Birmingham City Women v Sheffield United Women
Blues News | Birmingham City Women v Sheffield United Women Barclays Women's Championship St. Andrew's Stadium | 21st April 2024
Blues News | Birmingham City Women v Sheffield United Women
Barclays Women's Championship
St. Andrew's Stadium | 21st April 2024
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2023/24<br />
birmingham city women football club<br />
blues news<br />
SUNDAY 21 APRIL | KICK-OFF 2PM | £2
irmingham.<br />
on the rise again.<br />
2 0 2 3 / 2 4 .<br />
available<br />
i n - s t o r e<br />
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2 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
irmingham city women football club<br />
CLUB DIRECTORY<br />
Chairman of the Board:<br />
Thomas Wagner<br />
Board: Thomas Wagner,<br />
Garry Cook, Matthew Alvarez,<br />
Andrew Shannahan, Kyle Kneisly,<br />
Laura Torrado, Wenqing Zhao and<br />
Gannan Zheng<br />
Chief Executive Officer: Garry Cook<br />
Managing Director: Ian Dutton<br />
Chief Financial Officer: Mark Smith<br />
Honorary Vice-President:<br />
Mike Wiseman<br />
Advisory Board Chairman:<br />
Tom Brady<br />
FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT:<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Technical Director:<br />
Hope Powell CBE<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Head Coach:<br />
Amy Merricks<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Assistant Head Coach:<br />
Emily Simpkins<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s General Manager:<br />
Sarah Westwood<br />
Lead Goalkeeping Coach:<br />
Tony Elliott<br />
Head of Recruitment:<br />
Ed Filmer<br />
Physical Performance Coach:<br />
Lewis Gordon<br />
Analyst:<br />
Antonio Magalhaes<br />
Physiotherapists:<br />
Connor Mahon, Lucie Beech-Pickard<br />
Safeguarding Officer:<br />
Paul Dempsey<br />
Club Secretary: Zoe Jones<br />
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
Words: Samuel Ward, Ignition Sport<br />
Photography: Alex Styles,<br />
Joe Williams, Richard Hammersley<br />
Getty Images and Alamy<br />
Printed by Stephens & George<br />
Produced by<br />
Ignition Sports Media<br />
www.ignitionsportsmedia.com<br />
lee.berry@ignitionsportsmedia.com<br />
CONTENTS<br />
4. AMY MERRICKS<br />
5. CHRISTIE HARRISON-MURRAY<br />
6. INTERVIEW:<br />
AMY MERRICKS<br />
9. AROUND THE GROUNDS<br />
10. MATCH REVIEW<br />
Thank you for your support<br />
2023/24<br />
blues news<br />
SUNDAY 21 APRIL | KICK-OFF 2PM | £2<br />
11. MATCH REVIEW<br />
12. ROLL CALL<br />
13. OPPOSITION:<br />
SHEFFIELD UNITED<br />
15. PLAYER SPONSORS<br />
16. SQUADS<br />
COVER STORY<br />
The cover features words<br />
from the Club’s manifesto.<br />
Thank you to all of the<br />
supporters for all of their<br />
support throughout the<br />
2023/24 season.<br />
Keep Right On!<br />
CONTACT<br />
Address: St. Andrew’s Stadium, Cattell Road, <strong>Birmingham</strong> B9 4RL<br />
Telephone: 0121 772 0101 (Ticket Office, option 2 / Commercial, option 3 / Blues Store, option 4)<br />
Website: BCFC.com<br />
Twitter: @BCFC / @BCFC<strong>Women</strong> / @BCFCAcademy / @BCFCTickets / @BCFCEnquiries @BCFCCommunity<br />
Facebook: <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong> FC / <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Women</strong><br />
Instagram: @BCFC / @BCFC<strong>Women</strong> TikTok: @BCFC / @BCFC<strong>Women</strong><br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 3
TOUCHLINE TALK<br />
AMY MERRICKS<br />
Good afternoon, Bluenoses, and welcome<br />
to this afternoon’s Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Championship fixture against <strong>Sheffield</strong> <strong>United</strong>.<br />
I cannot overstate how proud I am to be Head<br />
Coach of the Football Club. <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong> is<br />
steeped in the history of the <strong>Women</strong>’s game and now<br />
is the time to write the next chapter in that story.<br />
You only have to spend a short amount of time at<br />
St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park or The Knighthead<br />
Training and Academy Grounds to see the potential.<br />
The foundations exist and everything is either in<br />
place or being put in place to ensure the Owners’,<br />
Garry Cook and Hope Powell’s ambition becomes a<br />
reality. When an opportunity like this presents itself,<br />
you do not have to think twice about saying yes.<br />
This not only makes it an exciting time for me<br />
but also for the supporters and I want to take this<br />
moment to personally thank them for the warm<br />
welcome I have received since my appointment on<br />
Monday. I am excited for the future and delighted<br />
that you will be coming on this journey with us.<br />
Today’s match comes at a bit of a crossroads,<br />
with it being the team’s final home game of the<br />
campaign and my first one in charge. But I must<br />
make clear, that irrespective of circumstance,<br />
I want to win every time we play. Others may<br />
view these final few weeks of the season as a<br />
bit of a ‘free hit’ or a time to experiment without<br />
consequence, but our performances will determine<br />
how strong a platform we have for next season.<br />
It is certainly not uncommon that you can trace<br />
future successes back to finishing the previous year<br />
strongly and after taking training over recent days,<br />
I have every confidence this can be the case. The<br />
girls have been fully committed to their work and<br />
are showing the levels required. That also applies<br />
to those currently unavailable for selection, their<br />
application to recovering helps to further set the<br />
standards. All the players owe it to themselves<br />
and, as a collective, we owe it to the supporters.<br />
Since joining the second tier, Blues have a 100%<br />
record against <strong>Sheffield</strong> <strong>United</strong>. It is our primary<br />
aim to continue this run and, even better, we want<br />
to do it by entertaining the crowd. Of course, that<br />
is not a given and the opposition will bring their<br />
own ideas and challenges. It is, therefore, up<br />
to us as a group to overcome these and ensure<br />
that we set the agenda. To quote Chairman of<br />
the Board, Tom Wagner: “This is our house.”<br />
Keep Right On,<br />
Amy Merricks<br />
4 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
CAPTAIN’S COLUMN<br />
CHRISTIE HARRISON-MURRAY<br />
Good afternoon, Bluenoses, it is great to welcome you all back<br />
to St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park for our final home game of<br />
the season against <strong>Sheffield</strong> <strong>United</strong> in the Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Championship.<br />
I want to start by talking about the news from the start of the week.<br />
It was great to welcome our new Head Coach, Amy Merricks, to<br />
the Club who comes from a good pedigree of Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Super League club, Brighton & Hove Albion, and having also<br />
worked with England youth squads. The next two weeks<br />
give us a great opportunity to get a head start with<br />
what she wants to build going into the 2024/25<br />
season. It is very evident from the get-go that<br />
she has a clear vision for the direction of<br />
Blues and aims to drive that with high<br />
standards and expectations of the<br />
group. The first sessions this week have<br />
been really enjoyable and intense.<br />
Last weekend was a disappointing result<br />
against Crystal Palace, but I thought the<br />
team showed plenty of fight for each other,<br />
especially after going down to 10 players. It<br />
was a challenging week in the build-up, but we<br />
prepared well with support from Assistant Head<br />
Coach, Emily Simpkins, and it was good to be back out<br />
there with the team. We welcomed back Jade Pennock,<br />
who has been out for over four months, and you could see<br />
