Sunday 18th April 2pm KO – The Vitality Women’s FA Cup Fourth Round
WELCOME TO THE HOME OF LIVE FOOTBALL
Click on the link below to go to our live streaming service for this match and join commentator Ben Jacobs for this afternoon’s game. A big thank you to our visitors today who have brought their media team to the Pan which will allow an enhanced offering this afternoon.
Season ticket holders watch for free. Anyone else can watch too, and as a trial you can pay what you want via a donation button at the foot of the page.
https://www.lewesfc.com/live
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UK – FOOTBALL WELCOMES – APRIL 2021
The FA is supporting Amnesty International UK and inviting clubs to take part in the organisationâs Football Welcomes initiative, running throughout the month of April, to celebrate the contribution players with a refugee background make to the game and to highlight the role of football and football clubs in creating more welcoming communities for refugees.
The first Football Welcomes weekend took place in April 2017, on the 80th anniversary of the arrival in the UK of a group of child refugees from the Spanish Civil War who went on to become some of the first refugees to play professional football here. Players who have had to flee conflict and persecution have been making their mark on the game ever since.
We have been working closely with Amnesty through their FA-funded Womenâs Football Officer role and we know how much they appreciated your support for Football Welcomes in 2019 (the event in 2020 was cancelled due to Covid). We want to support them in making making Football Welcomes a success again this year, and to show that our clubs are open, welcoming and proud of their diversity and have the ability to bring together people from all backgrounds.
THE VITALITY WOMEN’S FA CUP – TODAY’S GAMES
SIMON SAYS….
Good afternoon. I hope you are all safe and well. As a manager the FA Cup is a really special tournament and we always go into the competition with hope of a good run. We have really good memories of last season when we competed against Arsenal in the Fifth Round and whilst this season’s competition will be split across the two seasons, we go into today’s game wanting to go as far as possible.
Southampton haven’t played any league games for over six months but this will be their sixth game in the competition and their form has been really impressive. Make no mistake, this will be a really tough test for us despite our relative league positions.
The club has a fantastic set up and they have some really talented players. The coaches are as good as you will find at any club. We expect them to be well organised and dangerous on the transitional phases of play.
Enjoy the game and let’s hope we are in the Fifth Round come 4pm today.
Simon
YOUR 2020/21 ROOKS
JOINING THE FLOCK
Lewes FC Director Karen Dobres recently spoke to The Flock about her journey to being a fan of the club and the inequalities of the FA Cup.
We all want the world to be a better place, do we not? To see, or rather make, things change by working towards common goals â protect the environment, fight for gender equality, end starvation, equalise the FA Cupâs prize money pots. Just the stuff we know will shift the needle on our collective happiness and well-beingâŚ
OK, so itâs possible that equalising FA Cup prize money between menâs and womenâs teams is not in your top ten. Iâm prepared to accept that it might not even be on your radar. And Iâll be honest â it wasnât on mine either until 2017, the year I learned of footballâs power to change the world.
ROOKS FALL JUST SHORT AT LIVERPOOL BY MARCUS LEE
An own goal in the first half and a header from Meikayla Moore in the second half saw the Rooks lose 2-0 against Liverpool.
The Reds dominated the early possession and had the first chances of the game as Lewes struggled to get out of their own half.
The hosts soon made the Rooks pay as they scored the opening goal on five minutes. A corner was swung into the Lewes area by Ceri Holland and the ball came off a Lewes defender to end up in the net.
The Rooks looked for a quick response after the goal. Good play between Ini Umotong and Mollie Rouse resulted in a corner. The first corner was headed behind by a Liverpool defender and the second was cleared away.
On 18 minutes, it looked as though Umotong had brought the game level as she found the net. However, the flag was raised for offside against the Lewes striker.
Only a minute later, Umotong went close again. Niamh Fahey made a mistake at the back and Umotong was quick to jump on the error, but she fired narrowly wide of the Liverpool goal.
Liverpool had another chance on 38 minutes as Ellie Hack was forced to play the ball behind for a corner. Tatiana Saunders did well to palm the ball away from her goal and the follow-up shot deflected wide of the Lewes âkeeperâs net.
With only three minutes of the half left, Lewes had a corner which dropped in the box. Georgia Timms, Sophie OâRourke and Rhian Cleverly all had shots blocked. The ball eventually deflected behind and the Rooks were claiming for a penalty, but the referee waved away appeals and pointed for a corner.
The Rooks started the second half well and Umotong almost sent Lucy Ashworth-Clifford through on goal, only to see her pass intercepted by Moore.
However, on 55 minutes, the Reds doubled their lead. A quick free-kick allowed the ball to be played down the wing and a cross came in from Ashley Hodson, which was headed in by Moore.
