With two games left before the Christmas break, and only two Lancashire County League Division One North remaining in the new year, the business end of the season is already in full flow for Workington Town’s Women FC Reserve Team.
With only seven other teams in the Northern section of their league, and with only a couple of postponements so far this season, mid-January could effectively bring the end of the season from a league perspective.
League and County Cup fixtures will follow, so the sunbeds in Marbella will have to wait, but for now the attention of reserve team manager Nigel Thornthwaite, his coaching staff and players, will solely be on continuing their unbelievable start in what is their first season in existence.
Sitting at the top of the table, one point clear of Abbeytown with a game in hand, the team couldn’t be in a better position and being crowned league winners is well within their grasp.
If they can bag maximum points in the games leading up to the Christmas break, one win from the two games in January would see them over the line and this would serve as an amazing reward for a team that was just starting out 12 months ago.
Their journey has been amazing over this time. January 2024 saw the first taster sessions being ran in order to gauge interest and establish a core of players. The squad then witnessed great growth over the ensuing months, culminating with a highly successful team smashing their targets in their maiden season.
They are the only unbeaten side in their league so far this season and have amassed 62 goals and only conceded 16 giving a goal difference of 46 from the 10 games to date. Their nine wins and a single draw give them a 28 points total so far.
Rachel Gallagher has been a goal machine for Nigel’s team, bagging am unbelievable tally of 32 goals so far from eight appearances, with 10 of the other 26 players used so far chipping in as well.
The team has forged new partnerships with Netherhall Rugby Union Football Club using the facilities they have on offer, with Steven Little playing an instrumental role as arbitrator between the clubs.
On the season so far and the excitement building towards Christmas, Thornthwaite said; “The ladies have been fantastic over the past 11 months, from taking their initially timid steps in to the new set up to now them all realising that they are big players in the club’s successes in the present and future.
“We have work to do over the coming weeks to achieve the goals we set at the start of the season. If delivering these goals brings us silverware in our first season, then that would be amazing and a real reward for the commitment that we all have given so far this season.”
The success of the reserves this season is also a massive reward to the overall organisation.
The story really reflects the hard work and vision that the club has developed over recent years, with its sole focus being on the positive promotion and delivery of female football for players from our community, a desire which runs through the organisation from Workington Town RLFC to those that are involved with Workington Town Girls FC.
