FOOTBALL: United Women Playing to Win
by Hugh Sullivan
Hastings United club CEO Billy Wood wore a satisfied smile as he supervised an early season training session for the ‘U’s women’s team at Battle Sports Centre last Wednesday. It was just four days after the famous victory of the Lionesses at Wembley in the final of the European Championships, their images and sound bites still dominating the national media. As his squad were shedding weight and gaining cardio fitness in a series of sprints and interval running, he was able to reflect on his decision to form a competitive women’s team at Pilot Field two and a half years ago.
“We’ve taken it seriously from the beginning”, he says. “We could have just formed a community ladies team to go through the motions alongside the men. But we wanted to be equally competitive – to play at the highest level we could. We’re here to win.”
United on the attack against Newhaven earlier this year
CREDIT: Scott White
The first season of competition in 2020/21 was complicated by Covid lockdowns and social distancing, but the club recruited a combination of local talent and experienced performers from higher leagues, and sailed through their fixtures in the Sussex County Women and Girls League to win promotion into the London & South-East Regional League (tiers five and six of the national pyramid). Wood didn’t just supply boardroom impetus. When his initial recruit as manager, Amy Sinden, resigned in October 2020, he himself took over as head coach.
Last season they were able to complete a full fixture list in Division 1 South, winning 15 out of 18 matches – many by large margins – which should have been enough to gain a second successive promotion. They were pipped in the end by Crawley-based Acorn Ladies despite defeating them both home and away, and have had to settle for a near-repeat fixture list in the same division this season.
Retention and recruitment
But Wood says they’ve absorbed that disappointment and are back “buzzing” for a new campaign. Captain Rebecca Relf, goalkeeper Blair Hamilton, defender Sophie Reed and Lauren Sharp have signed on for a third successive campaign. The pick of last season’s recruits, Sian Heather, Claire Johnson, Vix Phillips, Mia Hyland and Nicole Baitup are also staying on. And a batch of fresh talent has come in, including midfielder Kellie Larkin, attacker Charlotte Gurr, and full-back Jess Bellehewe, all former England internationals at youth or under-19 levels
with the experience of having played alongside current Lionesses such as Beth Mead and Leah Williamson.
Few male footballers with experience of Premiership or Championship football are likely to be looking at any stage of their careers to join Hastings United, just promoted to the Isthmian League Premier, which is at the men’s seventh tier. But the rather more bridgeable gap in standard between higher and lower tiers of the women’s pyramid gives greater opportunities for women’s teams to progress more rapidly, and Wood is certainly ambitious for his. If the Lewes team down the road can reach and retain tier two status, why not Hastings?
The club now has over 100 girls on its books at junior levels from under-7s upwards. Wood is hoping to start a female football academy for 16- to 18 year-olds within a couple of years. And he thinks that, on the back of the Lionesses’ successes this summer, it’s realistic to envisage a doubling of spectator numbers for the women’s team at Pilot Field on Sunday afternoons. Crowds of 300-400, with a high proportion of family groups, could be the norm this autumn.
• United women will kick off their new season at Pilot Field on Sunday 22 at 2pm against Eastbourne United. The men’s team make their long-awaited return to the Isthmian Premier there tomorrow (Saturday 13) at 3pm against Aveley.
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