Independence
Durham's women do it without ties to the pro game
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Women’s football is increasingly dominated by teams with connections to high-level men’s clubs. The top of England’s Women’s Super League echoes the Premier League summit, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea among the perennial powerhouses. But Durham is different.
Currently riding high in the second tier Women’s Championship, the Wildcats were agonisingly close to promotion to the top flight last term. Pipped to top spot by Leicester City (the club that won the 2015/16 men’s Premier League), the girls nonetheless recorded their highest ever league finish and confirmed their status as the leading women’s team in the North East. Sunderland might have the reputation for developing a clutch of England internationals, but the Black Cats’ fortunes took a battering when the men were relegated from the Premier League; Newcastle and Middlesbrough are yet to get away from regional levels.
And yet Durham is almost unique. The club has never been connected to any men’s team. Nor does it comes from a town with a big football tradition: Durham City played in Division 3 (North) between the wars but is currently in a sorry state at the foot of the Northern League and exiled in Willington with small crowds and smaller prospects of a return home. A plethora of Durham teams continue to play in the Wearside League (although Durham FC’s senior team recently rebranded as Ferryhill Athletic and moved out of town) but there’s a gap at a higher level – and the women are doing a fine job of filling it.
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Last season’s success, sadly, was played out behind closed doors due to the pandemic. This time around, supporters are allowed in to watch at the university sports ground. It’s a new home for the team, which was previously based at New Ferens Park, and despite the problems posed by a running track, the club has made some good decisions to make spectators as comfortable as possible. Behind one of the goals, the semi-circle between track and touchline has been opened to the public. It creates a handy enclosure where kids can chase a ball around (and sometimes watch the game) while parents can lean on the boards, touching distance from the field of play. Down the far side, where disused dug-outs hint at an earlier set-up that kept everyone at arm’s length from the pitch, everything is moved forward and a touchline fence recreates the feel of a compact non-league ground. Opposite, covered seating has been built onto the sports hall. The overall effect is not quite a traditional football ground, but a huge improvement on a typical athletics venue.
And the team’s new home also reflects a tie-in with Durham University. In recent years, student sport has become a much bigger deal and Durham is proud of its status as Britain’s leading team sport university. The fields are home to an ever more diverse range of sporting action – old favourites like football, rugby and hockey are now regularly joined by lacrosse, American football and even ultimate frisbee – and the women’s football program forms an active link with sports clubs across the country. In the face of rumbling disquiet about academia’s ever-growing influence on life in the town, it’s a welcome sign of partnership.
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Of course, none of that would matter if the product on the pitch wasn’t right. Happily, Durham remain competitive at the top end of the Women’s Championship. The 2021/22 season isn’t quite as strong a promotion campaign as last term, but Lee Sanders’ team are among the leading pack chasing Liverpool at the top of the table. For the visit of Sheffield United – the Blades managed by the vastly experience Neil Redfearn, fifth in all time Football League appearances and one-time Leeds Utd boss – there were full debuts for Irish goalie Naoisha McAloon and former Coventry United forward Rio Hardy. The latter was close to a first goal for her new club, hitting the post in the first half and seeing a close-range effort flagged off in the second; the former was denied a clean sheet when a late long shot took a looping deflection that left her with no chance. It added up to a 1-1 draw, in front of a crowd of 384. A frustrating result in a game they could have won, but the bigger picture suggests that while Durham lacks a focal point in men’s football, the women could be poised to take the lead in the city’s sporting sympathies.
About the Creator
Andy Potts
Community focused sports fan from Northeast England. Tends to root for the little guy. Look out for Talking Northeast, my new project coming soon.
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