instantly the quality that she possesses, so we are excited<br />
to have her in the group for these final two games.<br />
Our final home game sees us take on the Blades,<br />
who are in inspired form at the moment. Four wins in<br />
a row have them chasing down a top-half finish, and<br />
they will be eager to make sure that this happens in<br />
the final two games. We know the quality that they have<br />
amongst their ranks, and we have done a lot of work<br />
this week to make sure that we are ready for them.<br />
This week I was named PFA Community Champion.<br />
I am happy to have been selected to win the award<br />
because the community is a vital part of this football<br />
club. It is our responsibility as players to ensure that we<br />
are doing the work to help inspire those people.<br />
Just finally, I want to thank all of you Bluenoses for your<br />
support throughout the season both here at home and<br />
also on the road. Results have not always gone our way,<br />
but you have helped us get over the line in some tough<br />
matches. Our attendances have continued to grow, and<br />
we cannot wait to see you all again next season.<br />
Christie<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 5
INTERVIEW<br />
AMY MERRICKS<br />
It has been another landmark week at <strong>Birmingham</strong><br />
<strong>City</strong>, with the Football Club appointing one of the<br />
nation’s brightest young coaches as they strive<br />
to put their <strong>Women</strong>’s team back in the top flight.<br />
Amy Merricks was installed as Head Coach<br />
on Monday, being handed the remit of finishing<br />
the 2023/24 season strongly and using this<br />
period as the launchpad to fulfil the Owners’ and<br />
Hope Powell’s ambition in the years ahead.<br />
She comes armed with experience in both the<br />
Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s Super League from time spent<br />
at Brighton & Hove Albion, where she worked as a<br />
trusted aid of Blues’ vastly experienced Technical<br />
Director, and is fresh from a successful period<br />
leading some of England’s Young Lionesses.<br />
Now ready for her next challenge at St.<br />
Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, she has spoken<br />
about her aims for the immediate – a Barclays<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s Championship fixture versus <strong>Sheffield</strong><br />
<strong>United</strong> – and her targets for the future,<br />
detailing how she sets out to achieve them.<br />
Amy, welcome to Blues. How does it feel to be<br />
Head Coach of <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong> <strong>Women</strong>?<br />
Thank you. I feel incredibly honoured to be the<br />
new Head Coach and I am excited to get started.<br />
What was it about this opportunity that made you<br />
want to join?<br />
I have always recognised <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong><br />
as a club that has been a pioneer here in the<br />
<strong>Women</strong>’s game in England. I think after having<br />
6 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
conversations with Hope Powell and Garry Cook<br />
about the ambitions moving forwards, it is a unique<br />
opportunity and something I became completely<br />
engrossed in taking forwards and being a part of.<br />
You mention Hope Powell, the <strong>Women</strong>’s Technical<br />
Director. You spent a lot of years working with<br />
her at Brighton & Hove Albion, how excited<br />
are you to be working with her again?<br />
Yes, of course. We developed a really close<br />
relationship over five years working at Brighton.<br />
That will hold us in good stead moving forward.<br />
This is your first permanent head coach position in club<br />
football, did you feel like the timing was right for you?<br />
Yes, absolutely. But I feel like, most importantly, the<br />
project is right, the club is right. It is a really exciting<br />
time to be at <strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong>. I love what the Club<br />
