Ladies Summer League Winners Celebrated
- coachwafc
- Oct 3
- 7 min read
Last week the Senior Ladies Summer League held their Presentation Night to celebrate the success of the season including winning the Andrea Buggy League Cup Final 2-1 against Workington Town Wildcats in a thrilling final.
The ladies in truth set off the season with the only ambition of playing some summer football in a relaxed manner after many of them had a tough first season as a team playing in the Lancashire Division 1 North League, whilst they were also bedding in new 16yr old players.
However after 3 opening games which resulted in heavy defeats, the players and coaches couldn’t ignore that competitiveness streak inside them and wanted to adjust and refocus as they also begun to feel fresher. This new found focus was evident when they took on Penrith Development team, winning 7-0 which was backed up by wins against Xtreme Ladies, Stanwix, Carlisle United Development and Workington Town Wildcats. However the players and coaches felt the two strongest performances actually occurred in defeat, in two thrilling games. Firstly against long standing competing champions in Crown Newlaithes, where the young side held Crown to 1-1 at half time before narrowly losing 4-2, in one of the games of the season and one which showed the potential of the side.
The second was equally as thrilling against a talented Penrith Pathway team hosting a collection of excellent players from around the county, where the lionesses lost 3-1, but everyone would agree it could’ve easily been a draw as both teams competed with intensity, quality and some outstanding football, really showcasing the quality in the league, and Penrith won the “moments” in the game to be victorious.
The ladies remarkably reached the final of the league cup against a strong Workington Town Wildcats team who finished 3rd, played at a great venue in Windcales FC. The game as expected was a tight affair, with the lionesses going 1-0 up through Hannah Jenn’s, only to be pulled back to 1-1 with a stunner from Keeley Holliday from half way before the lionesses wrestled back control with a wonderful solo goal from Amber Jackson in the dying minutes to secure the win.
The ladies celebrated at our club last week, the season as a whole whilst recognising some outstanding individuals over the season.
Amber scooped the award narrowly beating Hannah Jenn’s to the title by one goal, with both players contributing brilliantly to the seasons teams goal total.
Captain Sydney Bragg took this accolade in a tightly contested catergorgy, with several players really finding new levels over the course of the season. However Sydney not only continued to showcase her aggressive and strong desire to win the ball, a real strength of hers in duels. She also really improved her overall technical level, helping the team build attacks from deep, as well as being more patient against tricky and fast attackers. She also in instances throughout the season took a bigger leadership role within the heart of defence, something relatively new to Sydney but something she excelled in.
A new award was indroduced this season to recognise that defensive work is just as important as attacking work. This award was earmarked for someone with outstanding defensive qualities over the season, showing a real desire to prevent goals going in at the wrong end. Molly Butler was the clear winner for this award, a player who came through the youth a good player, but was often just slightly behind other defenders in her youth team. However since moving to senior football the improvements have been remarkable, not only on her defensive qualities, but her ability to build attacks, with good passing and movement. However her defensive qualities are what won her the award, coming up against an array of the best attacking forces the league could provide, Molly on majority of occasions come out on top in her 1v1 battles, or covering a team mate in what was a stand out season, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet, showing if you show hard work, perseverance and determination you can achieve your full potential.
Amber secured her second award of the night with another brand new award, recognising the most creative and biggest contributor to attacking flare in the team. Amber Jackson could in truth unlock Fort Knox, she is that clever with the ball, seeing pictures on the pitch well before anyone, and not being one dimensional, she fully understands how to get defenders to back off her then bring them close to beat them when become to tight. This was really evident in the Andrea Buggy League Cup Final where she was man marked for large periods and successfully for large parts, but her brain like a AI on a computer, was able to understand the situation and free herself in the middle of the pitch, before driving down on goal and unleashing a shot to hit the top corner of the net to win the cup.
16 year old Darcy picked up the honour of Coaches Player of the Year. Darcy made her debut in arguably the hardest game of the season, away to Crown Newlaithes, and this gave us a real indication of the quality Darcy possessed. She adjusted very quickly, getting rid of nerves and making some outstanding saves. However it was her adjustments in the following games which truly impressed for someone so young. She become calmer on the ball, positionally better and what she is known for, top saves, continued to flourish. Off the pitch Darcy is one of the first to welcome new players, making people feel comfortable, and she’s a coaches dream, supporting them with preparations and finishing up and always looking to support the team overall, a fantastic addition to the club!
An award every player in truth would like, recognition from your peers is one of the biggest achievements you can get in any team sport. Hannah Jenns has become easily one of the most integral parts of everything that is good within the squad. She had a natural ability to bring positive energy to any situation and make people want to follow her, this has truly helped the coaches with their messaging and supported a vastly young side. However as a striker she still has that real drive to deliver on the pitch and always looking for perfection and score to help the team. Her coach recognised her in his award speech by saying she’s “probably the best senior player signing he’s ever made” which says a lot about what she brings on and off the pitch. This sentiment was backed up by her team mates, not only recognising her contribution on the pitch in terms of goals, but her positive nature and how she’s helped them feel less nervous and want to do their best.
Ava took the main award of the evening, winning the Player of Year, recognising everything, from coaches thoughts, opponents comments, and players both as team mates and opponents. Ava’s journey throughout her youth is a real example to any young player that not every path is straight and at times trust in your coach is needed. Ava was always a good player, and in her younger days when competive football started at u12s, played in what would be classed as the development team. Something at the time we sure she felt she could play and compete in the first team. However not once did this player sulk or cause hassle, she listened and become a leader within that team, helping them to success, she then continued to develop and when the teams come together she fought to nail her name on the starting team.
Ava during the Summer League stepped up further, becoming an unstoppable force in midfield, at times it wasn’t like there was two of her but quite possibly 3 or 4, she covers every blade of grass, and shows great tenacity in duels, rarely coming out second. Her biggest moment of the season wasn’t her stunning long range goals but infact came against Stanwix at home, playing against a very strong striker, who she battled well with throughout and some good refereeing allowed the two players to really compete with each other fairly but physically like you used to be able to do. As the game come to the closing minutes, another such duel occurred, with both fighting tooth and nail for the ball for an extensive period, with Ava coming out on top, which seconds later resulted in her needing medical treatment as she had pushed herself within seconds of collapse as used every ounce of energy and needed to just settle and gain composure and oxegen. Would she come off for the final 5 minutes, absolutely not, and she went and got straight back involved, and it was great to see at the end these two opponents show respect to each other for a wonderful battle.
Ava has become one of the most integral players in the set up, but no matter the plaudits she gets, her biggest trait and strength is her humility and how she just wants to help the team and if is recognised it’s a bonus, in over 10yrs at the club she’s a shining example of a player who lives and breathes our value and a real role model at the club.
The senior set up still has some limited places available for both winter and summer so if you are 16 years old, then if you are interested in finding out what we about and joining us contact Manager Rob Campbell on 07423133120.
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