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 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.
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
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).
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.
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 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’sOlivia 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 13th 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.
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)
Impetus is proud to have entered into an official partnership with Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division side WroxhamWomen. The partnership includes sponsorship of new signing Harriet Meers and monthly behind the scenes features on the club.
To help launch the partnership, Ben Gilby spoke to Wroxham Women’s manager Rebecca Burton and club media officer, Darrell Allen.
Above: Wroxham Women have had lots to celebrate in recent times. Photo: Edward Payne.
Despite Wroxham Women being a relatively new name on the circuit – the club only came into being in 2019 – their roots go back a lot further, as manager Rebecca Burton identifies, with the club previously known as Acle United: “The journey began at Acle United, really as a bunch of friends playing football recreationally. Due to playing history, the team attracted more players from the same circle and improved in quality over the course of a few seasons – eventually becoming very competitive in the county of Norfolk. Acle won the Norfolk Women’s Cup, county and regional promotions & The Eastern Region Women’s Football League Cup; and having started to attract players from higher teams and different areas of the region, came extremely close to promotion to the FA Women’s National League on more than one occasion.”
“We were lucky to have our fabulous volunteers such as Richard and Bob behind us during our time at Acle and despite the entire squad and staff changing over the years, these two are still here and with us at Wroxham to date. In short, we knew we needed to be part of a higher level club, with the facilities and backing to enable us to push on – we were always punching above our weight as a village team and by moving across to Wroxham we aligned ourselves with a regional and historically successful club that would give us the springboard to progress.”
With Wroxham remaining as one of the Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division’s top sides, I asked both Darrell and Rebecca for their opinion on the league.
“It is a fantastic division and is even more competitive than ever before in 2020/2021, with a golden prize at the end of it of playing FA Women’s National League Football, said Darrell.
“We consider ourselves to be one of the best teams in the league but we know better than anyone that it is still a division where anybody can beat anybody on their day. It is the hardest division in women’s football to get out but we will do everything in our power to do so as quickly as we can.”
Rebecca agreed: “Darrell’s right in that it’s a really competitive league, which is great – but it’s so difficult to get out of… I know from experience! And one thing I’d like to see is more opportunity for teams to push on, maybe via end of season play offs with parallel leagues or something which would give teams something to play for right to the end of the campaign. I’d personally say the league doesn’t get enough credit for the standard of the teams and some of the players playing in it – many who ‘drop down’ suddenly realise that the only difference in some teams in this league compared to the league above is backing and consistency.”
Above: Rebecca Burton – Wroxham Women’s manager. Photo: Edward Payne.
Wroxham clearly have ambitions to rise into the FA Women’s National League and stay there in the not too distant future. The club manager explained: “It’s not just our aim, it’s the club’s ambition for its Senior Women’s Team to be playing National League football sooner rather than later. As I said above, backing and consistency is key and realistically the basic foundation – you need a club that values progression of the women’s game, facilities, and a pull to recruit talent. It’s not a coincidence that some of the competitive names in our league, as well as most of the league above, are linked to at least National League clubs. Then you need the commitment on and off the pitch from the players and staff too.
In terms of the coronavirus pandemic and how it has impacted on the club, it was a period of frustration for the Norfolk side: “Like any club the first lockdown was a massive blow and it was shame we were not able to complete the 2019/20 season,” said Darrell, “but we started our preparations for 2020/2021 early with players doing individual training from early June and squad sessions began as soon as permitted in late July. Rebecca Burton made some wonderful signings to give us the best opportunity to go for promotion this season, and I know she’s on a recruitment drive once again. We are certainly very excited about what lies ahead in 2021.”
Both Rebecca and Darrell agree that last year’s Women’s World Cup produced benefits which were felt in Norfolk too: “One of the biggest benefits of the World Cup is the impact it’s having on the next generation,” Rebecca said.
“Our female youth set up, Bure Valley Wildcats YFC has grown exponentially over the past 18 months, and we really hope that our partnership with them, announced earlier this season, will help to inspire more young girls to take up football. And when it comes to financial support, I can only assume the momentum of the World Cup is still there, as we’ve done well sponsorship wise despite a pandemic hitting over the off season. It’s brilliant that businesses continue to support us and we’re really grateful for their generosity. We always need support though, so if you’d like to sponsor something or someone please get in touch!”
