Durham W.F.C.
Durham Women Football Club is a women's football club based in Durham, North East England. The team has competed in the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of Women's football in England,[1] since 2014 having been awarded a licence in its inaugural season. They play their home games at New Ferens Park, Belmont.
 | |
| Full name | Durham Women Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Wildcats |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Ground | New Ferens Park, Durham |
| Capacity | 3,000 (300 seats) |
| First Team Manager | Lee Sanders |
| League | FA Women's Championship |
| 2019–20 | FA Women's Championship, 3rd of 11 |
| Website | Club website |
History
Durham W.F.C. was founded in 2014 as a collaboration between South Durham & Cestria Girls and Durham University.[2] Prior to that, Cestria, founded in 2006 as a youth team by Lee Sanders, had become perennial achievers, winning the World Peace Cup in Oslo in 2010 and finishing runners-up at the 2011 Gothia World Youth Cup. In their only season as a senior side before the merger Cestria won the 2012–13 Northern Combination Women's Football League. Sanders, in conjunction with Quentin Sloper, head of sport at Durham University, then created Durham W.F.C in time for the 2014 FA WSL expansion.[3][4]
Durham's first competitive matches were in the 2013–14 FA Women's Cup where they reached the fifth round.[5] The team's first league game was held on 17 April 2014, a 2–4 defeat against local rivals Sunderland at their New Ferens Park home. The Wildcats secured their first league victory away at London Bees, with a 1–0 win at The Hive Stadium. Despite a difficult start to the 2014 season, the Wildcats finished 6th. They won five, drew three and lost ten of their eighteen games.
2015 saw a much improved season for the Wildcats, including a better points total, albeit achieving a lower league finish, 7th place a reward for an injury-ravaged season.
However 2016, saw Durham really hit their stride, with the Wildcats competing for promotion up until the final weeks of the season. The signings of Sarah Robson, Becky Salicki and Emily Roberts among others proved a catalyst as the Wildcats excelled throughout 2016. A record-breaking season eventually ended in a 4th-place finish with a highest-ever points total. They were also awarded the 'FA WSL 2 Club of the Year' award at the 2017 FA Women's Football Awards.
2017–18 was the Wildcats best ever season, finishing 4th, gaining 35 points in the process and only two points off second place. Durham also enjoyed their best ever FA Women's Cup run, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Everton.
2018–19 started well for the Wildcats, including a Continental Cup win over FA WSL side Everton and a 0–0 draw away at newly-formed Manchester United. Durham won 3–1 in the return fixture, thus becoming the first team to beat the Red Devils.[6] 2018–19 also saw The Wildcats reach their second successive FA Cup quarter-final before narrowly losing 1–0 to Chelsea in front of a record attendance of 1,629.[7]
Durham Hospitals Radio have broadcast all Home matches since 2014 via their website to Durham Hospital (UHND) and around the world.
Current squad
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- As of 26 July 2020.[8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former Players
Club staff
- As of July 16, 2019[9]
| Executive staff | |
|---|---|
| General Manager | Lee Sanders |
| Club Secretary | Dawn Hepple |
| RTC Technical Director | Steve Common |
| Coaching staff | |
| First Team Manager | Lee Sanders |
| First Team Coach | Steph Libbey |
| First Team Coach | Michael Third |
| First Team Coach | Chris Sewell |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Tom O’Neill |
| RTC Manager | Lee Coulter |
Records
- Record attendance: 1,629 vs Chelsea, Women's FA Cup quarter final, 17 March 2019[10]
Season summary
| Season | Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | FA Cup | League Cup | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Top goalscorer[nb 1] | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | WSL 2 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 32 | 18 | 6th | Fifth round | Group stage | Caroline Dixon | 5 |
| 2015 | WSL 2 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 32 | 20 | 7th | Third round | Group stage | Courtney Corrie | 5 |
| 2016 | WSL 2 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 19 | 33 | 4th | Fifth round | Preliminary round | Beth Hepple | 14 |
| 2017[nb 2] | WSL 2 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 5th | Fourth round | N/A | Zoe Ness | 5 |
| 2017–18 | WSL 2 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 44 | 26 | 35 | 4th | Quarter-final | Group stage | Beth Hepple | 11 |
| 2018–19 | Championship | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 16 | 39 | 4th | Quarter-final | Group stage | Beth Hepple | 8 |
| 2019–20[nb 3] | Championship | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 32 | 3rd | Fourth round | Group stage | Beth Hepple | 10 |
- Goals in all competitions (FA Women's Championship, FA Cup and League Cup are counted)
- Shortened Spring Series: teams only played each other once and there was no WSL Cup
- Season curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
References
- "Women's Super League: North East seeks knock-on effect". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- Clark, Steph. "Durham Women gear up for Super League bow". Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- "History of Durham Women FC, TheFA WSL". durham.fawsl.com.
- Association, The Football. "Newcomers Durham primed for FA WSL challenge". www.thefa.com.
- Watson, Neil. "Sunderland Ladies relish Durham derby opener". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- "Manchester United Women lose unbeaten record at Durham". BBC Sport. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- "Women's FA Cup: Durham Women 0-1 Chelsea Women". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- Donnelly, Mark (24 January 2020). "Meet The Squad". Durham Women FC.
- "Club Staff". Durham Women FC. 23 April 2019.
- Women's FA Cup: Durham Women 0-1 Chelsea Women BBC Sport, 17 March 2019