and city is about, and I can’t wait to move it forward.<br />
More recently, you were Head Coach of England Under-<br />
19s, how much did that experience help you to develop?<br />
Of course, it was a great opportunity to work on<br />
the international stage. There is lots of young talent<br />
coming through the England pathway. It was slightly<br />
different to the domestic game, but every opportunity<br />
to be on the grass with talented players is going to<br />
shape what I can do moving forward. I am excited to<br />
bring some of what I learnt there into this great club.<br />
And for our supporters, what can they expect<br />
to see from a team led by Amy Merricks?<br />
I see football as a dynamic game – I want to play<br />
exciting football with purpose. I want to dictate the<br />
game with and without the ball. Most importantly,<br />
you will see a team that is bold, brave, and wants<br />
to embrace the opportunity that we have.<br />
You come in at a time when the season is drawing<br />
toward its conclusion. How do you plan to use the<br />
time in the next two weeks with the group?<br />
It is a great opportunity to get on the grass<br />
with the players and staff, that is where you<br />
learn the most about them as individuals. It<br />
gives us the opportunity to leave the campaign<br />
with a statement of intent moving forwards.<br />
You have met the group, how was it<br />
getting on the grass with them?<br />
We have a talented group of individuals. Now it is<br />
about bringing that together. It is about making sure<br />
we have a clear playing style moving forwards, they<br />
understand exactly what is required of them and<br />
we can really showcase some good football here.<br />
You have been in the opposition dugout at St.<br />
Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park before. How excited<br />
are you to be in the home one moving forward?<br />
I am really excited. I think every time I have been here<br />
as a coach, the fans have been excellent, and we are<br />
going to need them on the journey moving forwards.<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 7
8 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
around the grounds<br />
A grandstand finish is on the<br />
horizon next weekend to determine<br />
promotion to the Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Super League, but neither Crystal<br />
Palace <strong>Women</strong> nor Sunderland<br />
<strong>Women</strong> can afford anything<br />
less than perfection today.<br />
The division’s leading lights<br />
are separated by just two points<br />
with two fixtures remaining and<br />
face off against each other on<br />
the season’s final weekend for an<br />
all-or-nothing finale. To ensure that<br />
permutation is still achievable the<br />
Black Cats, who were 3-0 victors<br />
at relegated Watford <strong>Women</strong><br />
last time out, need to overcome<br />
Charlton Athletic on home soil<br />
this afternoon. The Addicks in<br />
third, and just a point behind the<br />
Wearsiders, will be no pushovers as<br />
they still harbour hopes of elevation<br />
themselves and can mathematically<br />
overtake the top two if they<br />
suffer any final-day jitters.<br />
Sunderland boss Mel Reay has<br />
overseen a remarkable turnaround<br />
at Eppleton. Last season the<br />
red and whites finished second<br />
bottom of the Barclays <strong>Women</strong>’s<br />
Championship but know that two<br />
victories would secure a return to<br />
the top-flight for the first time since<br />
the leagues were restructured.<br />
She told The Northern Echo: “The<br />
moment that you think you might do<br />
it is the moment you lose focus on<br />
the task in hand. It is in our hands.<br />
It’s quite easy to say all we’ve got<br />
to do is win two games, but they’re<br />
different games. They’re not easy<br />
games. We’ll prepare properly.”<br />
Free-scoring leaders Crystal Palace<br />