Darrell identified that “the Women’s World Cup has increased the profile of the club in the local media certainly, BBC Radio Norfolk gave us some great coverage last season following the World Cup and this only helps us with regards to exposure. It helps our crowds to the point we are pushing 100 for most home games this season and the interest in women’s football in the county has certainly gone up greatly since the World Cup. It was only a positive for all local clubs not just ourselves.”
Above: A battle for possession in Wroxham’s recent game at Royston Town. Photo: Edward Payne.
Apart from coronavirus, Rebecca highlights finances as the biggest challenge that the club face at present: “Like with most clubs, finances are always a challenge, the costs incurred especially on away games are large, and it takes us several thousand pounds a season to operate. This was harder in the past, having to hire facilities and not having the presence in the county when it came to gaining sponsorship – however we’re really fortunate to have great backing at Wroxham and a fantastic home ground with a growing fan base. We’ve worked tirelessly to be in a position to offer free football to all of our players, along with providing kit, merchandise and other perks. I’m a big believer in having a strong basis and setting the right standard in order to attract the level of players needed to compete.”
One of the biggest strengths at Wroxham is the relationship between the club’s men’s and women’s sides. “From my point of view, it’s something that I think is quite special and we’re fortunate to have something that a lot of female teams at our level could only wish for, said Rebecca.
“It’s not just about men’s and women’s at Wroxham, we have a club philosophy on and off the pitch, a playing DNA that runs through to the junior teams, a coach education programme accessible across all age groups and levels, a growing regional development phase competing in the Eastern Junior Alliance (EJA), an U18’s team producing the next generation of first teamers, a new female pathway, and central hub in Trafford Park that has such a genuine atmosphere of unity and home. The buzz about the club is real, and it’s contagious, and it truly is brilliant to be a part of.”
Darrell is equally ebullient about the relationship between Wroxham’s men’s and women’s teams: “It is outstanding, both clubs get on superbly well, Wroxham’s volunteers are the best in the county and they spend the whole week making Trafford Park look superb and still give up their Sunday afternoon to watch the women’s team.”
“The fans come to watch both men’s and women’s games and the backing we get is truly special, the club go out of their way to promote us on social media also and we try as best we can to return the same coverage. It is a great partnership that will only grow stronger and that’s thanks to having great people like Rebecca Burton, Lee Robson, Rachel and Louise Cole and Adrian Gowling who really want the best for both clubs.”
The development route for players at Wroxham Women is not only strong, but it is very clear for girls to potentially be part of the system from the age of five all the way through to the first team, as Rebecca explains:
“We have a partnership with Bure Valley YFC who have girls’ teams from Wildcats (5-11’s) up to the age of U15, and it’s a great system for girls to come through. The club has grown massively over the past eighteen months and it’s still on the lookout for players, so there’s ample opportunity for girls in the area to get involved.
Above: Wroxham on the ball away to Royston Town recently. Photo: Edward Payne
“We recognise the need for youth development and home-grown players coming through, so it’s great to be able to work with one of the fastest growing and most forward thinking girls’ set ups in the county. The partnership aims to provide a fun and inclusive environment for girls to enjoy football, as well as a pathway for development and progression. Next season we hope to increase the amount of youth teams further, as well as launch a Wroxham Women’s Development Squad, which will enable a smoother transition from youth to adult and grassroots to regional football.”
All of the outstanding work being done at Wroxham is down to a band of volunteers and the club feel exceptionally fortunate indeed to have the team that they have working behind the scenes.
“Someone like Richard Giles, our club secretary is a prime example,” Darrell identifies, “This man does everything to make sure the club are compliant with all regulations and guidelines and is a big part of our jigsaw and why we are so good at we do. Without a good support staff team you can’t achieve anything and we are very lucky to have Richard in our camp, he is also an encyclopaedia of knowledge on women’s football. There is nothing he doesn’t know.”
Rebecca Burton also greatly recognises the club’s band of volunteers: “I’d agree with everything Darrell has said, but also add him to that! Since coming in he’s worked tirelessly in supporting our social media presence, has added a new dimension to us as a team and is brilliant at reminding me when I’ve forgotten things! I’d also like to shout out to Rachel and Louise who are just fabulous, and are absolute legends at Wroxham Football Club. They provide the best post-match food in the league including our Christmas dinner the weekend just gone.”
