Town Ladies are on the ball for a bright future
Coach Ashley Vickers leads the Huddersfield Ladies in a warm-up before their match against Middlesbrough. Below, a team huddle before kick-off AT one time women’s football struggled to get a mention in the local press let alone the glamour of national newspapers and on television.
But those dismal years in the doldrums are now a distant memory as its profile has rocketed.
Yesterday the Examiner was invited for a glimpse inside the inner sanctum of Huddersfield Town Ladies Football Club when they took on the might of Middlesbrough Women, who sat proudly on top of the FA Women’s Premier League - Northern Division.
The game was played at the Stafflex Arena at Storthes Hall in Kirkburton.
Other teams in the league include Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Derby County, Bradford City and Guiseley Vixens.
Huddersfield have a very professional set -up and boasts a top coach in Ashley Vickers who is also the Academy coach for Barnsley FC. Visitors to Storthes Hall were also able to enjoy a 16-page programme.
Ashley was anxious to see Town produce a good performance as a win would mean they would leapfrog Middlesbrough from second spot to the top of the table.
He said: “I have been here for four years, including two years as assistant manager. It’s been brilliant. We won the league the first season I was involved with the club and we are going from strength to strength.
“The league we play in at the moment is the third highest-ranked women’s league in the country. This is our seventh match this season. We have won three, drawn one and lost two, which means we are second at the moment and if we win today we go top ahead of Middlesbrough so there’s a lot riding on it.”
It was a tense dressing room ahead of the contest which was watched by around 100 people. And just as in the Premier League, the Huddersfield Ladies were led out by Brighouse Juniors FC Girls U10s and U11s as the Guard of Honour.
Pumped up by loud techno music, Huddersfield’s finest were given a rousing team talk by Ashley who told them to play a David Wagner high pressing game while nononsense assistant coach Sarah Dobby told them: “You are a good team but we can be great. You need that little bit of ruthlessness, you are great players, let’s have that bit of arrogance Middlesbrough have. Let’s do this!”
Then it was time for a group hug and the action began. Huddersfield had plenty of possession in the first half but were lucky not to go a goal down when Middlesbrough had a certain goal palmed onto the crossbar by their excellent goalkeeper, Laura Carter, a youthful 32-year-old.
Sadly, it was not Huddersfield’s day and they ended up losing 1-0.
Paul Fox, a 49-year-old telecomms engineer who was there to support his 10-year-old daughter Poppy who plays for Brighouse Juniors, said: “It’s the first time I have seen them play and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the high standard of play.”
Also there was James Chisem, secretary of Huddersfield Town Supporters Association, who had organised free transport from the town centre to the venue.
He said: “We have recently created a partnership with the Ladies and want to do everything we can to promote women’s football. Our focus is on getting more women and girls playing and watching football.”