edged a narrow win over Blues last<br />
Sunday at the VBS Community<br />
Stadium in Sutton to keep their<br />
noses ahead at the summit and will<br />
not want any slip-ups as they travel<br />
to a Lewes side fighting for their<br />
lives. Scott Booth’s strugglers have<br />
lost their last two games but are<br />
only three points behind Reading<br />
with a superior goal difference.<br />
Palace end the campaign<br />
next weekend at Selhurst Park<br />
expecting a record crowd and a<br />
party atmosphere, and Eagles<br />
captain Aimee Everett hopes<br />
that home advantage can play<br />
its part in earning elevation after<br />
six seasons in the second-tier.<br />
She told Palace TV: “Obviously<br />
it was an amazing number of fans<br />
that came out against Watford. We<br />
appreciate every single one of them<br />
that made the journey, and they<br />
helped us in the game - we could hear<br />
them from minute one to minute 90.”<br />
Elsewhere this afternoon Reading<br />
<strong>Women</strong> know a point against<br />
Durham <strong>Women</strong> will confirm their<br />
second-tier status for another<br />
campaign. Wins have been rare<br />
occurrences for both sides of<br />
late. The Royals have gone five<br />
games without recording a victory,<br />
haemorrhaging 18 goals in the<br />
process, while the Wildcats remain<br />
winless in 2024 and have conceded<br />
10 times in their last two outings.<br />
Fourth-place Southampton<br />
<strong>Women</strong>, the only side without a draw,<br />
will rue dropped points at Blackburn<br />
Rovers <strong>Women</strong> which took them out<br />
of the title race last month. However,<br />
the Saints can end their home<br />
campaign - and a progressive season<br />
- on a high with victory over a London<br />
<strong>City</strong> Lionesses side this afternoon<br />
that have been underwhelming this<br />
term having finished third in 2022/23.<br />
THIS WEEKEND’S OTHER<br />
FIXTURES:<br />
Blackburn Rovers <strong>Women</strong> v<br />
Watford <strong>Women</strong> (SAT)<br />
Reading <strong>Women</strong> v Durham <strong>Women</strong><br />
Lewes <strong>Women</strong> v Crystal Palace <strong>Women</strong><br />
Southampton FC <strong>Women</strong> v<br />
London <strong>City</strong> Lionesses<br />
Sunderland <strong>Women</strong> v Charlton Athletic<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 9
2<br />
blues women<br />
3<br />
under-21s<br />
vs<br />
brighton & HOVE ALBION under-21s<br />
Blues <strong>Women</strong>’s Under-21s were beaten by Brighton<br />
& Hove Albion Under-21s in the PGA League.<br />
<strong>Birmingham</strong> <strong>City</strong> fought back from two goals<br />
down to level the scores at the Knighthead<br />
Training and Academy Grounds, before a late<br />
effort secured the win for the Seagulls.<br />
Strikes from Evie Milner and Olivia Johnson<br />
put them two up, before Jess Hood and Lucy Day<br />
replied for Blues. However, Clarabella Hall put the<br />
visitors back in front to pick up the three points.<br />
Brighton were at it from the off and went<br />
ahead inside the opening minute. Ellianna Martin<br />
intercepted a pass inside the area and teed<br />
up Milner to roll in from the six yard box.<br />
Liam Parkes’ side responded and came close to<br />
a leveller through Hood. Vienna Tokam played a<br />
perfectly weighted pass through to the midfielder,<br />
who saw her effort well saved by Lily Murray.<br />
At the other end, the Seagulls doubled their advantage.<br />
Johnson picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area<br />
and shaped a right footed effort beyond Poppy Irvine.<br />
Soon after, Johnson had another attempt,<br />
but this time the ‘keeper made a brilliant save.<br />
A free kick was played short to the forward,<br />
but her strike was pushed away by Irvine.<br />
Blues got themselves back into the game late<br />
into the half. Millie Pullen was adjudged to have<br />
been fouled inside the area and Tokam stepped up<br />
