Welcome to the Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s FA Women’s Championship game v Millwall Lionesses.
Here is your complimentary e-programme.Â
CONTENTS
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This season’s fixtures at the Dripping Pan
FILMING AT MATCHESToday there may be film crews in the ground, filming on behalf of Lewes Football Club and other media organisations. The filming is usually for Lewes FC marketing purposes, to show what a matchday looks/sounds like and to generally promote what we do. There may also be film crews from media organisations who will use their footage in news reports, and crews for a documentary about Lewes FC Women, Reds. Lewes Football Club respectfully asks for your permission to be filmed. If you do not want to be filmed, please let the crew know directly and they will oblige.Thanks for your cooperation in helping to build a successful club.
PLAYLIST
We invited much-loved Brighton DJ Sweet Variety to put together our pre-match playlist
Here’s today’s platters that matter. Enjoy!
LEAGUE TABLE
FRAN ALONSO
Lewes manager Fran Alonso welcomes the players, staff and supporters of Millwall Lionesses to the Dripping Pan for this FA Women’s Championship clash.
“Hello! and welcome to the Dripping Pan for what I expect to be an exciting match against Millwall Lionesses. It’s an important game for both teams. We both want to improve our league position and to finish the season playing well.
Millwall are now a better team than they were a few months ago. They have a young, talented squad with a clear style that they execute effectively. They are an organised team, difficult to play through and to break down, but also effective on the counter-attack.
Training has been very good this week. The big win against Crystal Palace has increased the confidence of the group, we can see that in our sessions. We are all in a good mood and looking forward to Sunday. Itâs difficult to build any kind of momentum, we havenât had a competitive game for almost a month. On the other hand, thatâs given us extra time to develop our playing style without having to adjust to opponents.
This will be a very special game for me as my family is coming from Spain to watch the game. This is only my second game at the Dripping Pan since I took over. Hopefully you can show them how amazing the atmosphere is here at Lewes FC. Enjoy the match!”
Fran
THE ROOKS
We stand with the people of New Zealand, Kia Kaha
-
Katie Rood – Sponsorship Available 
- Charley Boswell sponsored by Sarah Metcalfe & Jane Roberts
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES
Good afternoon and welcome to The Dripping Pan for this afternoonâs Womenâs Championship game against our visitors, Millwall Lionesses.
Iâd like to welcome the fans, players, management and officials from South East London and hope they enjoy their afternoon here in East Sussex. Whilst this will be the fourth time this season the two sides have met, it is the first time here at the Pan. Our last encounter in February was the very tense SSE FA Womenâs Cup tie which was decided by an injury time goal.
I know that Fran shares my frustration at the fixtures calendar which means this is our first competitive game in nearly a month, since we beat Crystal Palace back in February. The FA has to look at improvements in this area. Weâve played one league game in six weeks and whilst I understand that consideration has to be given for the FA Cup and Internationals, it makes our job of trying to build momentum behind the club and what we are trying to achieve incredibly hard when we have one home game since the end of January. It also doesnât help when the final round of matches on the 12th May now clash with the final round of Premier League games â in our case we will be playing against Manchester United at the same time as the Menâs team are playing their final game a few miles away. That is a completely avoidable situation. I just hope that next season more consideration is given to the structure of the season to stop a repeat of the current situation.
Whilst weâve not had much action on the pitch, thereâs been plenty happening off the pitch. Our Marketing team have been doing a fantastic job building awareness of the club and our values, including our campaign for more equality in the FA Cup prize fund, which led to Shannon Moloney and Karen Dobres being invited to speak at a select committee hearing at the Palace of Westminster. We also launched our Equality XI on International Womenâs Day last week, which has been over a year in preparation and we are eternally grateful to those partners who believe in the same values we as a club do. Some are here today so I would like to personally say thank you for the commitments they have made.
Weâve had some fantastic results as a club elsewhere in the past week or so.
Our Girls Under16 team won the Sussex Girls Challenge Cup, beating Mile Oak Wanderers 7-2 at the Sussex FA HQ at Culver Road, whilst last week our Foundation Squad under the expert guidance of Kelly Newton beat Tonbridge Angels 2-1 after extra time to reach the final of the Chairmanâs Cup. Our Girls Academy side, under the direction of John Donoghue have won the Sussex Under19s League and now face a Play-Off Final tie after Easter against BHASVIC.
The feel-good factor is certainly in full effect after the England Lionesses won the She Believes Cup in the United States of America, a perfect warm-up for this summerâs World Cup, and I should also say well done to our very own Katie Rood who scored for New Zealand in their 2-0 win over Argentina two weeks ago. Letâs hope that the final weeks of the season give us all optimism for the future of the game, starting today against our visitors.
Come on you Rooks!
