence, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Ruth Blackburn 85’), Tameka Butt, Lauren Colthorpe, Courtney Beutel (Tashina Roma 84’), Ellen Beaumont (Stephanie Latham 75’).

Canberra United: Lydia Williams, Rhian Davies (Nicole Begg 80’), Amy Chapman (Ashleigh Sykes 46’), Caitlin Munoz, Sasha McDonnell, Ellie Brush, Grace Gill, Hayley Crawford, Cian Maciejewski, Kara Mowbray, Thea Slatyer.

**Above:** Queensland Roar celebrate Lana Harch’s goal in the first ever W-League Grand Final. **Photo:** Zimbio

2010 – Sydney FC 3 (O’Neill 66’, Walsh 73’, Rydahl 78’) Brisbane Roar 2 (Harch 14’, Butt 92’)

Venue: Shark Park, Sydney. Referee:Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 1,439.

Sydney FC: Nikola Deiter (gk), Teigen Allen, Servet Uzunlar, Heather Garriock, Julie Rydahl, Sarah Walsh (Brittany Whitfield 89’), Kylie Ledbrook, Cathrine Paaske (Michelle Carney 90’), Kyah Simon, Linda O’Neill, Leena Khamis (Catherine Cannuli 84’).

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont (gk), Kate McShea, Karla Reuter, Clare Polkinghorne, Joanne Burgess, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Courtney Beutel 72’) (Steph Latham 83’), Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Lauren Colthorpe, Ellen Beaumont.

2011 – Sydney FC 1 (Ledbrook 34′) Brisbane Roar FC 2 (Butt 10′, De Vanna 66′)

Venue: Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 1,872.

Sydney FC: Dimi Poulos, Teresa Polias, Danielle Brogan, Servet Uzunlar, Renee Rollason (Catherine Cannuli 76’), Caitlin Foord, Kylie Ledbrook (Linda O’Neill 90’), Lydia Vandenbergh, Teigen Allen (Nicola Bolger 68’), Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis.

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont), Clare Polkinghorne, Brooke Spence, Joanne Burgess (Karla Reuter 84’), Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Lana Harch (Lisa De Vanna 42’), Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Amy Chapman (Kennya Cordner 67’), Lauren Colthorpe.

2012 – Canberra United 3 (Heyman 10′ 55′, Sykes 17′) Brisbane Roar FC 2 (Gielnik 21′, Butt 63’pen)

Venue: McKellar Park, Canberra. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:2,512.

Canberra United: Lydia Williams, Caitlin Cooper, Ellie Brush, Hayley Raso (Emma Kete 69’), Grace Gill (Caitlin Munoz 76’), Michelle Heyman, Nicole Begg (Sykes), Ashleigh Sykes, Sally Shipard, Taryn Hemmings, Jennifer Bisset.

Brisbane Roar FC: Casey Dumont, Laura Alleway (Olga Cebrian-Garcia 84’), Clare Polkinghorne (Ellen Beaumont 71’), Brooke Spence, Joanne Burgess (Emily Gielnik 21’), Kim Carroll, Catherine Cannuli, Lana Harch, Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Vedrana Popovic.

**Above:** Canberra United lift the 2021 W-League title. **Photo:** Zimbio

2013 – Melbourne Victory 1 (Larsson 41’) Sydney FC 3 (Bolger 25’, Kerr 48’, Simon 86’pen)

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,181.

Melbourne Victory: Brianna Davey, Danielle Johnson, Maika Ruyter-Hooley (sent-off 85′), Rebekah Stott, Laura Spiranovic, Petra Larsson, Stephanie Catley, Jessica McDonald (Jessica Humble 73’), Enza Barilla, Amy Jackson, Gulcan Koca.

Sydney FC: Sham Khamis, Teresa Polias, Elizabeth Ralston, Samantha Kerr, Nicola Bolger (Larissa Crummer 80’), Caitlin Foord, Renee Rollason, Annalie Longo (Brittany Whitfield 90’+3), Chloe Logarzo (Natalie Tobin 86’), Alanna Kennedy, Kyah Simon.

2014 – Melbourne Victory 2 (De Vanna 38’, Barnes 41’) Brisbane Roar FC 0

Venue: Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne. Referee: Casey Reibelt. Attendance: 2,504.

Melbourne Victory: Brianna Davey, Jessica Humble, Katie Hoyle (Emily Hulbert 77’), Stephanie Catley, Jessica Fishlock, Lisa De Vanna, Jessica Samuelsson, Emma Checker, Beattie Goad (Enza Barilla 92’), Gulcan Koca (Ella Mastrantonio 68’), Lauren Barnes.

Brisbane Roar FC: Nadine Angerer, Laura Alleway, Brooke Spence, Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Katrina Gorry, Vedrana Popovic (Sunny Franco 83’), Tameka Butt, Hayley Raso, Emily Gielnik (Larissa Crummer 58’), Ayesha Norrie (Joanne Burgess 46’).

2015 – Perth Glory 1 (McCallum 63’) Canberra United 3 (Ochs 20’, Sykes 75’ 78’)

Venue: nib Stadium, Perth. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:2,671.

Perth Glory: Mackenzie Arnold, Sarah Carroll (Carys Hawkins 62’), Bronwyn Studman, Shannon May, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Foord, Kate Gill, Elisa D’Ovidio (Gabrielle Marzano 73’), Collette McCallum, Shelina Zadorsky, Marianna Tabain.

Canberra United: Chantel Jones, Catherine Brown, Caitlin Munoz, Ellie Brush, Grace Maher (Julia De Angelis 53’), Michelle Heyman, Sally Rojahn, Nicole Begg, Ashleigh Sykes, Lori Lindsey (Grace Gill 91’), Stephanie Ochs.

**Above:** Canberra United after their 2015 Grand Final win in Perth. **Photo:** W-League

2016 – Melbourne City FC 4 (Beattie 32’, Little 54’, Goad 80’, De Vanna 95’) Sydney FC 1 (Simon 69’pen)

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,206.

Melbourne City FC: Brianna Davey, Jen Beattie, Laura Alleway, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley, Kim Little, Larissa Crummer (Marianna Tabain 67′), Jess Fishlock (Alexandra Chidiac 89′), Lisa De Vanna, Rebekah Stott, Beattie Goad (Amy Jackson 86′).

Sydney FC: Michelle Betos, Liz Ralston, Jasmyne Spencer, Teresa Polias, Nicola Bolger (Olivia Price 83′), Princess Ibini (Sunny Franco 63′), Natalie Tobin (Renee Rollason 74′), Alanna Kennedy, Teigen Allen, Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis.

2017 – Perth Glory 0 Melbourne City FC 2 (Fishlock 45+1′, Yanez 72′)

Venue: nib Stadium, Perth. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance: 4,591.

Perth Glory: Gabrielle Dal Busco, Sarah Carroll (Patricia Charalambous 75′), Kim Carroll, Alyssa Mautz, Nicole Sutton, Rosie Sutton, Vanessa Di Bernardo, Jaymee Gibbons (Shawn Billam 54′), Natasha Rigby, Sam Kerr(c), Arianna Romero

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Lauren Barnes, Teigen Allen, Laura Brock, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley (c), Jess Fishlock, Erika Tymrak (Melina Ayres 94′), Rebekah Stott, Marianna Tabain (Amy Jackson 68′), Beverly Yanez (Tyla Jay Vlajnic 87′)

2018 – Sydney FC 0 Melbourne City FC 2 (Fishlock 35′, Taylor 75′)

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Rebecca Durcau. Attendance: 6,025.

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Caitlin Cooper, Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Elizabeth Ralston, Emily Sonnett, Kylie Ledbrook (Rachael Soutar 75′), Teresa Polias, Chloe Logarzo, Lisa De Vanna, Leena Khamis (Remy Siemsen 66′), Princess Ibini (Julia Vignes 84′)

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Yukari Kinga, Steph Catley (c), Rebekah Stott, Lauren Barnes, Jessica Fishlock, Aivi Luik, Kyah Simon (Rhali Dobson 62′), Jodie Taylor (Tyla-Jay Vlajnic 90+2′), Ashley Hatch (Amy Jackson 84′)

**Above:** Melbourne City lift the trophy in 2018. **Photo:** Onceametro.

2019 – Sydney FC 4 (Huerta 6′, McCaskill 41′, 61′, Logarzo 70′) Perth Glory 2 (Kerr 23’pen, Mautz 68′)

Venue: Jubilee Stadium, Sydney. Referee: Kate Jacewicz. Attendance:6,127

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Sofia Huerta, Ally Green, Alanna Kennedy, Elizabeth Ralston, Danielle Colaprico, Teresa Polias, Chloe Logarzo (Amy Harrison 82′), Savannah McCaskill (Angelique Hristodoulou 90+2′), Caitlin Foord, Princess Ibini (Lisa De Vanna 75′)

Perth Glory: Eliza Campbell, Natasha Rigby, Jamie-Lee Gale, Katie Naughton, Kim Carroll, Shannon May (Caitlin Doeglas 67′), Alyssa Mautz, Nikki Stanton, Sam Kerr, Leticia McKenna (Alexia Moreno 75′), Rachel Hill

2020 – Melbourne City FC 1 (Steph Catley 15′) Sydney FC 0

Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne. Referee: Rebecca Durcau. Attendance: (match played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions)

Melbourne City FC: Lydia Williams, Lauren Barnes, Emma Checker, Rebekah Stott, Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Aivi Luik, Yukari Kinga (Milica Mijatovic 67′), Emily van Egmond, Claire Emslie, Kyah Simon (Ally Watt 85′).

Sydney FC: Aubrey Bledsoe, Ally Green, Lindsay Agnew, Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Brush, Teresa Polias, Natalie Tobin (Amy Sayer 73′), Taylor Ray (Mackenzie Hawkesby 85′), Remy Siemsen (Princess Ibini 63′), Sofia Huerta, Veronica Latsko.

Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.

Paige Walder: Graphics and Goal Assists

Whilst Paige Walder may be known to regular readers of Impetus for all of the high quality graphics and artwork she provides the site with via Graphics by PW, you might not know that she is also a footballer and recently joined Saltdean United of the London & SE Regional Premier (tier five). She spoke to Ben Gilby about her career and goals with the Sussex side.

**Above:** Paige Walder unveiled as a Saltdean United player. **Artwork:** Graphics by PW.

It was Paige’s graphics business that we started talking about. Graphics by PW has provided artwork for Chelsea and England star Fran Kirby for a while and the business has really taken off now as she explains: “Graphics by PW has been going great thank you, working for Fran has brought in other high profile clients like Sam Kerr, Maren Mjelde and a GB athlete named Lauren Jones. With high-profile clients comes high-pressure, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it and hope to continue to grow.”

Apart from her graphic designing work, Paige has just announced a return to playing football. I wondered how that came about. “Well, for the last two years I’ve followed my partner as she plays professionally across Europe. When the pandemic first hit we left Italy and have been in England ever since. I’ve missed playing so much over the last few years and feel like now is the perfect time to dust my boots off and see if I’ve still got it.”

**Above:** Paige in action for Sussex. **Photo via:** Paige Walder.

The club that Paige is joining are one who are hugely successful. “Saltdean United are a great club with big ambitions. The manager, Joe McTiffen actually coached me back in my teenage years. He’s asked me every year since he started the team to go and play for him and he’s finally got his way, persistence is key, haha. On a serious note, since starting in 2015 they have been promoted time after time and show no signs in stopping anytime soon and I’d love to be a part of that success.”