from the spot. Her penalty was saved by Murray,<br />
but Hood reacted quickest to roll in the rebound.<br />
It did not take long after half-time for the hosts<br />
to level the scores. Hood’s free kick caused a<br />
scramble inside the area before it eventually went<br />
into the path of Day to tap in at the back post.<br />
Despite Blues applying plenty of pressure to the<br />
Brighton back line in the hunt for a winner, it was the<br />
visitors who found it. Hall was played in on goal and,<br />
despite Irvine’s best efforts, her effort crept over the line.<br />
Speaking to BCFC.com post-match, Head<br />
Coach Parkes was proud of his team’s ability<br />
to fightback from two goals down, and the<br />
learning they took from the match.<br />
“I’m proud of the performance. We were 0-2 down<br />
after 17 minutes and the girls dug deep, showed<br />
character and belief and played some really good<br />
football at times. I thought we created the better<br />
opportunities to score, but it wasn’t to be.<br />
“They never give up, never say die attitude and<br />
there is that belief that we can get back into it. It<br />
showed what we are about and our character.”<br />
Blues: Irvine, Robinson, Hall, Day, Thompson (Hicks-<br />
Kenward 60), Hood, Banaras (Ratcliffe 60), Hughes<br />
(Phillips 46), Tokam, Weaver (Murphy 60), Pullen.<br />
10 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
1<br />
crystal palace women<br />
0<br />
vs<br />
blues women<br />
HUGHES (45)<br />
SCORERS<br />
SUNDAY 14 APRIL | BARCLAYS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP | VBS COMMUNITY STADIUM<br />
9/6<br />
4/0 63/37<br />
63+37+N 100+0+N 40+60+N<br />
SHOTS<br />
SHOTS ON TARGET<br />
POSSESSION<br />
CRYSTAL PALACE: Lambourne, Percival, Everett (captain), Nolan, Gibbons, Potter, Hopcroft (Guyatt 90+2), Blanchard,<br />
Sharpe, Hughes, Atkinson (Dennis 66). Subs not used: Negri, Doran, Reilly, Filbey, Arthur, Larkin, Watson<br />
BLUES WOMEN: Thomas, Herron, Quinn, Lawley, Holloway, Moore, Agg (Harrison-Murray 89), Devlin (Cho 69),<br />
Yuri (Pennock 69), Smith (Pullen 89), Lucy Quinn (Walker 46). Subs not used: Clarke, Dungate, Wilson, Hall.<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 11
ROLL CALL & LEAGUE TABLE<br />
Roll Call BWC FA CUP CONTI CUP<br />
Lily Agg 16(3)/4 0(2)/0 1(1)/1<br />
Remi Allen 7(3)/1 0(1)/0 1(0)/0<br />
Layla Banaras 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Charlotte Clarke 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 2(0)/0<br />
Delphi Cole 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Abi Cowie 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Charlie Devlin 11(4)/4 1(2)/0 2(0)/0<br />
Katie Dungate 2(9)/0 0(1)/0 2(1)/0<br />
Jamie Finn 9(5)/0 3(0)/0 3(0)/0<br />
Ivana Fuso 9(3)/2 1(1)/1 1(2)/0<br />
Martha Harris 8(3)/1 1(1)/0 1(1)/1<br />
Christie Harrison-Murray 7(12)/0 3(0)/0 3(0)/0<br />
Neve Herron 18(1)/0 2(0)/0 3(0)/0<br />
Rebecca Holloway 5(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Abbi Jenner 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 1(2)/0<br />
Gemma Lawley 17(1)/2 3(0)/0 1(0)/0<br />
Ebonie Locke 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Ellie Mason 13(1)/1 2(1)/0 3(0)/0<br />
Riya Mannu 0(1)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Jade Moore 14(3)/2 3(0)/1 0(1)/0<br />
Jade Pennock 6(6)/1 1(0)/0 1(1)/0<br />
Millie Pullen 0(2)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Louise Quinn 11(4)/1 1(1)/0 2(0)/0<br />
league table<br />
P PL W L D GD PTS<br />
1 CRYSTAL PALACE 20 13 4 3 +33 42<br />
2 SUNDERLAND 20 12 4 4 +14 40<br />
3 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 20 11 3 6 +12 39<br />
4 SOUTHAMPTON 20 12 8 0 +14 36<br />
5 BIRMINGHAM CITY 20 10 7 3 +14 33<br />
6 BLACKBURN ROVERS 20 9 8 3 -6 30<br />
7 SHEFFIELD UNITED 20 9 9 2 +4 29<br />
8 LONDON CITY LIONESSES 20 6 10 4 -9 22<br />
9 DURHAM 20 5 10 5 -20 20<br />
10 READING 20 4 9 7 -20 19<br />
11 LEWES 20 4 12 4 -14 16<br />
12 WATFORD 20 3 14 3 -22 12<br />
