We spoke with Naomi Malcolm (24), club captain and centre-back at Morley Town, who were taking the West Riding Women’s League Division 2 by storm before the season was voided.
SK: Tell us a little of your footballing history and any personal high points?
NM: I’ve played football since the age of nine and met some talented girls along the way. Playing for South Leeds, our team managed to win the triple which was amazing! A few years after when playing for Wortley, we managed to get promoted into the [West Riding] Premiership Division, a great achievement for the club and the girls, who put some real hard work in to get the promotion.
SK: How had your team’s season been going before lockdown?
NM: Morley had won all 13 of our games played, we scored 63 goals and conceded two. Compared to some of the other teams who had played 15/16 games, Morley were top of the league with 39 points and three games in hand to play. For a brand new team that’s only been together one season, I’m very proud of how far we have come and the progress we have made.
SK: How did you do against any local rivals in 2019-20?
NM: We did come across a couple of tough games, one specific game was against Hemsworth. That game was the first one back after the Christmas break and Hemsworth were at the top of the table at this point too. We had a lot to prove and we really got stuck in. Leeds City are another quality side and the first team to score a goal against us. We had the joy of playing them back-to-back as well. Luckily for us we have some amazing forwards on our side, Amy Schofield scored both goals in the first game and Laura Porrit scoring both goals in the second game, which gave the rest of the team a huge confidence boost.
SK: Any rising star, club veteran or stand-out personality we should know about?
NM: We do have some amazing talent on the team and each player brings something special to each game we play, Dan Faint, our goalkeeper, for one! She’s had some outstanding performances this season and made it really hard for the opposition. Dans only conceded two goals in 13 games… the stats speak for themselves – she’s a great player.
SK: How are you trying to keep fit and fill the void in football?
NM: No football has been tough on all of the girls, we are a very social team too, so it has been hard. We try to all share home workouts and we currently have a little 5k competition going on at the moment too. Every Thursday (when we would usually train) we have a quiz night, it’s nice to still have everyone come together and keep the team bond alive.
‘Gutted when they voided the leagues’ – Courteney Murphy (Stourbridge LFC)