Stuart
Twitter: @theballisround
TODAY’S OPPONENTS
One of the oldest clubs and most recognisable names in womenâs football, Millwall Lionesses Football Club is fiercely proud of its richly deserved reputation as a pioneering force of the British Womenâs game.
First founded in 1971, The Lionesses became the first club in the country to be officially affiliated to a professional menâs team in the 1980âs, as Millwall FC sought to strengthen their ties with the local community.
With the support of the Millwall Community programme, the Lionesses quickly became a leading light in womenâs football. They were the first club in the country to open a Girls Centre of Excellence, allowing them to develop talented players from the age of eight, right through to senior level.
Many graduates of the Lionessesâ youth system have gone on to win honours, both on an international and domestic stage, including such legends of the womenâs game as Hope Powell, Pauline Cope, Mary Phillip and Katie Chapman.
Founder members of the Womenâs Premier League in 1991, the club also collected its first major silverware that season, as Yvonne Baldeo netted the only goal of the game to defeat Doncaster Belles in the Womenâs FA Cup.
The Lionesses repeated that feat six years later, with Lou Wallerâs winner securing a 1-0 victory over Wembley in the final at Upton Park. Millwall collected a domestic cup double that season, beating Everton 2-1 at Underhill to lift the Womenâs Premier League Cup for the first time.
After an eight year absence, the Lionesses clinched promotion back to the Premier League in 2009 and, more recently, were successful in their application to join the newly formed Womenâs Super League 2 for the start of the 2014 campaign.
Read more at http://millwall.fawsl.com/clubHistory.html#GWy5hYmpExR2cQKO.99
THE SQUAD
LAST TIME WE MET
FA Womenâs Continental Tyres League Cup
Millwall Lionesses 1 – 0 Lewes
(for recent match highlights see links below)
MATCHDAY POSTER
Inspirational Woman: Olive Morris
Born in Jamaica in 1952, Olive Morris moved to South London when she was nine. She left school without qualifications, but went on to study at the London College of Printing.
Though no single event can explain someone’s path into becoming a fighter for social justice, following a notorious incident in 1969 where she witnessed the beating of a Nigerian diplomat by police in Brixton and was herself beaten, Olive’s own activism surfaced. Â A squat that she started at 121 Railton Road, Brixton, with her friend Liz Obi in 1973, became a hub of political activism. In 1974, she helped to found the Brixton Black Women’s Group.
Beyond her South London base, Olive traveled extensively around the world to learn how others were exploring new ways for society to organise itself. It was during a trip to Spain in 1978 that she fell ill and on returning to the UK, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She died a year later, just 27 years old.
(Featured Lewes FC player: Charley Boswell)
Buy the poster in our online Club Shop
PREVIOUS MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Here are the highlights from our recent games against Crystal Palace Ladies, Millwall Lionesses and London Bees:
MATCH ACTION
Photos from our recent games against Crystal Palace Ladies, Millwall Lionesses and London Bees taken by James Boyes.
Crystal Palace Ladies 0 – 3 Lewes
Read Ash Head’s Match Report here
Millwall Lionesses 1 – 0 Lewes
Lewes 0 – 2 London Bees
INTERNATIONAL ROOK
Katie Rood has been on international duty this mouth with New Zealand and not only add another appearance to her name she also scored. Take a look at Katie’s goal below.
âď¸ @Roodie_roo plays for New Zealand v Argentina
âď¸ @Roodie_roo scores
âď¸ #RoodieCantFailFT: New Zealand 2-0 Argentina
Well done Katie!#InternationalRook âď¸đžđâ˝ď¸(Video courtesy of âMy Footballâ Live App) pic.twitter.com/w2Q3epiAjC
— Lewes FC Women (@LewesFCWomen) March 3, 2019
KING OF THE PAN
Jess King, an experienced striker, has joined Lewes FC Women from Norwegian team Kolbotn.
Prior to her time in Norway, the 27-year old was playing her football abroad, in Germany for FFÂ UPSÂ Jena and before that in Switzerland for FCÂ Basel.
Jess had her football education between the ages of eight and eighteen with Liverpool LFC and spent a season with Everton.
Manager Fran Alonso said: “We are really excited to be able to bring a player of Jess’s experience and quality into the team. We are building a squad that can challenge for the Super League. It will take some time, but bringing Jess here shows how serious we are about it.”
Jess added:Â “The first conversation I had with Fran about how he wants us to play, I was very excited about and that was one of the big things that drew me to make my decision.”
YOUTH UPDATE
LEWES FC GIRLS U16
Sussex County FA Under 16 Cup Final Winners
Photos by James Boyes
Twitter: @LewesFCGirlsU16
NEWMAN-LEWES ACADEMY
Sussex Schools U19 League CHAMPIONS
Congratulations to John Donoghue and his Newman-Lewes Academy side who wrapped up the Sussex Schools Under 19 league title last week. JD’s team went one better than last season, when they finished runners-up to fierce Brighton-based rivals BHASVIC, reversing the final positions this time around.
YOUTH UPDATE: FOUNDATION SQUAD
Kelly’s Heroes Top Tonbridge To Reach Final!
Kelly Newton‘s rapidly-improving FS squad won a hard fought battle 2-1 against a strong Tonbridge Angels side. The match went into extra time before the team progressed to the final of the Chairmanâs Cup. The Final is scheduled to be played on 21st April at Maidstone United’s ground.
Congrats to Kelly, Greg and Charlotte who have all worked incredibly hard with this great bunch of players. #COYYR
YEAR 11 ‘ballers: Come And Join Us!
If you are/ have a Year 11 female footballer anywhere in England, then you too can come to one of our Girls Academy trials. If successful, you’ll be trained by our First Team coaches and get your education at @NewmanCollegeVI or @PlumptonCollege (your choice).
FACUPPRIZEGAP
Just over a week ago, Lewes FC wrote to the FA Board about the huge disparity in prize money between the men’s and women’s FA Cup. We published the letter on this website. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s here.
It’s fair to say we seem to have touched a nerve.
At a reception, hosted by Women In Football, in the Houses of Parliament the following evening, we had many conversations with MPs about the letter. They were understandably shocked at the huge differences in the prize fund for the Women’s FA Cup compared to the men’s. We were then delighted to hear Vicky Foxcroft MP ask a question at PMQs this week and to get a supportive response from the Prime Minister.
So what happens next?
Well, we are forming a small Working Group of people inside women’s football in order to draft a proposal for what we have called a ‘radical increase‘ in the women’s prize fund. To be clear, we do want the aim to be equalisation, but that’s not our starting point, despite some inaccurate reports. The Working Group will come up with a framework for not just how much more money should be injected from next season, but also how it should be done. This is to make sure that the benefit of greater prize money can have an effect throughout the women’s game.
We are now inviting submissions to the Working Group on how you feel the increase in prize money should be introduced and how its benefits could create the maximum impact in the game. Please send your submissions to info@lewesfc.com using the subject ‘FA Cup Prize Gap‘.
The prize money for the Women’s FA Cup has been too small for too long. It’s time for a change. Lewes FC Women midfielder Shannon Moloney highlights some of the major disparities outlined in the club’s open letter to the FA Board.
EARTHQUAKE
Today we are really lucky to have EarthQuake back at the Dripping Pan to play at Lewes FC Women. They were with us at our previous home game against Leicester City and it’s great to have them back.
You can find them on Facebook here.
SPONSOR A LEWES FC PLAYER
THIS SEASON’S REMAINING FIXTURES
Sunday 31st March – 12PM – HOME
Durham (FAWC)
Sunday 21st April – 2PM – AWAY
Aston Villa (FAWC)
Sunday 28th April – 1PM – HOME
Sheffield United Women (FAWC)
Sunday 12th April – 12PM – AWAY
Manchester United (FAWC)
TODAY’S TEAMS
Today’s teams will be shown here prior to kick-off.
CREDITS AND LEGAL INFO
The FA Women’s Championship strongly supports recent FA statements that there should be a zero tolerance approach against racism and all forms of discrimination. Accordingly, any form of discriminatory abuse, whether it be based on race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, faith, age, ability or any other form of abuse will be reported to The Football Association for action by that Association. (The FA 0800 085 0508/Kick It Out 020 7253 0162)
Lewes 2000 FC Limited. Registered in England and Wales with Company Registration Number 03790979.
Honorary President Terry Parris
Chairman Stuart Fuller
Directors
Charlie Dobres, Eddie Ramsden, Stuart Fuller, John Peel, Barry Collins, Ed Briggs, Jon Ruben, Roger Warner, Galia Omre
Club Secretary Barry Collins
Operations Manager Duncan Thompson
Life Members
Mr and Mrs Brook, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris, Terry Parris, Jimmy Quinn, P. Swaysland, Steve Ibbitson, Jason Hopkinson, Steve White, Martin Elliot, Kevin Fingerneissl, Kevin Powell, David and Barbara Arnold, Roger and Cathy Feltham, Ethel Treagus, Roy Dartnell RIP, Ron Moore, Derek Southouse, Ray Smith, Ken Carter.
General Manager Jack Heaselden
Development/Marketing Manager Rosy Matheson
Equality FC Campaign Manager Karen Dobres
Womenâs Manager Fran Alonso
Assistant Manager Simon Parker
Goalkeeping Coach TBC
Physiotherapist Becky Cunningham
S & C Coaches
Kit Wrangler Joe Gander
DS Manager Zak Dove
DS Coach Alan Dove
FS Manager Kelly Newton
FS Coaches Charlotte Bennett, Greg Cross
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editor Aidan Hother
Progcast content team Ash Head, James Boyes
Progcast designer Barry Collins
Club Photographer James Boyes