HOWAY THE LASSES

For the majority of teams below the Championship and the WSL last weekend was County Cup football, with the previous weekend hit by snow / frozen pitches so, with the first full FAWNL weekend of 2025 upon us, it's time to have a catch up with where everyone stands in tiers 3 and 4 heading into the second half of the season.  Division One North (Tier 4) Durham Cestria, and North East football fans in general, were dealt a huge blow back in September when Anna Soulsby suffered an ACL injury against Norton & Stockton Ancients just 7 weeks into the season. To illustrate just how good a start to the season Anna had, and how big a player she is for Cestria, to date nobody in the squad has scored more league goals, Soulsby and Daisy Clarke being on 6 goals each with Grace Collinson, Emily May Hutchinson and Erin Nicholson on 5.  20 year old forward Faye Dale, who left Cestria in January 2024 to sign for Boro, has now rejoined from Boro. In her previous spell with Cestria she scor...

With league football finally returning this weekend after what seems to have been an eternity of a winter break - we haven't played a league match since the 1-1 draw with Southampton at St. James' Park way back on 17th November 2024, a whole 9 weeks ago - Sheffield United and Portsmouth are the opposition for Newcastle United Women this month which gives us fans the opportunity to watch some promising up and coming younger players. The Blades have headed to Merseyside and the WSL to get their January transfer window underway bringing in Everton pair Issy Hobson and Ellie Jones on loan for the remainder of the season. Both aged 17, Hobson is already in the record books. On 28 April 2024, the centre back scored a stoppage time equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw for Everton against Arsenal becoming, at 16 years and 180 days, the youngest goal scorer in WSL history, a record that still stands as of this weekend. Following a lone appearance for England u17's, Hobson so far has 3 cap...