Paige has a strong history in the women’s game in Sussex, as she explained to me. “I started football at 12 years old but only began to take it seriously when I turned 16 and was scouted by Brighton and Hove Albion. After four seasons there and I stayed down south and joined Lewes whilst playing for the Sussex county team also.”

Since joining Saltdean United, due to the pandemic, Paige has only just been able to physically meet up with her team-mates.

**Above:** Paige (right) in action for Lewes against Portsmouth. **Photo via:** Paige Walder.

“We’d been doing zoom HIIT sessions every week and had our first training session back on 29th March… I’m was 99% sure that our first session was going to include some sort of fitness testing which I was really excited about!”

We closed our chat by looking at what Paige’s immediate and longer term aims for her return to the sport: “A personal aim for me will be to get on the assist sheet as much as possible as a central midfielder. With regards to the team I would love to help them gain promotion up to the third tier of English football and with the squad we have I’ve got a great feeling that big things are going to happen for this club.”

One thing is for sure, Impetus will be following Paige’s progress closely…and readers will no doubt see more of her amazing artwork on our site in the very near future!

W-League Grand Final Preview: Sydney FC

In the second of our three part preview of this weekend’s W-League Grand Final, Kris Goman looks in depth at Sydney FC.

**Above:** Natalie Tobin, who has been in top form for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney came into the finals series as Premiers after leading the table for the bulk of the season. With losses only to Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar, who were both knocked out of the finals, and a single nil all draw to Canberra United, they are in a strong position to take the championship this weekend.

Despite being a young team, the core of the team have played together for a couple of years now and the new players for this season have gelled well and quickly.

Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, Sydney have lost two key players in Ellie Brush and Cortnee Vine to season ending injuries.

The loss of Vine in particular has been felt. Responsible for four goals, three assists and twenty chances created, she was a penetrating force on the left for Sydney and fed a lot of balls to Remy Siemsen.

**Above:** Princess Ibini (right) – part of Sydney FC’s solid attack. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

There’s still plenty of solid attack though in Princess Ibini, Remy Siemsen, Allira Toby and Rachel Lowe. Saying that, other than Ibini’s penalty, the forwards haven’t scored any goals in the last four matches.

Siemsen has been stranded up field a lot and is often caught offside. Recent matches have seen her facing the wrong way a lot and passing back more than going forward. Yet when she gets the ball in the right space, she is deadly.

Ibini has upped her work-rate lately and is dropping back into defence a lot more, tackling more, intercepting more, shooting more. And when she shoots, she’s shooting missiles. On target missiles usually.

**Above:** Remy Siemsen (right) in action for Sydney FC at Perth Glory earlier in the season. **Photo:** Tom McCarthy.

But the overriding factor for Sydney is their defence. They have the lowest number of goals conceded this season and there’s not a weak link at the back. While Ellie Brush is a huge loss, she has been more than ably replaced by Natasha Prior, who has just returned to the league after a serious concussion injury in 2019.

**Above:** Ally Green – an impressive performer for Sydney FC this season. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Combined with Natalie Tobin, Charlotte Mclean, Ally Green and Angelique Hristodoulou, who are all in top form, it’s a pretty formidable team at the back capable of bringing it forward as well as keeping it out. And that’s certainly going to be required to keep the likes of De Vanna, Ayres and Cooney-Cross under control.

And that’s not mentioning Jada Mathyssen-Whyman, who has been a rock at the back, coming equal first for clean sheets and having the least goals conceded by a margin of five goals. Along with a few saves of the round, she’s had an outstanding season.

**Above:** Jada Mathyssen-Whyman has had an impressive season in goal for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney’s last two games before the Finals were against Melbourne Victory and Canberra United and only Kyra Cooney-Cross was able to broach the defence with a spectacular rocket in the dying minutes of that game against Victory. Both teams had more possession than Sydney and, to be honest, looked the better teams but simply couldn’t get through the defence to score.

To win the championship, Sydney need to defeat both these teams again. Canberra are now taken care of so it’s just Melbourne Victory left to overcome. They seem to have their measure in defence but will need to step up in attack.

**Above:** Teresa Polias (jumping) – who will be aiming to celebrate once more on Sunday after the Grand Final **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Midfield will be key, as it always is. With Teresa Polias leading the charge here, ably supported by Clare Wheeler, Mackenzie Hawkesby and Taylor Ray, they need to ensure the forwards get good balls and they get them in spaces they can shoot from. Or alternately, do what they did last weekend and let the midfield, and even backs, shoot. The Hawkesby, Wheeler and Green goals last weekend were all glorious. They played exciting football and took the chances that were offered. The final being a home match for Sydney should give them a slight advantage although it’s likely a few fans will make the journey from Victoria to offer some support to Melbourne Victory.

No doubt Ante Juric will have been fine-tuning the attack to address the lack of recent goals from the forwards. We’ll soon see if Sydney can take the long awaited double and lift the championship trophy for a record equalling fourth time.

STILL TO COME: We feature Grand Final referee Rebecca Durcau.

W-League Grand Final Preview: Melbourne Victory

Over the next few days we will be looking ahead to this weekend’s W-League Grand Final. Today Kieran Yap looks in depth at Melbourne Victory.

**Above:** Lisa De Vanna – hoping to be celebrating with her Melbourne Victory team mates on Sunday. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Melbourne Victory fans would have been justified entering 2021 with cautious optimism. The lineup that began the first game of the current season looked very different from the one that was beaten by Sydney FC in the Semi-Final of 2020 but despite losing some very big names the club under the leadership of Jeff Hopkins has taken that next step and made the big game. With only 90 minutes remaining between hope and glory, lets take a look back at what made the season what it was.

New Faces:

A big part of what carried Melbourne Victory to second on the table last season was the defensive pairing of Laura Brock and Jenna McCormick. Any attackers good enough to get past the two Matildas at Centre Back then were faced with the challenge of Casey Dumont. The shot stopper had a stellar campaign and was recognized by supporters as the Victory Vikings Player Of The Season, all three of these stars needed to be replaced for 2021. Brock and McCormick departed for Europe and Dumont was cruelled by injury before the league began. Filling their shoes was a tall order and Victory has achieved it excellently.

The current defensive partnership of Claudia Bunge and Kayla Morrison has formed a ruthlessly miserly unit and the recruitment of Argentina International Gabby Garton has been a masterstroke. The new look Victory defence took a few games to click but since round five they went on to concede just five more goals for the rest of the season.

**Above:** Catherine Zimmerman in action in the Melbourne derby earlier on in the season. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Up the other end American attacker Catherine Zimmerman has gone from a virtual unknown at W-League level to being a vital part of the Victory attack, she has been a mobile, skilful player who floats between either flank and is deadly close to goal as her finish in the Semi Final and decider in a 1-0 win against Adelaide show.

Prodigal Stars

**Above:** The ever-reliable Angie Beard. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

Three of the biggest signing announcements for Melbourne in the pre-season were the returns of Angie Beard, Kyra Cooney-Cross and the legendary Lisa De Vanna.

Victory fans still pining the loss of goal machine Natasha Dowie were instantly given hope when the first images of De Vanna appeared on social media. What she has done in her long career is well known, but after a year in Italy with Fiorentina, it had been a little while since Aussie fans had seen what she can do. She sent the fans and the competition a strong reminder with a brilliant solo goal against Melbourne City in which she dummied over the ball and ran half the field to score and was ominously dominant in the semi-final last weekend.

Fullback and captain Angie Beard has been one of Melbourne’s most consistent performers for this campaign. She has been essential to that strong defense and offered a consistent threat going forward. Her ability to surge past defenders and whip in crosses has been a reliable and dangerous part of Victory’s attacking plan and helps pin back opposition wide players.

**Above:** Kyra Cooney-Cross (second left) – a sensational season from the 19 year-old. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

The return to the club of Kyra Cooney-Cross was a great signing, after enjoying a breakout season in 2020 with Western Sydney Wanderers, the young attacker came home and took on more responsibility in the midfield. Playing behind the front three and supported by Amy Jackson and Annalie Longo in midfield, Cooney-Cross has been given the license to create and has the skills to make the most of it. She has the passing range of Emily Van Egmond and De Vanna-like close control, the number seven in navy blue is a potential match winner.

How they got there

Victory’s season is best typified by a strong defense and an unpredictable attack, the long term signing of Melina Ayres was justified with the forward enjoying her best season to date in the W-League and the side was able to keep six clean sheets for the season on the way to a third place finish. They won three times by scoring only once and have developed a good balance between attack and defence. The 6-0 loss to Brisbane was not so much a warning sign as it was a wakeup call and they went undefeated until the final round where they met Grand Final opponents Sydney FC

Why they can win

**Above:** Melina Ayres has been in rich goal scoring form in recent weeks for Melbourne Victory. **Photo:** @VictoryWLeague

It’s tempting to just start rattling off names to justify why Victory can win, they have players with pace such as Polly Doran, (a revelation at right back) they have players who can belt in a long range screamer like Barbieri or Cooney-Cross and they have the current in form center forward in Melina Ayres, hot off a semi final hatrick. Victory stumbled when it mattered against Sydney in the Premiership decider two weeks ago but it was only one of three losses for the season. The two goals conceded were from preventable set pieces and Cooney-Cross’ late consolation screamer was a reminder that goals can come from anywhere in this squad.

The players are in form, in sync and in the best position in years to claim a Grand Final win.

STILL TO COME: Between now and the Grand Final on Sunday, we’ll have an in-depth look at Victory’s opponents Sydney FC by Kris Goman and a feature on Grand Final referee Rebecca Durcau.

Irish Women’s National League Week Two

Ciarán Duffy of Post to Post Sport rounds-up all the goings on in Week Two of the Irish Women’s National League, with Shelbourne heading the early season table and Limerick’s Treaty United involved in another goal fest.

Saoirse Strikes Sends Shels Top

**Above:** Emily Wheelan and Jess Ziu celebrate for Shelbourne against Cork City. **Photo:** @Shelsfc

Shelbourne kept their 100% record intact and gained their second clean sheet as they moved top of the Women’s National League. Saoirse Noonan scored twice against her old club at Turners Cross as Noel Kings men secured a comfortable win.

It took just three minutes for Shels to take the lead as Emily Whelan found the net after taking the ball off a defender and shooting home. Just moments earlier, she had a thunder bolt shot cleared away. Shels continued to put Cork under pressure, having most of the possession. They made that tell again at the fifteen minute mark when Noonan scored against her old club. Cork were able to hold out Shels for the rest of the half. The Munster side created a few chances in the second half, but were unable to find the net. They did however limit Shels to a handful of chances. Noonan struck again late on to seal the win for Shelbourne. In two weeks time Shels face Peamount in a game that sees the top two from the past two seasons go head to head. Cork City 0-3 Shelbourne.

Galway Best Bohs To Climb To Second

**Above:** Rachel Kearns – scorer of four goals in two games for Galway. **Photo:** FAI

Despite a good Bohs performance Galway claimed their first win of the season.

Rachel Kearns scored her fourth goal in two games as Galway took control with half hour gone. Kate Slevin scored five minutes later to send Galway into the break in a strong position. Linsey McKey made it 3-0 at the hour mark with a composed finish, shooting into the bottom corner to put her side in firm control. Chloe Darby got one back for Bohs with 20 minutes to go to give them a glimmer of hope. The Gypsies had chances late on to reduce the deficit but couldn’t take them. Chloe Singleton was dismissed for receiving a second yellow late on. Galway 3-1 Bohemians

Resilient Waves Earn Point Against Wexford

**Above:** Celebration time for DLR Waves against Wexford Youths. **Photo:** @DLRWaves

A tactically mature performance saw a young DLR Waves side frustrate Wexford Youths and earn a point at the UCD Bowl.

DLR started the game with high intensity and pressed Wexford into mistakes. Carla McManus took advantage of a defensive lapse and won the ball deep in the Youths have and firing into the bottom left corner. Waves disrupted Youths from there making it difficult for them to create much. Wexford had a few chances either side of halftime, but DLR defender Jess Gleeson was outstanding in defence with Eve Badana, who has been called up to the Ireland squad to train, solid in goal. Wexford eventually made their pressure tell, teenage sensation Ellen Molloy found captain Kylie Murphy who scored with one touch. From there Wexford had the better of the chances but Waves had opportunities to grab what would have been a deserved winner. In the end a draw was probably a fair result with both sides showing quality. DLR Waves 1-1 Wexford Youths

Athlone And Treaty Share Spoils In Hectic Thriller

**Above:** Treaty United’s Rebecca Horgan. **Photo:** finalwhistle.ie

A frantic game saw game saw both Athlone and Treaty secure their first point of the season.

Both sides scored early with Nerney netting for the midlands side before Rebecca Horgan equalized four minutes later. The other Horgan sister put the Limerick side ahead as Aoife scored just three minutes later. There’d be a penalty to cap off a mad 10-minute spell with Donohue converting to put Athlone back on level terms. Rebecca Horgan got her second with nine minutes left in the half to ensure Treaty went in ahead. The second half just had the one goal as Keogh equalized for Athlone. Treaty would find themselves down to ten women for the last twenty minutes as Slattery was shown a second yellow. There have been fifteen goals in Treaty United’s first two games of the season. Athlone Town 3-3 Treaty United

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	GF	GD	Pts
1	Shelbourne	2	2	5	+5	6
2	Galway	2	1	6	+2	4
3	Bohemians	2	1	7	+2	3
4	Peamount United	1	1	1	+1	3
5	DLR Waves	1	0	1	0	1
6	Wexford Youths	2	0	1	-1	1
7	Athlone Town	2	0	3	-2	1
8	Cork City	2	0	3	-3	1
9	Treaty United	2	0	5	-4	1

This coming weekend is an international break.

The following weekend the Women’s National League returns.

Next Fixtures

Saturday 17^th April

Bohemians v Cork City (14:00)

DLR Waves v Galway (18:00)

Peamount United v Shelbourne (18:00)

Sunday 18^th April

Treaty United v Wexford Youths (14:00)

Post to Post Sport’s domestic football podcast comes out every Thursday covering Women’s National League as well as the League of Ireland. You can get the podcast on most platforms by searching Post to Post Sport or by going to PostToPost.Sport.Blog and clicking latest episodes.

The Offside Trust: Making Sport Safer For Children

Ben Gilby touched base with The Offside Trust‘s Alan Arber to find out more about the organisation who are supporting survivors of child sexual abuse in sport and are doing everything possible to ensure that sport is safer for the young.

In November 2016, British football was rocked by a series of high-profile revelations regarding child sexual abuse. Several former professional players bravely waived their right to anonymity to speak out about their past abuse.

A number of those involved decided to set up The Offside Trust, an organisation committed to supporting survivors and working to make sport safer for children.

Former professional footballer Steve Walters, who played for clubs including Crewe Alexandra and Northwich Victoria is director of The Offside Trust.

The organisation works with and supports fellow survivors. In addition to Steve, the Offside Trust family includes other ambassadors such as Gary Cliffe (former Manchester City youth player), Dion Raitt (former Peterborough United youth player), Alan Arber (former Norwich City Reserves player), Callum Hancock (Professional boxer) and the late Billy Seymour, who played for Coventry City and Millwall.

The organisation aims to end abuse in sport, so kids can be kids and to support the healing journey for survivors of abuse.

The Offside Trust already has the support of clubs, players and former professionals throughout the sporting world and focus on all sports. The organisation works alongside governing bodies, charities and organisations that deal with safeguarding.

**Above:** The Offside Trust’s stand at one of their Awareness Days. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

Over the past five years, The Offside Trust has supported and spoken confidentially to over a hundred survivors of abuse, many of whom never disclosed their abuse to anyone previously. Additionally, they have striven to ensure that safeguarding is at the top of the agenda of every sport both nationally and internationally.

Their work has identified inadequacies that exist on numerous levels and are working with relevant organisations to build suitable solutions. Crucially, the organisation has listened to; believed and supported each and every victim and survivor who has contacted them. Pre-Covid, the Trust had been able to organise various support events for survivors, including Offside Trust weekends hosted by Crystal Palace, Everton, Portsmouth, Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers men’s clubs.

In the coming months, The Offside Trust are focusing on directly engaging with and educating young people and parents as key stakeholders in the safeguarding process as well as working alongside internet and technology bodies to campaign around grooming and internet safety. Allied to this, the organisation is working to develop support resources for family, loved ones and supporters of survivors.

One of the ambassadors for The Offside Trust is Alan Arber who uses his role to raise awareness in East Anglia. Alan talked to us about his experiences and the outstanding work he is doing for the organisation.

“One of the big issues I had regarding my abuse was the total lack of support I could access from day one. Myself and my wonderful volunteer Barry Howard developed a strategy to ensure that everyone who needed support in East Anglia knew where to find it and had people to talk to on the bad days – something which I never had until now.”

“We started out by sending a tweet to all the local clubs in the Norfolk area asking if they would like to support our work and allow us to get the word out via the medium of non-league football.”

“I was contacted by Mulbarton Wanderers FC and met the chairman Duane James who agreed that they would support our work. Every Mulbarton team from under sevens through to men’s, ladies and veterans would wear The Offside Trust logo on their shirts and the club put up a sponsored board.”

**Above:** Alan Arber pictured at Mulbarton Wanderers FC who are supporting The Offside Trust. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

“This created quite a stir and many teams got in touch regarding working with us and many meetings ensued. We introduced the idea of Awareness Days where we would visit clubs to allow people to talk to us face to face and discuss any issues they had.”

“Our first Awareness Day was at Great Yarmouth Town FC and it was an excellent success. We spoke to many people about our work and most importantly one person came forward with abuse issues who we were able to direct to the right support and advice. A bucket collection also raised £100 for the Trust.”

“From this first Awareness Day, we were contacted by many clubs and leagues to ask how they could come on board and one such club was Shrublands FC, a club in Gorleston. I went to meet Andy Hannah the general manager of the club and he invited Shaun Platten to the meeting who was chairman of the Norfolk Suffolk Youth League. So successful was this meeting we were invited to their next meeting and I spoke for the first time publicly about my abuse and what we were doing to raise awareness and offer support to the league.”

“From this small start we really started to pick up pace and phone calls never seemed to stop regarding clubs and leagues wanting to come on board. Darrell Hibbert of East Point Sports has been wonderful in helping us get the correct merchandise which we sell on the Awareness Days to raise funds for our work. We sell mugs, beanie hats, corner flag sets, medical kits, water bottles and our popular Captain’s Respect armbands which has recorded sales of over a hundred. Our aim is for the armbands to be worn worldwide.”

**Above:** The Offside Trust’s Captain’s Respect armbands. Photo via: Alan Arber.

So, from little acorns grew a wonderful and sometimes taxing and stressful array of meetings and awareness days meaning the Trust name was well and truly out there in Norfolk.”

“With a growing number of their clubs on board, I was invited to speak to the Norfolk Sunday League. This was a league I played in for many years so to stand in front of people I knew for over thirty years and detail what had happened to me was somewhat harrowing and caused quite a stir with some members of the committee who knew me personally and had no idea. They asked me to do the League Cup draw at the meeting and we are now working on ideas to get the word out to all Sunday League clubs.”

Our next challenge was to get the largest youth league, the Combined Youth Football League, who have over seven thousand young players on board. I met chairman Darren Iles and within five days they announced that we were their official partner and we are working with them now to look at their safeguarding policies and seeing if we can help them get them even tighter moving forward.”

“In December 2019, we received an approach from Suffolk FA requesting a meeting in early January 2020 to look at working with them moving forward. I met James Morley and from this meeting plans were put in place to work together attending events and cup finals where we could display our Offside Trust stand.”

“The final event that we attended before the coronavirus put life on hold, was a conference held by Norfolk FA at the University of East Anglia which involved various safeguarding officers from across the region, including many local safeguarding officers from clubs in Norfolk and Suffolk.”

“I was asked to close the event with a thirty minute presentation and was given a standing ovation which was truly moving. We were invited to attend the Norfolk Senior Cup Final at Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City FC and to receive an award for our work.”

“The Norfolk FA have named us as their community partners and we will work with them on safeguarding literature. Norwich City FC have donated signed merchandise to us as well, which was fantastic.”

**Above:** The Norfolk FA have named The Offside Trust as an official community partner. **Photo via:** Alan Arber.

“One of the most wonderful occasions since getting involved was a fundraising match played against a team from the Channel Four television programme Hollyoaks. This came about after they included a storyline about abuse in sport. The match was played at Chester FC’s Deva Stadium in front of a thousand people. It was the first time that all the survivors had been on the pitch at the same time. Former players such as Trevor Sinclair, Dele Adebola, Lee Trundle, Rhodri Giggs – Ryan’s brother – and current Tranmere Rovers Women player Chelcee Grimes all gave up their time to play and support the event.”

“It is important to emphasise the success of our Awareness Days. Since January 2019, we have held twenty when we’ve turned up with our stand. At eighteen of those events, people have approached us for help. We are not qualified to support people ourselves, but we are able to signpost people to the correct places for help, whether it be ChildLine, Barnardo’s, Mind or Calm.”

It’s desperately sad that organisations such as The Offside Trust are needed, but the work they are doing and the awareness they are spreading is nothing short of outstanding.

If you, or anyone you know could have experienced any of the issues mentioned in this article, among the groups you could contact are:

The Samaritans: 116 123 (24 hours).

NSPCC Football Hotline: 0800 023 2642.

NAPAC (Supporting Recovery From Child Abuse): 0808 801 0331.

The Calm Zone: 0800 585 858.

Male Survivor UK: 0808 800 5005

Childline: 0800 1111.

Survivors@Mcr (Twitter).

@1in6UK (Twitter).

The View From France

Jean-Pierre Thiesset rounds up all the actions from the sixteenth and seventeenth weeks of action in D1 Arkema, French women’s football’s top flight.

Round Sixteen:

The match between Issy and Paris FC was been cancelled due to Covid19.

Reims won 2-1 at home against Le Havre. Goals from Sonia Ouchène (33) and Melissa Herrera (74) for Reims; Goal from Ashley Clark (41) for Le Havre.

Bordeaux won away from home 2-1 at Fleury. Goals from Inès Jaurena (12) and Ghoutia Karchouni (19) for Bordeaux; Fleury replied with a penalty from Dominika Grabowska.

Soyaux and Guingamp were not able to score and finished 0-0 at Soyaux.

Paris St Germain won away from home against Montpellier 3-0 with goals from Nadia Nadim (24) and Irene Paredes (60 and 65).

Olympique Lyonnais won away from home against Dijon 3-0. The goals from Saki Kumagai (24), Catarina Macario (55) and Melvine Malard (79). Notably, there was a first goal in D1 Arkema for Macario.

In the battle between Paris SG and Lyon for D1 Arkema title, both won 3-0 away from home and Paris SG is still one point ahead of Lyon.

Round Seventeen:

**Above:** Melissa Herrera – two goals for Reims. **Photo:** Linea de Gol.

Paris FC v Fleury and Guingamp v Olympique Lyonnais were cancelled due to Covid19 cases at Paris FC and Lyon.

Bordeaux consolidated its third place in the table by winning 1-0 at home against Issy. Goal from Katja Snoeijs (12).

Dijon continued to secure its place in the middle of the table by winning 2-0 away from home against Le Havre who are last in the table. Goals for Dijon came from Sh’Nia Gordon (18) and Solène Barbance (20).

Reims won away from home against Montpellier 4-0. Goals for Reims from Melissa Herrera (4 and 30), Kessya Busy (63) and Sonia Ouchène (67). Montpellier continue to lose despite a squad of good players and have definitively lost any chance to achieve a Champions League spot by finishing third in the table.

Paris St Germain won at home against Soyaux 7-0. Goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto (10, 61 and 74), Paulina Dudek (40), Formiga (45+1), Grace Geroyo (63) and Kadidiatou Diani (66). It was an impressive game by Paris SG who never gave Soyaux a chance to score. Marie-Antoinette Katoto with her three goals is now in first place in the D1 Arkema scoring charts.

The D1 ARKEMA table now looks like this:

Ruthless Sydney See Off Green Machine

Sydney FC 3-0 Canberra United

Report by Ben Gilby with EXCLUSIVE photos from Kogarah by Kris Goman.

**Above:** Sydney FC celebrate Mackenzie Hawkesby’s opening goal. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Premier Plate winners Sydney FC took their place in the W-League Grand Final against Melbourne Victory after a 3-0 win over Canberra United at Kogarah in front of a good crowd in the Semi-Final earlier today.

With Sydney naming an unchanged starting eleven from their final regular season game against the Victory in midweek all of the pre-game headlines surrounded Canberra United.

The W-League’s all-time leading goal scorer Michelle Heyman was ruled out completely for Canberra United due to a quad injury. She was replaced in the starting line-up by Demi Koulizakis whose only previous W-League goal came seven years ago for Western Sydney Wanderers.

**Above:** Canberra United fans represented in the good crowd at Kogarah. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Despite this, it was Canberra who started on the front foot. With just twenty-seven seconds played, their Kiwi star Paige Satchell escaped down the left and played a dangerous ball in towards Nikki Flannery who couldn’t quite connect and Sydney were let off.

In these opening ten minutes Canberra were profiting from being allowed more time on the ball by their hosts. Conversely, when the Sky Blues were in possession, there was always at least one Lime Green shirt snapping at the heels of their Sydney opponent. The other consequence of this was that Canberra were totally dominating possession.

With twelve minutes gone, Sydney fashioned their first dangerous opportunity. A delightful long ball from Teresa Polias found Rachel Lowe who was one on one with visiting keeper Keeley Richards, but the Canberra custodian came out bravely to gather possession.

**Above:** Canberra United goalkeeper saves bravely at the feet of Sydney FC’s Rachel Lowe. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Sydney earned their first corner shortly afterwards when sixteen year-old defender Jessika Nash put the ball out. Polias’ flag kick was cleared. Lowe then played a clever ball through which Laura Keir did well to prevent falling into Princess Ibini’s path. It did though roll the way of Remy Siemsen who blazed over the bar.

Sydney were finally exerting some consistent pressure and on the quarter of an hour mark they showed the vital importance of turning pressure into goals – something which Canberra failed to do in the early exchanges.

Clare Wheeler was found on the left and played a beautiful ball in to Mackenzie Hawkesby at the back post. Her first time volley flew across Richards and into the net.

After twenty minutes, 21 year-old Bianca Galic released Satchell on the left. Sydney defender Natalie Tobin just couldn’t catch her, but equally, none of Canberra team mates could match Satchell’s pace to get up to support either, consequently the Football Ferns star’s effort was saved by Jada Mathyssen-Whyman.

The side from the national capital were responding well to going behind with Galic playing a particularly prominent role in this period. Nikki Flannery’s run in behind the Sky Blues’ defence saw United awarded a corner.

**Above:** Paige Satchell, whose pace was one of the bright spots for Canberra United in the semi-final. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

Canberra were earning back to back corners and throw-ins in the danger zone but could not capitalise.

Instead, it was Sydney who threatened once more. Natalie Tobin got clear along the left and found Siemson who in turn played in Ibini. The Sydney striker got away from Nash and knocked in a low ball towards Rachel Lowe who would have had a tap in if Canberra had not managed to scramble the danger away.

With ten minutes of the half remaining Sydney had another great chance. Siemsen played in Tobin who came up from the back and found herself on the left hand side of the box. She fired in an effort that Richards got down well to save.

**Above:** Natalie Tobin (right) who got in a fierce effort for Sydney FC. **Photo:** Kris Goman,

Seven minutes before the break, Canberra created their best chance so far. Emma Ilijoski released Maher on the left. Polias looked to have cleared the danger and passed to Natasha Prior who clearly wasn’t expecting the ball to come her way and played a panicked ball back towards Mathyssen-Whyman which Flannery intercepted and hit an effort which the Sydney keeper had to deal with at the cost of a corner.

With seconds left of the first half, Canberra keeper Keeley Richards caused a heart-stopping moment for her team when she came out of her box to clear but the ball bounced off of her chest and into the path of Siemsen who couldn’t profit.

