Workington Reds Ladies have confirmed the signing of four new players ahead of their 2023/24 season.
The first of the quartet is winger, Rowan Wiliams who joins the club from Cockermouth Juniors FC.
Rowan shows great composure on the ball and has an intelligence about her play that far exceeds her tender years. She has had a very successful junior career in football winning County Cup and League titles.
Rowan said: “I was really excited when I was asked to train with the Reds Ladies and I am extremely keen to be more than just a new recruit.
“I’m looking forward to working hard during training session and impress on the pitch when the chances come my way. I was fortunate to get off to a flying start to my career at the club when I scored in last weekend’s win over Annan.
“This was my first real taste at competitive 11-aside football and I really enjoyed the experience.”
Goalkeeper, Kayce Whinery, has been given a chance after spending 18 months away from the game.
She was keen to get back into football and she approached the club to see what opportunities were available to her.
“Goalkeeper Coach Rebecca Scott gave this assessment of her: “We offered her the chance to trial out with us and we knew that she’d had a spell away from the game.
“Being honest, we were surprised by the way she performed given her time away. She has shown some great progress in such a short time and her willingness to learn and all-round attitude has been really positive and, more importantly, she’s loving being back in the game.”
Attacking Midfielder, Bea Barber, joined at the start of pre-season training having previously spent the majority of the junior and all of her previous adult football with Carlisle based club Stanwix Ladies FC.
Bea lives and works locally and the move away from Stanwix will enable her to better balance her commitments between her work and footballing life.
She said: “Leaving Stanwix was a decision that I didn’t take lightly. I have lots of very good memories at the club and I hold the connections that I made at the club in very high regard.
“I know some of the Ladies at the Reds and I have watched the club grow over recent years and there is a really positive vibe about the direction that the club is going in.
“I am keen to test myself at the next level and Workington can offer me this opportunity and its on my doorstep too.”
Bea made a memorable start to her life with the Ladies, scoring a first half hat-trick against Annan last week.
The most recent to join up is left back, Lauren “Loz” Campbell who has played regional level football for both Penrith and Carlisle in the past. More recently she has figured heavily for local “Andrea Buggy” summer League team Xtreme Fitness Ladies FC.
Having mulled over the idea of testing herself at Regional football for a while, Loz explained: “I was unsure of making the step up and joining a new team, but the lasses have made me feel really welcome and the advice and encouragement has been great.
“I am looking forward to having the chance to develop as a player and to challenge myself to push my footballing ability as far as I can.”
Manager Paul Mackenzie said: “It is without doubt that these four players have added to the overall quality of the squad. They offer different options and each one of them brings different qualities.
“They all featured in last weekend’s friendly against Annan and they all helped to contribute to what was a pleasing first run out of the season.
“As attacking players, it was great to see Bea and Rowan open their club accounts when finding the back of the net and similarly both Kayce and Loz helped to ensure we kept a clean sheet so things couldn’t have gone better for them really.”
The Ladies are back in action this weekend as they face Morecambe Ladies FC on Sunday at Borough Park with a 2pm kick off.
Morecambe are likely to bring a blend of first and development team players whilst the Reds welcome back several players that were unavailable last weekend.
Returning to action this weekend is Hayley Bracken having spent 12 months on the side-line through injury.
On Bracken’s return, club captain, Naomi Foster commented: “It’s great to see Hayley back playing and available for us this weekend.
“She has worked incredibly hard on her recovery and has been determined to come back in the best possible shape she could be. I know that I speak on behalf of everyone associated with the club in wishing her the best of luck this weekend.”
