Bootham Ladies began 2026 with a testing trip over the Pennines to face Manchester Futsal Club at the National Cycling Centre, in a fixture that brought together the top two sides in National Futsal Series Tier 2. With both teams locked in a tight title race, the match carried significant weight at the summit of the table.

Having been beaten by Manchester in the reverse fixture, Bootham arrived determined to set the record straight, buoyed by confidence from a previous successful visit to Manchester. Despite the absence of several first-choice players, Bootham named a strong squad for the encounter, including the return of Nikki Brown following her absence in the away win at Peterborough.

Squad: Suzy Collins, Nikki Brown, Katie Samson (GK), Heather Smith, Jodie Allen, Ellie Whittaker (C), Jess Baker, Elisabeth Craven, Erin Elliott and Natasha Eustance.

1st Half

Bootham started brightly but were caught cold, conceding after just three minutes. Smith should have restored parity when Eustance played her through, but Manchester capitalised on a long-range strike to double their lead.

Despite the early setback, Bootham dominated possession and created several chances, though the Manchester goalkeeper kept them at bay. They finally broke through when Elliott combined with Whittaker before smashing home from close range. A second goal almost followed moments later, but Elliott’s shot was well saved. Bootham drew level just before the half when Eustance was fouled on the edge of the D and dispatched a precise free kick into the net. Right on the stroke of halftime, Bootham produced a slick, team-wide move, but Smith was unable to convert, missing a golden opportunity with the goal at her mercy.

Half Time – Manchester 2 – 2 Bootham

2nd Half

The second half began evenly, with both sides pressing but failing to create clear-cut chances. Brown went close for Bootham, and moments later Eustance appeared to score after a scramble in the D, but the goal was harshly ruled out for handball. Not to be denied, she then unleashed a spectacular strike from halfway, crashing against the crossbar.

Bootham’s rhythm was disrupted when a wayward pass gifted Manchester the lead. Determined to respond, Bootham pushed forward, with Brown and Eustance both coming close, but Manchester extended their advantage with a well-worked move. In the dying seconds, Brown showed her quality with a stunning long-range lob over the goalkeeper, keeping hope alive. With the final kick of the game, she fired over from an Eustance free kick, leaving Bootham agonisingly short of a dramatic late equaliser.

Full Time – Manchester 4 – 3 Bootham

Link to the latest NFS Tier 2 league table

After the game, Coach Chris spoke to us and reflected on a frustrating afternoon in Manchester – ‘Once again in Manchester, I felt we should have won the game. It just seems we don’t get much luck when we play here. The shot count shows we outshot Manchester by quite a margin, but I guess in the end that counts for nothing. We controlled the tempo of the game really well, and our movement and rotations were the best we’ve produced this season. The ten minutes leading up to half-time were as good as anything this team has played. We lost our way a little after half-time, and some individual errors ended up costing us.‘

Despite the result, Coach Chris was full of praise for his players’ effort and commitment, commenting, ‘As a coach, it’s easy to pull games apart when the team hasn’t played well, or to blame individuals when things don’t go as planned, but I honestly can’t do that after today. The players worked extremely hard and did exactly what we asked of them. They created some very good goal-scoring opportunities, and on another day we could easily have been four goals ahead at half-time.‘

Looking ahead, he stressed the importance of resilience and togetherness, he finish day saying, ‘We now have to keep playing, hope Manchester slip up, and be in a position to take advantage of that. We’ve got two games in London over the next three weeks, which is a big ask for a small squad. This season has been really difficult with the fixtures and the travel, but not one player has complained. I know we’ll take a squad to every single game. The players made a commitment to this league, and I know they’ll see it through.’

Match Highlights:

Player of the Match — chosen by Coach Chris, was Erin Elliott – She delivered another fantastic performance, showing real composure and control of the game’s tempo whenever she was on court. Despite a costly moment today, she responded with maturity and resilience well beyond her 16 years. Experiences like this are all part of her development, and there’s no doubt she will learn from it and continue to grow into an even stronger player.

Images from today’s game: