Pre-match thoughts
Having thoroughly enjoyed watching England’s Lionesses play – often more than the England men’s team of late, I confess my interest in women’s football was piqued. I would have loved to play for a team when I was younger, but that opportunity was non-existent back in the mists of time.
I heard the Ipswich women’s team are doing well, and as they are at Portman Road today, not their usual home ground in Felixstowe for this match, it was the ideal chance to go and see them at a more accessible ground for me and cheer them on.
A brief history of the women's game
Women's football has been played in England for over a century, in common with the men's game. It was originally very popular in the early 20th century, but after being banned by the men's Football Association (boo hiss), its popularity declined.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that the number of female players and spectators increased, eventually leading to England hosting (and winning) the Women's European Championships in 2022. We have yet to host a women’s World Cup Competition, so perhaps that’s one for the future.
Ipswich Town Women’s FC
They currently compete in the Football Association Women’s National League (FAWNL) Southern Premier Division, the country's third tier of women's football. If they win today, they will top that league and be a step closer to gaining promotion to the championship.
I must admit I wasn’t very au fait with the structure of the women’s football competition, but I understand that the league pyramid consists of 72 teams, divided into six divisions of 12 each. In a change from previous seasons, both winners of the Northern and Southern Premier divisions will be promoted to the Women's Championship.
Town are the current favourites to take that Southern slot.
Similarly to the men’s game the Championship is the second tier with the Women’s Super League (WSL) at the top, which is peopled by the usual suspects – Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.
Today’s opponents are Plymouth Argyll Women’s Football Club, currently sitting near the bottom of the Southern table, so this is a big game for both teams.
In 2024, Ipswich Town women played their first ever game at Portman Road on 23 March 2024 against Chatham Town, a game they went on to win 5-0 in front of a 10,173 crowd. Today’s game is a year to the day from that match and hopefully they will be just as successful.
My train broke down just outside Manningtree, and I thought I was going to miss the kickoff. Aaaaagh!
The match
I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow detailed account of the game as the ITFC website has already covered it. The match is available to watch on Town TV, YouTube and X. I will, however, tell you quite simply the score line did not reflect the match as Town had so many more chances, near misses and scrambles in the goal mouth that it’s surprising their score was not doubled.
The Town team dominated most of the match, playing skilful and attractive football. Town’s Lucy O’Brien scored within the first minute to show they meant business, and it certainly was a marker for the rest of the game.
Natasha Thomas got Town's second of the game in the 26th minute from a cross by Sophie Pesket.
Town made it three in the 57th minute after a rebound from the goalkeeper fell nicely for Sophie Peskett, who slotted it home with ease.
Plymouth were reduced to 10 players in the 80th minute after Papaioannou was shown a second yellow following a foul on Seaby. Having fought hard throughout the game and defended stoically, they came back with an excellent goal in the 82nd minute as Charlotte Whitmore intercepted a loose pass from Town’s goalkeeper, firing into an empty net from outside the box.
Final score: Town 3-1 Argyll
Round up
There was a nice vibe around the ground—lots of families enjoying an afternoon of shared entertainment and love of the beautiful game. Next to me, Alice Martin, aged 6 years old, had brought her Mum and Dad to her very first Ipswich game. She was very well-behaved and seemed to enjoy the match. A fan of the future? Or maybe, indeed, a player.
Great to see that games like these are being taken seriously and being supported so well with a record breaking crowd of 10,807 in attendance.
Matches like this one serve as an encouragement and an inspiration to young girls – to take part in sport and follow their dreams, as well as bringing people together. The club is all about inclusion and this is one of the ways they are showing it. Game Changer and Mark Ashton are championing the women’s team, community and participation alongside the men’s, youth and disability teams.
Ed Sheeran’s appearance at the game today, I’m sure helped to boost the numbers and the excitement. He appeared in the gallery behind where I was sitting with a pink balloon in the shape of a heart so that everyone could take a quick picture. He also had a singsong with the players after the game in the dressing room to celebrate their win.
You’ve gotta love Ed – such a good ambassador for the club.
I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon out.
Hats off to the players for the time and patience they showed at the end of the game with the fans—talking to them, signing autographs, and taking selfies. It was lovely to see.
And hats off to the Club, the players, and all those involved – staff and volunteers – for this wonderful event.
So, if you love to watch good football and prefer to support your local team – consider following the Town Women – you won’t regret it.
