What league are they in?
Albion play in the third tier – below Super League One (where you will find England players such as Eni*Aluko, Toni Duggan, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton) and Super League Two. Then comes the Premier League, split into north and south. Albion and tomorrow’s opponents Charlton are level on points at the top of the southern section but Charlton have a better goal difference and a game in hand. Cardiff are two points behind them both.
How many teams go up?
One or none. Winning the division is not enough for promotion. The southern champions must then play their northern counterparts to decide who goes into WSL 2. Last term Portsmouth pipped the Seagulls to top spot but missed out in the play-off.
What is Albion’s ambition?
Initially, to move into WSL 2. “I think we’d compete with what we’ve got here,” said their 28-year-old manager James Marrs, who was previously with Gillingham. “However competing is not enough for me. If we went into WSL 2 I’d want to go and win it.” The ultimate goal is to play Champions League football at the Amex.
Off to a flyer. Picture by Geoff Penn
How has their season gone?
Brilliantly to begin with. They took 19 points from their first seven games, conceding just one goal. But then a shock defeat at rock-bottom QPR was followed by a reverse by the same 2-1 scoreline at home to Cardiff and a draw with West Ham. Had they then lost in the return game at Cardiff they would have been seven points off the top. But a 2-1 win there was followed by a 1-0 success over West Ham and a big League Cup win versus Chichester.
Jay Blackie in action against Lewes. Picture by Geoff Penn
Who are the players to watch?
The great thing about Marrs’ squad is that different players come up with key contributions from game to game. Wing-back Sophie Perry is a current Republic of Ireland international who has played a high standard of club football, Vicky Ashton-Jones is club captain and a key defender and*Deanna Cooper is a commanding centre-back who can stride forward with the ball and score at set-pieces. A lot of moves go through Jay Blackie and Kirtsy Barton, who are busy midfielders, and teenage defender Amelia Ritchie recently won her first two caps for Wales.
Charlotte Gurr is a creative player. Picture by Geoff Penn
What about the goalscorers?
Amy Taylor has been converted from defence to attack and has ten goals in league and cup while fellow forward Kate Natkiel has eight. But top scorer is playmaker Charlotte Gurr, whose ability to unlock defences with clever passes makes her a joy to watch when on song. She has scored 13 times this season in league and cup.
Is the goalkeeper any good?
Let’s be honest. One of the biggest criticisms of women’s football in years gone by has centred on the quality of goalkeeping. To the uninitiated, it has sometimes seemed there was a rule that the shortest and least athletic player in the team MUST go in goal. No so any more – and certainly not with Albion. Faye Baker is a tall, commanding figure who has not always had a lot of saves to make in games this season but has made the highlights with fingertip stops on occasions. She is also a vocal organiser and very confident with the ball at her feet.
Defender Vicky Ashton-Jones is a firearms officer with Kent Police in her day job
What type of football do they play?
A passing game, ideally suited to the artificial pitch at their Culver Road base and, if the surface is good tomorrow, to the Amex. But they won't necessarily have it easy. “Teams set up to stop us playing because they know the type of football we play,” said midfielder Jay Blackie.
Have these teams met before?
Charlton were the only side to take points off Albion during that early season run as the teams drew 0-0 in South-East London. Blackie, who used to play for the Addicks said: “Our idea this season is we win the league if we take points off the top teams.”
Goalkeeper Faye Baker is confident with the ball at her feet. Picture by Geoff Penn
Are they aiming for a record crowd?
The challenge revealed initially by Paul Barber was to bring in 3,200 fans to set a new record for a women’s league match in this country. Sky Sports then uncovered a bigger crowd, in excess of 5,000 for a game Arsenal Ladies staged at the Emirates. But, record or not, the key thing is to give the women’s team – and the women’s game in general – a massive boost and appeal to a wider audience. “It's huge for us in terms of trying to get supporters to our games and putting us out there,” Marrs said. “It's a reward for the girls because they have been really grafting hard for the last two years trying to push us forward. This is another big step, an indicator as to how far we have come as a women's section and as a team.”
Kirsty Barton in action against West Ham. Picture by Geoff Penn
How will they react to playing at the Amex?
For most , if not all, the players this is the biggest occasion they have played in. “I believe we will be fully focussed,” said midfielder Kirsty Barton. “But you just don’t know how we will react. We’ve never been in this situation before."
Do they hope you go and watch?