The visitors had the bulk of possession in the first half, but could not find the final passes and quality finishing to convert this into goals on the scoreboard. Canberra finished the half having played twice the number of passes that Sydney did and had over two thirds of the possession – yet it was the hosts who were leading 1-0.

Sydney began to get on top as the second half opened. Clare Wheeler got past several defenders in to the box before edging wide and pulling a ball across towards Siemsen who was not able to get a shot away as Kendall Fletcher collided with her own goalkeeper Keeley Richards who needed a prolonged period of medical attention to ensure that she was in a fit state to carry on.

On the hour mark, Satchell released Koulizakis who returned the favour to the New Zealander, but her shot was immediately swallowed up by a group of Sydney defenders and another Canberra opportunity was gone.

Again, Sydney emphasised the importance of taking chances when they come your way shortly afterwards. Nash lost possession and Sydney’s Teresa Polias fed Ibini who played a pass out to Charlotte Mclean. Her ball in found Wheeler who turned and hit a low volley goal wards. The ball deflected off of Lauren Keir and into the net to double the Harbour City side’s lead.

With just under twenty minutes left, the outcome was decided in magnificent style. Sydney gained possession just inside the Canberra half. Ally Green was in space and surged towards goal and unleashed a thunderbolt from almost thirty yards that flew into the top left hand corner.

**Above:** Sydney FC celebrate Ally Green’s thunderbolt which sealed their 3-0 win. **Photo:** Kris Goman.

The remainder of the game rather petered out as Sydney didn’t want to over-exert themselves in order to preserve energy for next weekend. Canberra did fashion one further opportunity with five minutes to go when Laura Hughes got in and fired an effort which referee Isabella Blaess ruled that Jada Mathyssen-Whyman got a hand to and pointed for a corner. The danger was cleared and Sydney were home and hosed.

Sydney’s win sees them make a fourth successive W-League Grand Final and their eighth in total. They have a chance to make amends for last season’s defeat in the decider when they face a #BigBlue showdown against Melbourne Victory at home next Sunday.

Mackenzie Hawkesby, who scored the opening goal said: “It was a good goal. I saw the ball coming and thought I’d make a run and it fell to me. I got a good touch on it, so I was happy with that. We defended really well and did a good job on the counter attack.”

**Above:** Mackenzie Hawkesby, whose opening goal set Sydney on their way. Photo: Kris Goman.

Canberra United have had an excellent season and played some wonderful football at times. They may be left wondering what might have happened if Michelle Heyman, who scored almost half of their goal tally in the regular season had been fit to play. Yet, Sydney finished top of the table for a reason and they have proved that they are capable of taking chances when they come – a sign of a champion team.

Teams: SYDNEY FC: Mathyssen-Whyman, Mclean, Tobin, Prior, Green, Polias, Hawkesby, Wheeler, Lowe, Siemsen, Ibini. Substitutes: Campbell (GK), Toby, Hristodoulou, Ray, Rule.

Scorers: Hawkesby 15, Wheeler 64, Green 73.

CANBERRA UNITED: Richards, Keir, Nash, Fletcher, Ilijoski, Galic, Maher, Hughes, Flannery, Koulizakis, Satchell. Substitutes: Jones (GK), Goldstein, Taylor-Young, Rasschaert, Grove.

Referee: Isabella Blaess.

Attendance: 2,044.

Bell’s Bullet Sends Boro Into Round Three

Middlesbrough 3-1 Hull City

By Graham Falk

**Above:** Millie Bell celebrates her stunning strike to give Middlesbrough the lead yesterday. **Photo:** @BoroWomen

A 35-yard Millie Bell strike capped off a superb return to action for Middlesbrough Women as they beat Hull City 3-1 in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Second Round.

An early strike from Katie Thompson (20) was cancelled out by Faye Dale (39), Millie Bell (81) and Eve Marshall (88) as the Teesiders ran out clear winners.

Going into the game, Middlesbrough manager Steph Fairless handed Katrena Morrison her first senior start and also selected Emily Marsh, Faye Dale and Savanna Robson in the starting line-up.

In a typically cagey start, Katie Thompson’s over hit free kick almost looped into the Boro top corner, before the Hull winger made no mistake only a minute later, tapping home after Rosie Todd had saved her first effort.

Hull almost went further ahead on 34 when Emily Smith seized on a slack pass, but she fired over from 10 yards out.

It was Faye Dale who would punish Hull moments later as she latched on Katie Wilson’s superb through ball and rounded ‘keeper Abi Wallace to net her first senior goal for the club.

**Above:** Faye Dale, scorer of Middlesbrough’s opening goal. **Photo:** @BoroWomen

If the first half was an even affair, then the second half belonged to Boro. Wing-back Millie Bell going close twice from long range, including a free kick which pinged off the base of the post. It was third time lucky for Bell, however, as she blasted home a 35-yard rocket nine minutes from time to fire Boro into the lead, minutes after a Tigress counter attack saw the pacey Smith hit the outside of the post.

Super sub Eve Marshall would seal it at the death, feeding off Rebecca Olley’s pin point ball to cut inside and fire beyond Wallace in the City net. The win extends Middlesbrough’s season for at least another week, as the team welcome Wem Town to Bedford Terrace in round three next week.

Teams: MIDDLESBROUGH: Todd, Wilson, Marsh, Morrison, Robson, Cassidy, Bell, McQuade, Dixon, Dale, Olley. Substitutes: Newton, Marshall, Hebb, Maxwell, Boyle.

Scorers: Dale 39, Bell 81, Marshall 88.

HULL CITY: Wallace, Pedersen, Jackman, Symington, Pegrum, Tanser, Martin, Bott, Thompson, Smith, Acroyd. Substitutes: Cooke, Oxley, Brannigan, Walby, Westmorland, Padget.

Scorer: Thompson 20.