Sunday 26th November 2023
Second Round
Chorley vs. Newcastle United
With the draw taking place on the Monday after the postponed tie in the last round, we already knew who the winner would face by the time Wigan and Chorley kicked off in Leigh – a plum home tie against National League North (third tier) Newcastle United. The recently-turned professional women’s section of one of England’s biggest clubs are very ambitious and as such, have swept aside the rest of the league this season, with sizeable crowds watching home and away. However, the adverse weather conditions that have plagued the North West for weeks have forced Chorley’s hand – instead of risking it and hosting the tie on grass at their usual home at Coppull United (or indeed, at Chorley FC), they elect to hire the 3G pitch at JMO Park in Skelmersdale for the day, some 20 miles away. It’s great for me, as it’s on the bus route near my house, but I imagine it’s awkward for anyone in or around Chorley who might have fancied a late decision to go along. Even a 20-mile trip isn’t appealing in the cold and wet.
The choice of JMO Park to host a tie in the Women’s FA Cup is an intriguing one – what with the pitch being ruled unsuitable to host men’s eighth-tier football and all. Skelmersdale United had achieved a credible 11th-place finish in the Northern Premier League Division One West last season, a year after winning promotion via the play-offs. However, the 3G failed a FIFA bounce test – essentially a grading of an artificial pitch’s ability to mimic natural grass during play. As a result, Skem were forced to make alternative arrangements when required improvements were unable to be met, leading them to enter into a groundsharing agreement to play at Burscough’s new ground. However, this hastily put-together facility at the side of the old ground in Burscough was deemed unsuitable to host games at Northern Premier League level and therefore, Skem were demoted back down to the North West Counties League. A massive blow to them, considering they had already spent several years playing at various grounds in the area after being evicted from their previous home, until the JMO Sports Park stepped in to bring them back to the town. So, we’re now left with a situation where the JMO is not suitable to host men’s semi-professional matches but apparently is okay for a Women’s FA Cup second round tie (which, ironically enough, will feature full-time professionals on the Newcastle team)!
This is very reminiscent of a row before the 2015 Women’s World Cup, held in Canada. FIFA were heavily criticised when they confirmed that all matches would be held at venues with artificial pitches, with people saying that it was ‘discriminatory’, as elite men’s team would never be forced to play on artificial surfaces instead of natural grass. Sixty players even put their name to a lawsuit lobbied against world football’s governing body and the Canadian Soccer Association. The two main areas of complaint were their belief that artificial pitches are more likely to lead to injuries, and the difference in the makeup of the surfaces. FIFA responded by saying that the re-laid surfaces were subjected to their stringent testing system and that the same pitches were installed across all venues.
While the tournament went ahead and the suit dropped, for many onlookers it highlighted a double standard within football – and in all honesty, it isn’t a good look for FIFA. To me, it seems like they’re using the women’s game as a testing ground for these systems and surfaces, rather than providing a level playing field for their women’s ‘product’ to grow to the highest standard (no pun intended). So, yes, it’s very odd to be experiencing this second round Women’s FA Cup match here today – not just for the reminder of a double standard, but also because it shows that perhaps, Skem should not have been uprooted and demoted, as well as a local business left without a major client paying rent. All because a ball doesn’t bounce in the correct way – it doesn't do that on grass for many months of the season anyway!
The club that became Chorley Women FC were formed in 1978 by a Mr E. Gardner as ‘Cumberland Rangers Ladies’ for players in the Preston area. Despite this, there were no local pitches for them to play at, so they played in Accrington, later moving to New Longton and changing their name to reflect their locality. With the village of New Longton – birthplace of Blue Peter’s and Doctor Who’s Peter Purves, I was delighted to find out – being 10 miles from Chorley, many of the team’s players came from the town and by 1983, the club had rebranded as ‘Chorley Ladies’. By this point, a bone-fide women’s football legend was turning out for the club, while her husband was the manager – Shelia Parker. First turning out for the famous Dick, Kerr’s Ladies at the age of 13 in 1961, Shelia went on to win every domestic honour in the game, mostly with Preston but quite notably, with Foden’s – a former works team – winning the fourth edition of the Women’s Cup, beating favourites Southampton Ladies 2-1. By this point, Shelia was England captain, having first skippered them in their first international match, a 3-2 win against Scotland in Greenock on 18th November 1972 – a century (almost to the month) that the first men’s international between the two sides took place. In 2022, she was awarded an MBE for services to football and charity, as well as honoured with a plaque at Chorley FC to mark her achievements and service to the club.
Reflecting on her time as a player, Shelia remarked that there were so few teams to play in those days, but the women’s game did go on to experience a good level of growth throughout the 1980s. This was undoubtedly helped by the FA lifting their ban a decade earlier, giving women and girls local pitches on which to organise teams. By this point, Chorley were playing in the North West Regional League, with their first game being against Manchester City – in what was City’s first-ever league game, Chorley ran out 11-0 winners. They went on to win three North West Regional League championships, eventually earning them a promotion to the Northern Combination – a league created in 1998, to act as a feeder for the top-tier Women’s Premier League. The introduction of professionalism and the Women’s Super League saw the Combination leagues replaced and today, Chorley play in the fourth tier Women’s National League North – one division below today’s opponents, who are reigning champions of Chorley’s division.
