Barnsley FC Women vs AFC Fylde is one of the more intriguing fixtures on the opening day of the FA Women’s National League season, writes Julian Barker.
The hosts, who have had a meteoric rise to the fourth tier, come up against a team who were long-established members of the tier above until relegation last spring.
It will be the Division One North debut for Barnsley who were playing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire League Division One (tier 7) in 2020-21 (the second of the two Covid-disrupted seasons). But they have not looked back since promotion gained via upward movement in summer 2021.
After a steady first season when they finished fourth in the North East Regional League Southern Division, they romped to the title in 2022-23, losing at home to Altofts in the opening game, but were then unbeaten with 20 wins from 21 games as they ended the season six points clear of Altofts.
While the stats were not as overwhelmingly impressive last season, it was very much a case of deja vu as the 2023-24 campaign began with a 2-0 home defeat to Alnwick Town. Sixteen wins and a draw from the subsequent 21 league fixtures proved enough to finish as Premier Division champions, six points clear of Spennymoor Town.
Barnsley were denied the double as they narrowly lost 2-1 to Sunderland AFC U-21s in the League Cup final.
Of the players who appeared in 2020-21, only two are in the squad for the forthcoming season. They are Steph Rigby, who has featured every season and also Ruby Jex-Oldfield, who played for Barnsley Women FC last season.
Several of this season’s squad have at some stage been associated with Barnsley Women who have featured at tier 4 since 2017. This means that for a side which has climbed from tier 7 to tier 4 in fairly rapid time, the challenges ahead will not be as daunting as they could otherwise be.
Throw into the mix a trio of newcomers who were playing for Halifax in the Northern Premier Division (tier 3) last season, then the ambition of Barnsley to climb even further and eventually reach the newly named Women’s Professional League Limited (i.e. the top two tiers that consist of the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship) is not the pipe dream outsiders might envisage.
The lure of Barnsley Football Club has helped entice five players to move to Barnsley FC Women from the independent Barnsley Women FC at various stages since the start of last season. They are Alayna Millard, Betty Cheetham, Emily Pierrepont (who was top scorer for Barnsley Women FC in both the last two campaigns), Louise Biggins and Ruby Jex-Oldfield.
Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Becky Flaherty is one of the trio moving from Halifax, along with Lauryn Wilcock and Freya Walton.
Barnsley have retained the services of Jodie Gregory, last season’s top scorer with 21 goals and on paper they look strong enough to hit the ground running and make a solid impression in the FAWNL.
Geographical factors resulted in Barnsley Women FC moving laterally across tier 4 to Division One Midlands. However, what might end up being called the “Battle of the Barnsleys” will take place this season as the teams have been paired together in the League Cup determining round.