Lucy Quinn 14(6)/2 2(1)/0 0(3)/0<br />
Libby Smith 13(4)/4 3(0)/2 0(1)/0<br />
Cho So-hyun 6(1)/1 2(0)/0 2(0)/0<br />
Lucy Thomas 20(0)/0 3(0)/0 1(0)/0<br />
Claudia Walker 9(6)/1 1(1)/1 3(0)/0<br />
Siobhan Wilson 0(1)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Louanne Worsey 0(0)/0 0(0)/0 0(0)/0<br />
Choe Yu-ri 4(6)/0 1(2)/1 1(1)/0<br />
remaining fixture<br />
DURHAM V BLUES WOMEN,<br />
SUNDAY 28 APRIL,<br />
MAIDEN CASTLE, KICK-OFF 2PM<br />
12 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
SHEFFIELD UNITED<br />
BLADES A CUT ABOVE<br />
heffield <strong>United</strong> <strong>Women</strong> have been<br />
in razor-sharp form in the Barclays<br />
S<strong>Women</strong>’s Championship throughout<br />
March with four consecutive wins.<br />
Despite defeats on the road at the start of last<br />
month, home victories over bottom-of-the-table<br />
Watford <strong>Women</strong> and against league-leaders Crystal<br />
Palace <strong>Women</strong> eased any lingering relegation<br />
fears. A 5-1 demolition of struggling Reading<br />
<strong>Women</strong> provided a third successive victory at<br />
their Bramall Lane home before the confident<br />
Blades maintained that winning momentum on<br />
the road at London <strong>City</strong> Lionesses last Sunday.<br />
A 1-2 win at Princes Park in the capital, courtesy<br />
of goals from Sophie Barker and Izzy Goodwin,<br />
provided a ninth win of the campaign and lifted the<br />
South Yorkshire side to seventh in the second tier.<br />
Interim Head Coach, Luke Turner, has been getting<br />
the best out of his side in recent weeks and is looking<br />
to end a turbulent campaign on a high by overhauling<br />
Blackburn Rovers <strong>Women</strong> and Blues in the table.<br />
Turner explained to ‘Up the Blades’ on Sunday: “I’m<br />
really proud of the girls as they’ve played two different<br />
halves of football. First-half, we really stuck to the<br />
game plan and created some good chances and<br />
probably should have got another goal or two. Secondhalf,<br />
we knew they’d come out fighting and put us under<br />
pressure. We had to dig in and play a bit of a different<br />
game to see it out. It’s a shame we couldn’t keep<br />
another clean sheet but it is good to get another win.<br />
“You need to be able to do both sides of the game<br />
and it’s good that we’ve been able to show that we<br />
can do that and we’ve shown a lot more grit and<br />
resilience now than maybe we have in the past.<br />
“We’ve got no pressure on us in the remaining<br />
games against <strong>Birmingham</strong> and Blackburn Rovers,<br />
so we can play with a bit of freedom and with real<br />
confidence, but we’ve also got to try and keep going,<br />
keep working and approach the last two games in<br />
the same manner and finish as high as we can.”<br />
The Blades could be without 17-goal leading scorer<br />
Goodwin for today’s trip to the West Midlands after<br />
the former Coventry <strong>United</strong> forward suffered an<br />
ankle injury last time out. Sharpshooter Sophie<br />
Haywood, two-time FA <strong>Women</strong>’s Championship<br />
Golden Boot winner Jess Sigsworth and ex-Blues<br />
forward Ash Hodson provide plenty of threat<br />
in the final third, while teenager Eva Butler and<br />
England youth Chene Muir are emerging talents.<br />
Leading by example in centre-midfield is<br />
experienced captain Sophie Barker, a promotion<br />
winner with Leicester <strong>City</strong> <strong>Women</strong>, while March<br />
Goal of the Month nominee Bex Rayner and<br />
former Manchester <strong>United</strong> youth Ella Kinzett<br />
have been growing influences this season.<br />
At the back, commanding shotstopper Fran<br />
Stenson has impressed in a first campaign away from<br />
Arsenal <strong>Women</strong> and has been shielded by a centreback<br />
partnership of former club Player of the Year<br />
Charlotte Newsham and the influential Molly Graham.<br />
England Under-23s player Tara Bourne had<br />
a loan spell with Blues in 2022/23 and is one to<br />
watch, Charley Docherty is a versatile option and<br />
Rachel Brown has a reputation as a goalscoring<br />
full-back. Down the left, Jodie Hutton was a<br />
promotion winner with Bristol <strong>City</strong> <strong>Women</strong>.<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 13
14 | BLUES NEWS BIRMINGHAM CITY WOMEN V SHEFFIELD UNITED WOMEN
BIRMINGHAM CITY<br />
player sponsorship 2023/24<br />
For more information regarding<br />
player shirt sponsorship please<br />
phone 0121 772 0101 (option 3) or<br />
email Commercial@bcfc.com<br />
01 LUCY THOMAS<br />
HOME<br />
The Maggies<br />
Bar and Grill<br />
AWAY<br />
The Maggies<br />
Bar and Grill<br />
02 MARTHA HARRIS<br />
HOME<br />
Harry Watson<br />
AWAY<br />
03 ELLIE MASON<br />
HOME AWAY<br />
04 LOUISE QUINN<br />
HOME AWAY<br />
Lindsay and<br />
Sharon Warren<br />
06 GEMMA LAWLEY<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
Harry Watson Redditch Blues<br />
Ellie Yates The Anderson<br />
Family<br />
07 JADE PENNOCK<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
08 JAMIE FINN<br />
HOME<br />
Terry Giblin<br />
AWAY<br />
Terry Giblin<br />
09 LIBBY SMITH<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
10 CHRISTIE HARRISON-MURRAY<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
11 KATIE DUNGATE<br />
HOME<br />
Lindsay and<br />
Sharon Warren<br />
AWAY<br />
12 LILY AGG<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
Byron Park Properties<br />
13 IVANA FUSO<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
14 SIOBHAN WILSON<br />
HOME<br />
Terry Giblin<br />
AWAY<br />
Terry Giblin<br />
17 LUCY QUINN<br />
HOME<br />
JOBLOGIC<br />
AWAY<br />
Redditch Blues<br />
18 LOUANNE WORSEY<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
20 CHO SO-HYUN<br />
21 CLAUDIA WALKER<br />
23 CHARLIE DEVLIN<br />
HOME AWAY HOME AWAY<br />
HOME AWAY<br />
HOME AWAY<br />
HOME AWAY<br />
Jack Cardall<br />
24 JADE MOORE<br />
taylor<br />
andrew andrew<br />
smith whitlock whitlock<br />
the smiths the portmans<br />
26 CHOE YU-RI<br />
ann perkins<br />
27 ABBI JENNER<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
28 CHARLOTTE CLARKE<br />
HOME<br />
AWAY<br />
29 LUCY JONES<br />
30 NEVE HERRON<br />
32 ABI COWIE<br />
HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY<br />
Lindsay and<br />
Sharon Warren<br />
40 DELPHI COLE<br />
42 LAYLA BANARAS<br />
HOME AWAY HOME AWAY<br />
Blues4All Blues4All<br />
BCFC.COM BLUES NEWS | 15
BIRMINGHAM<br />
CITY<br />
HEAD COACH: AMY MERRICKS<br />
GK<br />
LUCY THOMAS 1 ■ ■<br />
MARTHA HARRIS 2 ■ ■<br />
ELLIE MASON 3 ■ ■<br />
LOUISE QUINN 4 ■ ■<br />
GEMMA LAWLEY 6 ■ ■<br />
JADE PENNOCK 7 ■ ■<br />
JAMIE FINN 8 ■ ■<br />
LIBBY SMITH 9 ■ ■<br />
CHRISTIE HARRISON-MURRAY 10 ■ ■<br />
KATIE DUNGATE 11 ■ ■<br />
LILY AGG 12 ■ ■<br />
IVANA FUSO 13 ■ ■<br />
SIOBHAN WILSON 14 ■ ■<br />
REBECCA HOLLOWAY 15 ■ ■<br />
LUCY QUINN 17 ■ ■<br />
CHO SO-HYUN 20 ■ ■<br />
CLAUDIA WALKER 21 ■ ■<br />
CHARLIE DEVLIN 23 ■ ■<br />
JADE MOORE 24 ■ ■<br />
CHOE YU-RI 26 ■ ■<br />
ABBI JENNER 27 ■ ■<br />
GK<br />
CHARLOTTE CLARKE 28 ■ ■<br />
NEVE HERRON 30 ■ ■<br />
LAYLA BANARAS 42 ■ ■<br />
SHEFFIELD<br />
UNITED<br />
INTERIM HEAD COACH: LUKE TURNER<br />
■ ■ 1 FRAN STENSON GK<br />
■ ■ 2 CHARLEY DOCHERTY<br />
■ ■ 3 CHARLOTTE NEWSHAM<br />
■ ■ 4 SOPHIE BARKER<br />
■ ■ 5 MOLLY GRAHAM<br />
■ ■ 6 TARA BOURNE<br />
■ ■ 7 JESS SIGSWORTH<br />
■ ■ 9 BEX RAYNER<br />
■ ■ 10 ISOBEL GOODWIN<br />
■ ■ 11 ASHLEY HODSON<br />
■ ■ 12 JODIE HUTTON<br />
■ ■ 13 OLIVIA PAGE<br />
■ ■ 14 ELLIE MAY<br />
■ ■ 15 TAMARA WILCOX<br />
■ ■ 16 CHENE MUIR<br />
■ ■ 17 SOPHIE HAYWOOD<br />
■ ■ 18 ELLA KINZETT<br />
■ ■ 19 ALANTA BROWN<br />
■ ■ 24 RACHEL BROWN<br />
■ ■ 29 FALLON CONNOLLY-JACKSON<br />
■ ■ 32 JULIET ADEBOWALE-ARIMORO<br />
■ ■ 33 BETHAN DAVIES GK<br />
MATCH OFFICIALS | REFEREE JADE WARDLE | ASSISTANT REFEREES HANNAH GARDNER | MICHAEL BUTCHER | FOURTH OFFICIAL AIMEE KEIR