Skelmersdale is essentially a Milton Keynes of the North West. All roads and roundabouts, but unlike Milton Keynes, it doesn’t have a railway connection. ‘Old Skem’ was a tiny West Lancashire village that was expanded into a ‘New Town’ during the 1960s, primarily catering for the population overflow from Liverpool – all of which is reflected in the Skem of today, with the accents being off-Scouse (or ‘wool’) and the uniform concrete architecture, which looks like a 1960s dystopian nightmare. Nevertheless, there’s a picturesque quality to JMO Park when I first see it, as I cross the bridge that leads to the facility – the sight of the lush greenness of the 3G and players kicking a ball about is illuminated by the floodlights, standing out amongst the roads that surrounded it, on this dark, dank Sunday afternoon in November.
I follow a couple of Newcastle supporters into the ground – I know this because they’re wearing club gear (if that isn’t a giveaway, they also sound like Les/Lesley off the TV series, Benidorm) – and I’m met with the sight of a comfy clubhouse interior, with plenty of seating and tables, TV screens and more importantly, a bar. There are a couple of ladies in Chorley FC club shirts taking a fiver for entry, so I hand mine over and get a nice glossy sheet of A4 (which is the programme!) While waiting at the bar, I have a quick read and a short message from Chorley Chair, Janet Mitchell, welcomes everyone and throws some, I’m sure, unintended shade at the visitors, pointing out that they’re fully professional while the Chorley players ‘pay a tenner each just to get a coach to away games’. These are sides just a division apart, by the way – they even played each other in the same league last season!
Cold beer in hand (in what my phone tells me is 3-degree weather), I walk through the glass doors (not literally) of the clubhouse and out into the open to take in the ground (or ‘the main pitch’, as there’s another 11-a-side pitch here, along with many other smaller ones). There’s a small, seated stand on one side of the pitch, while the rest is made up of connected terracing – although it looks impressive, I can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness that no regular team is playing here now. Taking a seat in the stand, I pass by a significant number of Newcastle supporters, two of whom are tying up a black-and-white HOWAY THE LASSES flag at the front of the stand. This got me thinking about how this is the first time on this road to Wembley that I’ve seen people at a game who are actual supporters of a club and not just a family members or friends of the players – again, this shows the huge chasm between women’s clubs, even at similar levels. Newcastle’s camera crew comes to take a position at the side of me, setting up their gear – apparently, the match is being streamed on YouTube, which is another first for me; being at a Women’s FA Cup game that’s being broadcast. Let’s hope I don’t say anything provocative and ruin their stream. No promises. Aside from the Geordies in attendance, there’s quite a good number of (what I believe) are Chorley supporters, so despite the move to Skem and the bad weather, the tie is well-attended and everyone is braced for an entertaining match.
As it turns out, it is! As you might expect, it was the professional players of Newcastle, not the coach-paying players of Chorley, that dominated the ball early on – creating two chances within the first 20 minutes that contrasted greatly. The first was shot straight at Emma Bradley in the home goal, while the other was smashed over – and out of the ground. Seriously, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a passing car on the B5312! With both sides having home colours of black-and-white stripes (and as such, both having the nickname of ‘Magpies’), Newcastle are wearing an away strip of green with black trim. Also, just to underline their higher status, their players have their names on the back of their shirts, while Chorley do not. Speaking of whom, the ‘home’ side are doing okay so far. While not creating any clear-cut chances, they’re giving the smattering of home supporters some encouragement with some good spells of possession; slipping the ball past Newcastle with ease, just without a final pass beyond the away side’s backline.
While Chorley looked relatively comfortable after half an hour, they proceeded to start giving the ball away cheaply, unable to maintain their earlier slick play. On one such occasion, they lose possession which allows Newcastle to slip a ball down the left; it’s crossed in and a forward is on hand to sweep home from close range. The Newcastle supporters around me celebrate, but the flag is up for offside. Thanks to this moment, I’m at least aware of exactly how many away supporters are here now! They’re almost celebrating again not long later as some good play from Jasmine McQuaide sees her find space in the penalty area, she shoots across goal, the ball looks in…but it goes agonisingly wide. Newcastle are getting closer, surely it’s only a matter of time now before they take the lead?
Chorley keep battling, they’ve had a couple of counter-attacking opportunities but once again, they’re just a final pass away. To me this shows the differences between the sides – Chorley simply lack the quality to get behind a well-organised Newcastle defence. Other than that, there hasn’t been much difference between the two – Chorley have moved the ball about well at times and if Newcastle weren’t as diligent with their positioning, chances would have been created. Being a full-time side, it should be interesting to see what influence Newcastle have in the second half – as we’ve seen already, even with two amateur sides playing, fitness has been a major issue for some teams.
