On Saturday, 20 September, Bootham Ladies played their first away game of the new season. After a disappointing home defeat to Leicester, hopes were high for an improved performance against Project Futsal Liverpool. Playing on one of the largest courts in the league and facing a familiar opponent, optimism was high for a positive result.

With no players returning from injury, and the late withdrawal of Natasha Eustance, and no new signings on the horizon, Bootham took an even smaller squad to Liverpool: Katie Samson, Kimberly Samson, Suzy Collins, Ellie Whittaker (C), Jess Barnes, Jess Baker, Heather Smith, and Charlotte Broad.

1st Half

Bootham started the game brightly with an early chance for Barnes before Liverpool took the lead with a long-range strike. Bootham quickly responded, with Broad forcing the keeper into two saves in the space of a minute. The equaliser came when a long ball from goalkeeper Samson was cushioned into the path of Broad, who smashed it home from close range. Bootham should have gone ahead soon after, but good interplay between Broad and Barnes ended with Barnes failing to connect from close range. Liverpool retook the lead with another long-range effort, but right on the stroke of half-time, excellent work from Broad allowed Baker to slot home the equaliser.

Half Time – Project Futsal 2 – 2 Bootham

2nd Half

Liverpool started the second half strongly, moving the ball well, but solid defensive work from Samson and Collins kept the home side at bay. Bootham then took the lead for the first time in the match when a driving run from Samson set up Broad to chip the keeper from a wide angle, another goal-of-the-season contender! Liverpool pushed hard, flying their goalkeeper and putting Bootham under immense pressure, but a superb defensive setup and total team commitment, backed by brilliant goalkeeping from Samson, saw Bootham hold out for a memorable away win.

Full Time – Project Futsal 2 – 3 Bootham

A delighted Coach Chris reflected on his side’s performance after the game: “What a difference a week makes, I’m so happy today. This group of ladies never ceases to amaze me. With their backs against the wall, they pulled out a performance like that. With such a small squad, injuries and missing players, we needed 100% from everyone, and we got 200%. Not one single player let us down. Yes, at times we rode our luck and we’ve talked about being more clinical, but I’m just so pleased for the team.”

Chris praised the players’ mentality in coping with the challenges of a reduced squad: “Sometimes a small squad works in your favour, as players know they have to work longer on court and perhaps think the game through, rather than three minutes flat out and then a rest. Players were coming off today totally shattered but determined to go back on again. It just makes my life as a coach so much easier.”

Looking ahead to the next challenge, he remained optimistic: “That result puts us back in the race for the top three, especially if other results go our way this week. We face Manchester at home on Saturday, a team we’ve never beaten in the league, so we must follow up today’s result and show we really do mean business this season.”

Match Highlights:

Player of the Match — chosen by Coach Chris and Captain Ellie — was Jess Barnes. It could honestly have gone to any of the seven players today, but Jess was superb: controlling the tempo of the game, covering every inch of the court, and delivering a fantastic performance!

A few images from the game: