Call for supporters as women play stadium
CLUB captain Kate Mallin says Town Women are hoping for big support when they play their first ever match at the John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday.
It’s a 1pm kick-off for the Women’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Ipswich Town and, with Danny Cowley’s Championship side not in action this weekend, the women are hoping to draw a four-figure attendance.
That would be a massive boost for Town, who went all the way to the quarter-finals last season before losing out to Super League West Ham United, and Mallin – who has racked up 457 appearances and over 150 goals in 15 years as a Town player – says the team are aiming to put on a Sunday-best display.
“It’s really exciting for everyone to be playing at the stadium – no women’s team has ever played there so it’s a massive thing for us,” said the talented 30-year-old, a tennis coach at Huddersfield Lawn Tennis and Squash Club.
“You never know what the weather is going to do and, obviously, people have commitments, but we are hoping to get a crowd of over 1,000 and we are determined to put in a good performance.”
Opponents Ipswich are top of their division, which is one level below that which Town operate at.
“While Ipswich are from one level lower, we find the southern sections are often a lot stronger than the northern ones and they beat a higher-level team in the last round, so we know they will not be a pushover,” explained Mallin.
“They are top of their division, so we know they will be decent, but we have got some video of them and some scouting reports which we will be studying in the build-up.”
While Ipswich are going well, so are Town in the Women’s National League Northern Premier Division (third tier).
“We are still hoping to push for promotion, even though Sunderland are running away with it at the moment, but we are going well,” added Mallin, who netted a hat-trick last time out, in the 12-0 victory at
Doncaster Belles. “We have won our last six matches and scored quite a lot of goals, so hopefully we can keep that going on Sunday.”
■■It’s pay at the gate on Sunday and admission costs £5 for adults (under 16s are free with a paying adult). Concessions cost £3 (under 16s and over 60s) and turnstiles will open at 12.30pm. If scores are level after 90 minutes, the match will go to extratime and then penalties, if necessary.