Page 21 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.33 2022-23

Having been promoted in the 2021-22 season, Pucklechurch took to Tier 6 football well, and were
crowned Champions of the South West Regional Women’s Football League Eastern Division by a
clear ten points and in the process of winning the league, the team completed back-to-back
unbeaten league seasons.
They knew they were going to be in for a tough season when playing local rivals AEK Boco for
the first time in the season and seemingly in control at 2-0, Boco fought back to 2-2 and showed
that all teams would keep fighting to the final whistle. The team dug deep and showed great
resilience to grab a late winner from top scorer Adele Hooper and came away 3-2 victors.
In another tough game, they faced Frome Town at home and soon found themselves two down
and lucky not to be further down when conceding a penalty, but keeper Ellie Soper pulled off a
miracle save to turn the spot kick away and this spurred the team on to a pull off one of the
fightbacks of the season. Driven on by skipper Sophie Sweet they played some of their best football
to overturn the deficit and come away 4-2 winners with Dele Hooper claiming all four goals,
including two absolute worldies from long range.
The game which convinced the management and coaching team that they would win the
league was the performance in the return game against AEK Boco, where the team produced their
best performance of the season with a superb 4-0 away win in a physical battle where we always
looked in control, with the defence led by Leigha Milkins showing great composure, ensured they
had the platform to be able to keep Boco on the back foot.
The team have also reached the Gloucestershire FA Women's Trophy Final, Pucklechurch who
faced some stern opposition right from the very first round, where they edged past a determined
Bristol Rovers Development side. Up against SGS Olveston in the Second Round, Pucklechurch
recorded a 5-1 win, away from home, to set up a rematch of last year's quarter final with Frampton
Rangers. Pucklechurch bettered last year's result, coming from behind twice to win 3-2.
The semi final saw them face familiar opposition in St Vallier, having narrowly edged past
them on penalties the previous season in the FA Cup. A 2-0 win completed Pucklechurch's route
to the County Cup Final where they narrowly lost 3-2 to Forest Green Rovers of the Premier
Division, where they will be looking to gain revenge in the league next season.
Pucklechurch are managed by Malcolm Soper with Chris Miles and Luke Bayliss as coaches.
Captain is Sophie Sweet whilst Adele Hooper finished as leading scorer with 36 goals to her name.
“For the squad to go through the League unbeaten for a second season in a row is a massive
achievement in its own right, and when you throw in the FA and County Cup runs it makes it a
truly amazing season and the whole squad should be really proud of themselves for what they have
achieved,” says Malcolm Soper.
“There were games where we weren’t playing the best, but the players’ personal drive, team
spirit, and commitment got us through some very tough games, and I can’t really thank the ladies
enough for all their efforts throughout this season.”

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