"You’ve got to go and see it," Boswell said. "You can’t be one of these people who just turn their noses up at it.*Don’t listen to someone else’s opinion. Go and watch it yourself first."*
Original article
Albion play in the third tier – below Super League One (where you will find England players such as Eni*Aluko, Toni Duggan, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton) and Super League Two. Then comes the Premier League, split into north and south. Albion and tomorrow’s opponents Charlton are level on points at the top of the southern section but Charlton have a better goal difference and a game in hand. Cardiff are two points behind them both.
How many teams go up?
One or none. Winning the division is not enough for promotion. The southern champions must then play their northern counterparts to decide who goes into WSL 2. Last term Portsmouth pipped the Seagulls to top spot but missed out in the play-off.
What is Albion’s ambition?
Initially, to move into WSL 2. “I think we’d compete with what we’ve got here,” said their 28-year-old manager James Marrs, who was previously with Gillingham. “However competing is not enough for me. If we went into WSL 2 I’d want to go and win it.” The ultimate goal is to play Champions League football at the Amex.
Off to a flyer. Picture by Geoff Penn
How has their season gone?
Brilliantly to begin with. They took 19 points from their first seven games, conceding just one goal. But then a shock defeat at rock-bottom QPR was followed by a reverse by the same 2-1 scoreline at home to Cardiff and a draw with West Ham. Had they then lost in the return game at Cardiff they would have been seven points off the top. But a 2-1 win there was followed by a 1-0 success over West Ham and a big League Cup win versus Chichester.
Jay Blackie in action against Lewes. Picture by Geoff Penn
Who are the players to watch?
The great thing about Marrs’ squad is that different players come up with key contributions from game to game. Wing-back Sophie Perry is a current Republic of Ireland international who has played a high standard of club football, Vicky Ashton-Jones is club captain and a key defender and*Deanna Cooper is a commanding centre-back who can stride forward with the ball and score at set-pieces. A lot of moves go through Jay Blackie and Kirtsy Barton, who are busy midfielders, and teenage defender Amelia Ritchie recently won her first two caps for Wales.
Charlotte Gurr is a creative player. Picture by Geoff Penn
What about the goalscorers?
Amy Taylor has been converted from defence to attack and has ten goals in league and cup while fellow forward Kate Natkiel has eight. But top scorer is playmaker Charlotte Gurr, whose ability to unlock defences with clever passes makes her a joy to watch when on song. She has scored 13 times this season in league and cup.
Is the goalkeeper any good?
Let’s be honest. One of the biggest criticisms of women’s football in years gone by has centred on the quality of goalkeeping. To the uninitiated, it has sometimes seemed there was a rule that the shortest and least athletic player in the team MUST go in goal. No so any more – and certainly not with Albion. Faye Baker is a tall, commanding figure who has not always had a lot of saves to make in games this season but has made the highlights with fingertip stops on occasions. She is also a vocal organiser and very confident with the ball at her feet.
Defender Vicky Ashton-Jones is a firearms officer with Kent Police in her day job
What type of football do they play?
A passing game, ideally suited to the artificial pitch at their Culver Road base and, if the surface is good tomorrow, to the Amex. But they won't necessarily have it easy. “Teams set up to stop us playing because they know the type of football we play,” said midfielder Jay Blackie.
Have these teams met before?
Charlton were the only side to take points off Albion during that early season run as the teams drew 0-0 in South-East London. Blackie, who used to play for the Addicks said: “Our idea this season is we win the league if we take points off the top teams.”
Goalkeeper Faye Baker is confident with the ball at her feet. Picture by Geoff Penn
Are they aiming for a record crowd?
The challenge revealed initially by Paul Barber was to bring in 3,200 fans to set a new record for a women’s league match in this country. Sky Sports then uncovered a bigger crowd, in excess of 5,000 for a game Arsenal Ladies staged at the Emirates. But, record or not, the key thing is to give the women’s team – and the women’s game in general – a massive boost and appeal to a wider audience. “It's huge for us in terms of trying to get supporters to our games and putting us out there,” Marrs said. “It's a reward for the girls because they have been really grafting hard for the last two years trying to push us forward. This is another big step, an indicator as to how far we have come as a women's section and as a team.”
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Kirsty Barton in action against West Ham. Picture by Geoff Penn
How will they react to playing at the Amex?
For most , if not all, the players this is the biggest occasion they have played in. “I believe we will be fully focussed,” said midfielder Kirsty Barton. “But you just don’t know how we will react. We’ve never been in this situation before."
Do they hope you go and watch?
"You’ve got to go and see it," Boswell said. "You can’t be one of these people who just turn their noses up at it.*Don’t listen to someone else’s opinion. Go and watch it yourself first."*
Original article