We spoke with Brighouse Town Manager, Rob Mitchell, after his side won the North East League Division 1 South whilst only dropping two points all season.
SK: How and when did you secure the title and when had it appeared to be yours to take?
RM: Away at Sheffield Wednesday, a side desperate for points in their bid for survival. We started a little nervously but gradually grew into the game before top scorer Sonni Sweeney popped up and slotted in what turned out to be the winner.
SK: How did it feel to finally be champions?
RM: I think it was more a relief to finally secure the title after a tense game and a couple of below par performances the previous week. The real celebrations came on the final day of the season – we were trailing to bottom of the table Handsworth who at that point needed a win to survive, we were 1-0 down at half time but came out in the second half and really went for it. The fact we could potentially go the entire season unbeaten was a huge incentive. As the game evolved and at 2-2 with a minute to go, Handsworth were safe, that was until Sonni Sweeney managed to beat the off-side trap and fire in the winner, sending the South Yorkshire side down. It’s safe to say the celebrations went on well in to the night after being presented with the trophy at full time.
SK: What opposition will you look forward to playing most next season?
RM: Gaining promotion obviously means a step up in quality of the opposition and personally I am looking forward to mixing it with the likes of York City and Hull City. A return to my old side Lepton is sure to be a tasty encounter due to the geography and history of the two sides. Add to that the 3 or 4 ex-players we have in our team to spice things up a little bit. Also a return to Whitley Bay, who knocked us out of the FA Cup, will give us a chance to exact a bit of revenge.
SK: What was your most important result of the season and why?
RM: That has to be Wetherby away, they were top at that the time and although we had beaten them narrowly at home and had a couple of games in hand, we knew we had to win and get the result to give us a bit of breathing space going in to the final few games of the season. The girls were tremendous that day and in complete control from start to finish, they gave absolutely everything, knowing a win would all but guarantee promotion.
SK: Will stepping up the pyramid mean any changes in facilities and preparation?
RM: I think that was put in place at the start of this season, moving to the Dual Seal Stadium and becoming Brighouse Town Ladies has both raised the profile of the team and given us a little bit more support. There will always be room for improvements and we would like to eventually upgrade the existing changing facilities. There will be no real change in preparation as such, maybe little things here and there if I think it will be beneficial but we’ve tried to be as professional as possible and have certainly taken the approach of building for the leagues above, rather than just trying to gain promotion and taking it from there.
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