Just as it seems the Magpies of Chorley will be going in at half-time on level terms, the Magpies of Newcastle finally make their domination count. A long ball into the penalty area isn’t cleared, it bounces a couple of times to find itself on the edge, where Katie Barker is stood, and she proceeds to carefully sidefoot in. I say carefully because the ball was bouncing around quite elastically – maybe the bounce test was right to fail this pitch, after all?
I retire to the warmth of the function room at half-time – and with room for 140 people, there are plenty of tables to sit down at. I have a proper read of the programme/teamsheet for the first time and see – aside from the names of the away players being placed on the left-hand side of the sheet (which usually indicate the ‘home’, i.e. the most ‘prestigious’ side, the one ‘everyone has come to see’) – that Newcastle are unbeaten in all competitions this season. With 40 goals to their name and 8 clean sheets, it just goes to show what Chorley are up against here. No wonder they’ve put them on the left of the teamsheet! (Although likely an oversight by whoever designed it, I still find it irritating from a football traditionalist point of view!)
It's no surprise then that North East Magpies continue to dominate when the second half kicks off – they have a couple of chances, only for some last-ditch challenges and the ball being smashed over the bar preventing an increase in the scoreline. There’s a moment that makes everyone collectively wince, as a Newcastle player gets smashed on the head by the ball – which must sting a bit in this freezing weather. While she’s being treated, I notice that a group of non-involved Newcastle players have sat near me – I have the camera crew on one side and now a group of players on the other. I’m in the middle. The song lyrics write themselves. Continuing the injury theme of these last few matches, I see that one of the players sat to the side of me is on crutches, with her foot wrapped – I know these players are either professional or semi-professional, but it’s still impressive that they’ve travelled here to see the game when they’re not involved in the matchday squad. If there was any doubt that these girls weren’t professionals that take their jobs seriously, they’re sitting down with tubs of homemade pasta – the fuel for any serious sportsperson. I sip on my beer, which is the fuel for any serious idiot.
Thankfully, no serious injury occurs and the game restarts, coinciding with Newcastle cashing in on their constant pressure. After a cross is half-blocked, the ball loops into the air and forward Bridget Galloway is there to beat keeper Bradley to it, and bundle in from close range. There’s a touch of irony that the long-awaited second goal arrived in such a fortunate manner, considering the number of chances Newcastle have created in the second half. Nevertheless, it virtually ends any hope Chorley have of nicking something and gives the Geordies some breathing space. Not long later, they grab a third after a corner is flicked on by a Chorley defender at the near post, nobody but the far post gets a touch, and the ball goes in off the upright.
We’ve seen a distinct lack of bookings so far during this FA Cup run – this just plays into my observation that the women’s game is less physical, so you’re not likely to see as many heavy challenges – but we’ve got one here! I’m so excited! I mean, I’m disgusted. No need for this in the game. Barker goes on a mazy run, skipping past several Chorley players until she’s unceremoniously tripped 20 yards out. Sharna Wilkinson takes the free-kick, shooting directly at goal – it’s a powerful shot and while Bradley gets a big hand to it, she can’t keep the ball from going beyond her and into the net.
With the tie all but lost, Chorley have thrown off their counter-attacking style and instead decide to try and press for a consolation goal, but one such attack breaks down and is cleared to Becky Ferguson, who’s the furthest Newcastle player forward. She takes a touch around her marker on halfway and sprints towards goal – her marker tries but eventually gives up trying to catch her, and she proceeds to finish past Bradley to make it five. The ref, presumably happy he’s made use of his yellow card, blows for full-time as soon as he restarts. It was a great goal and the large gathering of Geordies lapped it up – a few more shouts of ‘g’wan lasses’ echo off the stand.
It’s a well-deserved scoreline for the away side but once again, I was left with the feeling that there wasn’t much between these sides that a level playing field wouldn’t fix. Just like how the teenage Wigan side looked comfortable last week, despite losing 4-0, there were spells in this game where Chorley looked comfortable too, as they kept the ball well. As the game wore on, they naturally conceded more chances and goals – in fact, three of the second half’s four goals came within the last 15 minutes. Considering left-of-the teamsheet Newcastle are full-time and Chorley have to essentially pay to play, the gap isn’t as big as you might expect.
Hopefully next time, Chorley will be able to host a ‘big’ side at home in this competition – not ‘home’ as in here in Skem, nor even their regular home in Coppull, I mean home as in Chorley, at Victory Park, the men’s ground. Considering the history of their women’s side and their current standing in the women’s football pyramid, more needs to be done to promote them to the town – the men’s side have been in the National League in recent years, with crowds of over a thousand watching on, so there’s definitely scope there to support a women’s fourth tier side. At the very least, their players should be on the left of their own teamsheet and should get their coach paid for by the club.
So, we’re now following Newcastle on this Women’s FA Cup road to Wembley – my travelling is starting to get serious. And winter is here, famously helpful to public transportation systems. Oh dear.
Chorley 0
Newcastle United
5
(Barker, Galloway, OG,
Wilkinson, Ferguson)
Attendance: About 100
