Page 14 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.34 2022-23

Seventeen wins in 22 league matches, 86 goals scored (joint top scorers across the whole of the
FAWNL) and just 16 conceded (lowest in division) is the impressive playing record as Stourbridge
carried off the Division One Midlands title. In addition to this, Amie Preston won the Golden Gloves
for the division with twelve clean sheets whilst Niamh Deasy was the Division's top scorer with 17 in
the League (25 in all competitions) and fellow strikers Lois Jefferies, who only joined in December,
and Mill Rogers both scored 17 times in all competitions.
In addition to their league success, the Glassgirls also reached two Cup Finals - the FAWNL Plate
Final, where they lost 3-1 to Leeds United, and the Birmingham County Cup, where they were beaten
3-0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, in front of 2,572. There was also a record crowd for
a league match of 333 to see them clinch the title with a 2-0 win over Northampton Town in April.
All of this came after Stourbridge lost their first game at Sheffield 2-0 and didn't play very well.
However the following Sunday in their second game at home to Lincoln City, they scored twice in the
first three minutes, won 7-0, and never stopped rolling from that point. Indeed, they didn't lose
another league game until 23rd April, after the title had already been secured - 19 League games and
244 days unbeaten in that period.
After an enforeed break due to weather, the first League game for a long time saw Stourbridge
beat Solihull Moors 1-0 at home in February. They had risen to second and at that stage were very
much in the title race, so that was another marker as to their credentials. A couple of weeks after that,
they played Sporting Khalsa at home in midweek, who led twice but Stourbridge managed to fight for
a 2-2 draw, the only points they dropped at home all season, and the only home game in any
competition that they didn't win - but another important point and a sign of resilience that they didn't
often need to show.
The Plate Final didn't see them at our best, although Hannah Fishwick scored an outstanding
goal to bring them level in the first half. Leeds were the better team on the day and deserved the win.
Two home games in April were the chance to seal the title. A 3-1 win against Sheffield almost
got them over the line, but Doncaster's last gasp equaliser at Khalsa meant they had to wait to make
it mathematically safe, which they did the following week when beating Northampton Town 2-0.
The final game of the season saw Stourbridge take on Wolves at Molineux in the Birmingham
FA County Cup Final, a top quality tier 3 outfit. They were the better team on the night, as was to be
expected, but Stour put up a great battle, particularly in the second half before losing 3-0.
Stourbridge are managed by Andy Fisher and his assistant is Mike Harris, who has a plan for
every situation, and has also masterminded the club’s Academy to the final of the ECFA National
Play-Offs, where they played Hartpury College at Crewe in a game that was sadly abandoned due to
waterlogging at half time. Amber Lawrence takes the armband as club captain.
It has really been a team effort, with ten players having played in 30 or more matches during the
campaign. Central defender Sophie Heaselgrave has played in every single match, and goalkeeper
Amie Preston in every League game, missing only the Women’s FA Cup tie at Newcastle Town.

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