Rebecca identifies “Commitment, passion, support, visibility, and difference makers” as the keys to success at the club. Darrell believes that the togetherness of players and supporters is also a big part of what makes Wroxham who they are: “Success can be down to happy players, a positive vibe and a manager who believes in developing players and getting the best out of them. We certainly have this at Wroxham. The Blue Wave Band are also adding an incredible atmosphere to our games and we are incredibly grateful for their support.”
The club media officer ended our chat by outlining the club’s potential over the next five years: “I believe we can get promoted and stay in the FA Women’s National League and I see absolutely no reason why that won’t be achieved. For the wider women’s game, simply, I believe that the sport will only get stronger over the next five years and you will see greater coverage locally and nationally.”
Ben Gilby focuses in on the new W League season ahead of kick-off on 30th December with a team by team preview and introduces our fantastic team of new contributors who will ensure that Impetus will have the most comprehensive W League coverage of any UK based women’s football website.
The 2020/21 Westfield W League season in Australia will be very different to the last campaign. With the vast majority of the Matildas now playing in Europe, it originally looked like none of the present first choice national team would be playing in the Australian domestic league this time round – but a flurry of late signings has seen a handful of familiar faces and hugely talented players returning to the league.
Last year, we did pretty well with our predictions for the competition with the notable exception being the appearance of Western Sydney Wanderers in the top four. The new season will be harder to predict with so many new and young players in the competition. One thing is sure – it’s going to be a thrilling ride.
Here’s our team by team guide to the new campaign:
ADELAIDE UNITED:
The South Australian side had a frustrating time of it last season with only two wins from their twelve games – however, they developed a reputation as a tough nut to crack, only conceding twenty-four goals.
Above: Chelsie Dawber – a key member of the Adelaide United team. Photo: @DawberChelsie.
This season, they have a new head coach with Adrian Stenta taking over from Ivan Karlovic and nine players renewing their contracts, including 20 year-old striker Chelsie Dawber who was named the Westfield W League Rising Star last season. United have brought in two new goalkeepers, Sian Fryer-McLaren and Annalee Grove. We predict a better time of it for Adelaide this season and would not be surprised if they at least double their win rate for this campaign.
BRISBANE ROAR:
The Queenslanders were disappointed to miss out on the finals (the play-offs for the title among the top four) last season and have assembled a star-studded squad for 2020/21 which is a major signal of intent.
Above: Clare Polkinghorne – back in Brisbane orange. Photo: @brisbaneroar
Matildas stars Emily Gielnik, Tameka Yallop, Katrina Gorry and Clare Polkinghorne are back in orange with another high profile new signing in W League legend Kim Carroll. Another notable arrival is Young Matildas goalkeeper Morgan Aquino who made her competition debut for Perth Glory last season at the age of 18. Among their list of departed players is Indiah-Paige Riley, a W League Young Player of the Year nominee for 2019/20. The hugely talented 18 year-old has moved to Danish side Fortuna Hjorring.
We believe that the Roar are certs for a place in the top four and from there will be serious contenders to win the 2021 Grand Final.
CANBERRA UNITED:
The league’s sole stand-alone club were in with a chance of a top four finish last season for much of 2019/20 before finishing sixth. The Greens have put together a fascinating looking squad for this season.
Above: Michelle Heyman (left)- a big arrival for Canberra United. Photo: @Mheyman
The headline arrival is the return of club legend and sixty-one cap Matildas star Michelle Heyman who is the W League’s second highest all-time scorer behind Sam Kerr. At the age of 32, Heyman still retains a huge desire for the club in what will be her ninth season in the capital city. Since last appearing in Canberra in 2018, Heyman has played for Brondby IF in Denmark and Western New York Flash.
Another notable signing is New Zealand international Paige Satchell. The 22 year-old played in the 2019 World Cup for the Football Ferns and has come in from the German Bundesliga side SC Sand.
On the other side of the ledger, United have lost the experience of Karly Roestbakken who spent four years in the capital. The six cap Matilda is now at LSK Kvinner in Norway.
We expect that Canberra will be within the top six this season.
