Bury Girls & Ladies FC say that ‘A display of grit, determination and quality saw the young women of Bury claim the trophy on a wet day in Skelmersdale. With only 3 players over the age of 20 Bury had the youngest team in the Women’s Open-age bracket and managed to come out on top overall against quality opposition from all over the country.’
The tournament started well for Bury, with an opening 4-1 win over local rivals Little Lever, with goals from Jordon Bailey, Kristeen Ferenczi, Ellie Whittle and a penalty from captain Lucy Golding setting the wheels in motion for a good day with a dominant opening performance. Bury then followed up with a tight 0-0 draw against South Park from the North-East.
Two excellent finishes from Chelsea Weatherby and Ferenczi saw Bury beat Rhyl 2-0, and another battling performance and goal from Ferenczi saw them close out the group with a 1-0 victory over Ellesmere Port.
The semi-final was against another good young team in Leek Town. With tired legs and injuries starting to build up, Bury still managed to play their possession game and dominate the ball. The all-important goal came halfway through the game, with another exquisite finish from Ferenczi.
Hull City awaited them in the final, the Tigers finished 4th in the FA Premier League this season, two divisions above Bury, who play in the North West League.
Hull did not concede a single goal leading up to the tournament climax and started like lightning in the final. Bury’s legs were tired and it was backs to the wall as Hull took an early lead.
Both starting centre-backs for Bury had been injured and were not playing in the final, so with a makeshift back four, Bury dug in deep and defended like champions to keep the score at 1-0.
Then, 4 minutes from time, a counter-attack and cross from Amy Thomasson brought an acrobatic volley into the bottom corner from Ferenczi for her 5th goal of the tournament. The game finished 1-1 and went to penalties.
Jess Lockett, Golding, Ferenczi and Thomasson scored all 4 of Bury’s penalties. Hull missed two and Bury became Champions of the Skelmersdale National Women’s Tournament for the first time.
Bury Head Coach Paul Iannaccone said; “These girls deserve every minute of this success. They worked so hard last season to develop and improve, and their attitudes and togetherness is fantastic.
“We want to create something special with this young group of players, and to beat a team like Hull City in the final is outstanding. Hull play in the Women’s Premier League which is where we want to be in the next few years, and this is only the beginning for us. We are looking forward very much to the rest of pre-season and more success next season and in the future.”