MELBOURNE CITY:
The reigning champions were decimated in the close season with the vast majority of their Matildas moving to Europe, specifically England. However, a recent run of impressive player announcements, including the headline late arrival of star defender and icon of Australian women’s sport Jenna McCormick who returned home from a spell at Real Betis in Spain.
Above: Jenna McCormick’s arrival at Melbourne City is a big statement. Photo: @jen_mccormick.
The signing of McCormick is, arguably the biggest by any W League side ahead of the kick-off – as the majority of other returning Matildas are in the later stages of their careers. McCormick had spent three years playing elite level Australian Rules Football and soccer at the top level concurrently, winning two AFLW Grand Finals for Adelaide Crows before turning full time to soccer in 2019. She has played 115 games of club soccer and holds four caps for the Matildas.
Just two days ago, City announced the arrival of two further internationals. First, another player with Matildas experience in their mid-20s – Emma Checker. Checker made her international debut in 2012 at the age of 16 and returns Down Under from a spell at FC Fleury in France’s top level. She made her W League debut at the age of 15 for Adelaide United and famously played in an U18s game with men for West Torrens Birkalla against White City in South Australia back in 2013.
Checker was joined in the sky blue half of Melbourne by Japanese international Chinatsu Kira. Kira has scored five goals in 12 appearances for Japan and won the 2014 AFC Asian Women’s Cup with her country, and joins City after ten years at Urawa Reds.
Another important new member of the City roster is defender Tegan Allen. The forty cap Matilda won the W League with Melbourne City in 2017 as well as winning the competition with Sydney FC in 2009 and Melbourne Victory in 2019.
Goalkeeper Teagan Micah who has represented both the Junior Matildas and Young Matildas as well as attending the prestigious UCLA in Los Angeles has also signed.
We expect City to be a permanent presence in the top four this season with a top two finish likely. They may find Brisbane Roar a tough nut to crack though.
MELBOURNE VICTORY:
Jeff Hopkins’ headline signing ahead of the campaign is the return to the W League of Australian women’s football legend Lisa de Vanna.
Above: Lisa De Vanna in action for Melbourne Victory in a previous spell with the club. Photo: @victorywleague.
The Matildas record goal scorer with 47 goals in 150 appearances returns to Victory at the age of 36 having previously won the W League with them in 2014. De Vanna has also won the W League with Brisbane Roar (2011), Melbourne City (2016) and Sydney FC (2019). She played for Fiorentina in Serie A last season.
Other notable arrivals include the 2020 New Zealand Women’s Footballer of the Year, Claudia Bunge and Kyra Cooney-Cross who, at the age of 18 returns to the club after a hugely successful season at Western Sydney Wanderers last time round. Add in Angie Beard’s contract extension and Victory look to have some real talent in their ranks.
We expect to see Melbourne Victory in the top four, but may find it hard to make a grand final this time round.
NEWCASTLE JETS:
The New South Wales side had a tough time of it last season finishing bottom with only two wins.
Above: Gema Simon (right) in action for Newcastle Jets. Photo: @NewcastleJetsFC
Things do not look like improving markedly this time round. The Jets will be pleased to have retained both their talented goalkeepers Claire Coelho and Nicole Simonsen along with defender Gema Simon and forward Tara Andrews.
Overall though, this is a squad who will find it tough and lacking the necessary strength in depth to avoid a bottom two finish.
PERTH GLORY:
The Western Australians, for so long one of the competition’s top teams through the influence of local girl made good Sam Kerr, experienced a transitional season last time round.
Above: Perth Glory’s three Western Australian bred players. Photo: @PerthGloryFC
Many have concerns that the departure of key players including Kim Carroll and head coach Bobby Despotovski, the W League coach of the year in 2017, who led the club for five years and to two Grand Finals, plus a lack of signing announcements meant that Perth would struggle badly this time round. However, a late flurry of arrivals has helped to alleviate those concerns slightly.
Among the young Western Australian developed players that they will be fielding this season are Rebecca Bennett, Gemma Craine and Tijan McKenna. Bennett joins after a fantastic season in goal for Perth SC with Craine winning the 2019 Western Australian Premier Women’s Gold Medal during a great campaign with Fremantle City. Tijan McKenna is a hugely promising 16 year-old midfielder who has played for the Young Matildas already and is the younger sister of former Glory star Leticia McKenna.
As well as these Western Australian developed players, Perth Glory can point to the belated arrival of quartet Sarah Carroll, Patricia Charalambous, Caitlin Doeglas and Jamie-Lee Gale.
Carroll first played for the Glory in 2012 and returns to the club after a year playing Western Australian State League football for the Northern Redbacks. Charalambous can point to two previous years with the club in the bank along with spells at Apollon Limassol in Cyprus and Canberra United, which will stand her and Glory in good stead. Home town girl Doeglas is a late confirmed returner to the club after playing in every game last season, scoring three goals in the process. Gale has also belatedly announced her third successive season with the club.
The arrival of these four players is not going to solve all of the problems though. Perth Glory are suffering badly from coronavirus restrictions. Given the extremely late arrival of the vast majority of their coaching staff and squad, five players and an assistant coach are still in quarantine meaning that new head coach Alex Epakis has still not been able to hold a training session for his whole squad as yet. With just days until the W League kicks off, what was already going to be a difficult transitional season for the Glory has got a whole heap tougher.
Realistically, a successful season for Perth would be to avoid the bottom two.
SYDNEY FC:
One of the most successful sides in the competition, last season’s beaten Grand Finalists Sydney have lost a number of key players to Europe.
On the plus side, they have kept hold of key players such as Ellie Brush, Princess Ibini and Remy Siemsen.
Above: The hugely talented young goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman – newly arrived at Sydney FC. Photo: @SydneyFC
In addition to this, Sydney have raided rivals Western Sydney Wanderers to bring in quality such as Courtney Vine, Rachel Lowe and the outstanding young goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman.
Sydney will more than likely be part of the top four, but could well find it hard to match Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar come the finals.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS:
There’s no doubt that the big achievement of last season was Western Sydney Wanderers’ maiden appearance in the finals. However, the downside of that is the news that a number of the most talented players from their 2019/20 squad have departed – with cross city rivals Sydney FC being the destination for some of the biggest Wanderers success stories.
Above: Caitlin Cooper, who will captain Western Sydney Wanderers this season. Photo: @wswanderers.
Jada Mathyssen-Whyman, Courtney Vine and Rachel Lowe have all moved to the Sky Blue side of the Harbour City with Ella Mastrantonio and Amy Harrison also gone which leaves a large hole in the black and reds’ talent pool.
Wanderers will be buoyed by contract extensions for the likes of defender Courtney Nevin and the arrival of new players such as Sarah Willacy, Teigan Collister and Libby Copus-Brown.
However, it is tough to see the Parramatta based side competing in the finals again this season. Indeed finishing in the top six would probably be a positive outcome. Having said that, we wrote them off last season too – and look what happened!
FIXTURE RE-SCHEDULING:
After the recent outbreak of coronavirus in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney which has impacts on state borders, the W League has pushed back its start date by three days to 30th December and rescheduled some early fixtures.
The season opener will be the new blockbuster double header at Dolphin Stadium where Brisbane Roar will host Melbourne City in both W League and A League (men’s top division) action.
The new outbreak cluster in NSW means that Melbourne Victory are now not able to travel to Sydney for another opening day double header but instead there will be a cross city derby as Western Sydney Wanderers face Sydney FC at the 30,000 capacity Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta on 30th December. This match will take on added spice given Sydney have signed some of the star players that propelled the Wanderers to the finals last season. It will be played as a double header with the men’s A League derby between Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur FC.
For at least the first month of the season, all New South Wales (NSW) based W League clubs (Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets) will continue with their games whilst the six non NSW sides will play against each other.
Impetus’ enhanced coverage of the 2020/21 Westfield W League season kicks off next week when Kieran Yap reports EXCLUSIVELY for us each week on one fixture. Kris Goman will also be providing us with EXCLUSIVE match action images and Ben Gilby will bring us our usual round-up each week’s matches.
Impetus founder Ben Gilby unveils some exciting news…
We are delighted and hugely proud to announce both a player sponsorship and coverage partnership between Impetus and tier five Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division club Wroxham Women.
It is fantastic to be able to reveal that we will be sponsoring the club’s new signing Harriet Meers.
Artwork: Graphics by PW
Harriet is a 20 year-old centre-back who can also play at full-back and has just joined the club on a duel-registration agreement with Suffolk Women’s Championship side Kesgrave Kestrals where as well as playing, she has helped to coach their younger age group teams.
Off the pitch, Harriet is currently studying Biomedicine at the University of East Anglia, where she also plays for the University’s women’s football team.
Harriet’s move to Wroxham, a team who have been regularly pushing for promotion from the ERWFL to the FA Women’s National League for a number of seasons, marks an important milestone to her career as a young footballer. We are thrilled to be following Harriet’s career over the coming months and hopefully years on Impetus. Our first interview with Harriet will appear on the site in the New Year.
Above: We’re delighted to be sponsoring Harriet Meers, Wroxham Women’s newest signing. Photo via: Rebecca Burton.
Harriet Meers – welcome to the ever growing Impetus Women’s Football Site family!
As well as the player sponsorship deal, Impetus is really excited to announce a coverage partnership agreement with Wroxham. This means that we will be featuring regular pieces on both Harriet Meers’ progress and achievements with Wroxham in addition to occasional catch-ups with other members of Wroxham Women. This will start with tomorrow’s exclusive interview with manager Rebecca Burton and media officer Darrell Allen.
Speaking about the partnership, Darrell Allen said: “I am really delighted that Wroxham Women and Impetus have been able to form a partnership that has so much potential. It makes me really proud that I am able to bring together my friend Ben, who founded and runs the ImpetusWomen’s Football website and Wroxham Women where I am proud to volunteer.”
“I am also grateful to Impetus for sponsoring our newest signing Harriet Meers and as Media Officer, it makes me really happy that we can promote Impetus. Additionally, it will also mean that Wroxham Women will get fantastic exposure and coverage through their website.”
“Once again, proof that it’s all about bringing your contacts and knowledge together to create the best for everyone. I am looking forward to seeing the partnership unfold in the next weeks and months ahead. Ahoy!”
Artwork by Graphics by PW.
To discover more about our partnerships with different women’s football clubs and other groups, click here: Partnerships (wordpress.com).
We are delighted to welcome new contributor @DandalBs who, via his social media feed, brings us a weekly update on all the women’s football news, views and transfer speculation in Sweden.
Newly promoted Damallsvenskan (top division) side AIK have strengthened their squad ahead of the 2021 season with the arrival of Hallbera Gísladóttir. The 34 year-old Icelandic international joins on a one year contract. She will be by far AIK’s most experienced player with 117 caps for her country and having won seven Iceland league championships.
Above: Icelandic international Hallbera Gísladóttir – a new arrival at AIK for their 2021 Damallsvenskan season. Photo: Wikipedia.
In another international signing, AIK have brought in 22 year-old Japanese international midfielder Honoka Hayashi from Osaka in Nadeshiko League 1. Hayashi, who played in all the matches when Japan won the U20 World Championship 2018, has signed for two years.
Staying with the Solna based side, the club have handed 18 year-old winger/forward Arsema Weldai a four year senior contract. Weldai comes from the club’s U19 squad and has played for AIK since she was seven years-old. Seventeen year-old attacker Piyatida Somkumpee, also from the club’s illustrious youth ranks has been awarded a senior contract – this time lasting for three years. She made 22 appearances for the first team in their promotion winning campaign from the Elitettan in 2020.
Örebro have signed ex Umeå goalkeeper Tove Enblom on a one year contract. Enblom will be competing with the club’s other keeper Moa Öhman for playing time. The club have also announced the arrival of 25 year-old Icelandic defender Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir on a two year contract. Berglind joins from Icelandic side Fylkir and got her first senior cap for Iceland in March this year.
Above: Tove Enblom, newly arrived at Örebro from Umeå. Photo: @toveenblom.
NEWS IN BRIEF:
Elsewhere, Växjö, who finished the last Damallsvenskan season in sixth place, have signed Sweden U23 defender Emma Pennsäter from Vittsjö on a two year deal.
Piteå, who narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the Damallsvenskan season have awarded stalwart Josefin Johansson a new two year contract. The 32 year-old has been at the club since 2011.
There are rumours linking Nigerian forward Ebere Orji, the Damallsvenskan Player of the Month for July, with a move to Elitettan promotion hopefuls IFK Kalmar after leaving Linköping, who finished fourth in the top tier in 2020.
Malmö FF‘s newly re-established women’s side have announced the signing of midfielder Amanda Kander who has just left Damallsvenskan side Djurgården. Kandar was born just over 12 miles from Malmö, and so the move represents a homecoming. Malmö FF will take part in the second lowest division next season but aim to be in the Damallsvenskan in five years. “I want to take part in an exciting journey”, Kander said.
Above: Amanda Kander has left Djurgården to join the journey back to the Damallsvenskan with her local side Malmö FF. Photo: Djurgården IF.
Australian international Elise Kellond-Knight has extended her contract with Kristianstad for six months, which is likely to bring her up to the Olympic Games. The Matildas star only played two Damallsvenskan matches before she tore her ACL in early July.
Finally, Växjö goalkeeper Katie Fraine, one of the keys to their successful 2020 season, has extended her contract for a further two years.
Leicester City remain a point clear at the top of the FA Women’s Championship after victory over Blackburn Rovers at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium in Bamber Bridge.
The Foxes were dominant for the vast majority of the game, but their head coach Jonathan Morgan will be hugely frustrated that his team gifted their hosts two goals through individual errors. Georgia Walters capitalised on both of these with stunning strikes for Rovers.
After early exchanges that were generally even, Leicester began to pick up the initiative when Remi Allen careered down the right flank before finding Charlotte Devlin. A further pass saw Paige Bailey-Gayle play in a cross which was put behind for a corner. Sophie Barker’s flag kick was high towards the far post and Rovers struggled to deal with it before eventually clearing.
City developed their hugely impressive patient passing game which saw some eye catching triangle patterns made. Just before the twenty minute mark, Leicester’s possession was rewarded with the lead.
Esmee De Graaf found the impressive Natasha Flint and a great one touch build-up resulted in Remi Allen playing it back to Flint who hit a shot with ease past Alex Brooks in the Rovers goal.
Blackburn responded with a couple of chances of their own, notably Emma Doyle’s effort from outside of the box going just over.
However, the score line began to finally reflect Leicester’s dominance as it became 2-0 after twenty-four minutes. Allen’s cross found Flint who turned and played a cross field effort back towards Allen. She crossed again towards Bailey-Gayle and her header deflected off Blackburn defender Kayleigh McDonald and into the net.
Rovers had an opportunity when Natasha Fenton’s free-kick from outside the box was pushed out for a corner by Kirstie Levell. The danger was cleared.
City were comfortable on the ball and maintained possession patiently until finding the right moment to pull the trigger.
As the half edged towards its conclusion, Flint turned Jade Richards and found Bailey-Gayle who in turn played in Allen. Her effort from outside the area was just over. Flint missed another opportunity on the half-time whistle after a great build-up involving Bailey-Gayle and Charlotte Devlin.
Above: Natasha Flint – celebrating one of her two goals – was hugely impressive for Leicester City at Blackburn Rovers today. Photo: @FAWomensChamp.
Leicester remained patient and on top as the second half opened. Rovers were finding it increasingly hard to get out of their half. Indeed the ball was in the net again for Leicester when Charlotte Devlin played in Remi Allen, but the assistant referee raised a flag to deny City their third.
It did not take much longer for third goal of the afternoon to arrive – but it went against the run of play and came out of nothing. Leicester keeper Kirstie Levell received a back pass, but her first touch was too heavy and went straight to Rovers’ Georgia Walters who finished brilliantly from an acute angle to put the hosts well and truly back in the game.
Leicester responded powerfully and Natasha Flint found Paige Bailey-Gayle on the right of the box but her effort came off of the bar.
The visitors just had a further sixty seconds wait to re-establish their two goal advantage when Devlin played a beautiful inch-perfect slide rule pass into the feet of Flint who found the net.
City had several chances to extend their lead further with Devlin sending two efforts narrowly wide and Sophie Barker using sublime skill to play in Bailey-Gayle, who hit the bar for the second time in fifteen minutes.
Rovers punished Leicester for missing these chances with another sensational strike from a visitor’s error. The ball was needlessly given away and Georgia Walters hit a first time effort from close to forty yards which flew into the net.
City controlled the remainder of the game rather professionally to claim the 3-2 win. However, it must be said that Blackburn deserve real credit for their efforts, particularly in the second half. Whilst both of their goals came from Leicester errors, they both went in as the result of outrageous skill from Georgia Walters.
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