14 minutes later, Emma Jones did well to control the ball inside the Liverpool penalty area but couldnât get her shot away. Umotong then saw her shot well blocked by the Reds defender.
Another chance fell to Jones on the edge of the area. This time her shot went wide of the goal.
There were few chances for either side going into the closing stages and the referee soon blew the whistle for full-time, ending Lewesâ unbeaten run.
Liverpool: Foster, Roberts, Fahey (C), Hinds, Moore, Bailey, Jane (Lawley 60), Holland (Kearns 65), Hodson, Furness (Rodgers 80), Linnett
Subs not used: Heeps, Robe, Thestrup, Parry
Goals: Own goal 7, Moore 55
Lewes: Saunders, Boswell, Hack (Savva 62), Cleverly (C), Cousins, OâRourke, Rouse (Lane 75), Mackey (Leek 75), Timms (Jones 62), Umotong (Jhamat 83), Ashworth Clifford
Subs not used: Quayle, Rood
Yellow card: OâRourke 32
LIVERPOOL 2 LEWES 0 – AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW BY STUART FULLER
Let’s just remind ourselves of the situation. Lewes FC are playing Liverpool FC. That statement in itself takes some believing but here we are, not in Liverpool but across the Mersey on The Wirral. Liverpool FC don’t play their women’s games at Anfield – not sure why but then let’s remember that Man Utd and Spurs have only just allowed their Women’s teams to play at Old Trafford and White Hart Lane Stadium for the first time very recently. But there’s no complaints about Prenton Park, home of Tranmere Rovers. Superb stadium, fantastic pitch and very friendly staff.
But they aren’t playing, Liverpool are. And whilst virtually every other team in the Women’s Championship will stream their games for fans who cannot attend due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Liverpool can’t because the media team are covering another game. But, if we want to stream the game, we can and so we bring the equipment with us.
So when we find out that we cannot access any reliable WiFi signal, we would have hoped there was someone from Liverpool FC on hand to help – after all, we offered to stream the game for both sets of fans. Alas, it doesn’t appear so. The Rooks team have 30 minutes to fashion a solution. Of course, we could just put our hands up and admit defeat but that would have meant disappointing everyone who wanted to watch the game. So in true NASA mission control style, a solution was fashioned.
We went live seconds before kick off. An iPad, borrowed from one of the Lewes players, tethered to one of the coach’s mobile phone 4G signal and held in place by an accessory picked up from a garage down the road that is used to lock steering wheels and duct tape. Plenty of duct tape.
There’s no replays, no zooming in on the action. To move the “camera”, I have to lift the tripod slightly so the tape bonding doesn’t snap. I cannot see the middle part of the screen as the tripod is in the way, whilst to get a shot of the action on the touchline below I have to tip the tripod onto one leg.
Commentator Ben Jacobs brings me in to talk about the build up to Liverpool’s opening goal, scored in the 7th minute after the referee seems to be the only person (including his assistant) to see the last touch come off a Lewes player and gives a corner. I forget to move the camera whilst I am talking to him from the end Lewes are defending whilst they are attacking at the other end.
Lewes come back into the game and just before half-time appear to have a clear cut penalty when a corner isn’t cleared and after three legitimate blocks, the fourth appears to hit a Liverpool hand. If only we had a closer view or a replay? Blame the cameraman.
Half-time and we have a chance to try to correct the iPad camera angle so viewers don’t have to tilt their head by 45 degrees. More duct tape is applied and we see that there is only 30% battery left. We tell each other it will be “OK” and start to think about contingencies (a mobile tethered to another mobile that I hand pan to follow the action).
Liverpool take a smart free-kick and when the ball comes over, it is headed home. Ben looks at me unsure who the scorer was. “I think it was Roberts”, he says. “I think it was Hodson” I say. The Stadium announcer tells us it was Moore.
Lewes never look out of the game and had they taken a few more opportunities to test Foster in the Liverpool goal may have got themselves back into the game. But Liverpool managed the game well, wound down the clock and probably on the balance of play, deserved the three points.
I could now have my packet of Salt ‘n’ Vinegar Discs (surely the most salty and vinegary of crisps ever produced) without a fear of 275 stream watchers hearing me munch on those. I was also desperate for the gents, which involved a trek across the stadium and not possible during the game.
But we did it. I hadn’t set off at 6.30am in the knowledge of watching the game through 2/3rds of a iPad screen but I didn’t mind. I was one of the lucky ones that got to be “there” and hopefully we were able to bring some entertainment to a few hundred other fans who would have almost certainly all done exactly as I had if they would have been asked.
Huge kudos to Hannah, Maggie and Ben for everything they did to get the camera, network and the stream working. We may not have got any points, but we proved that where there is a will, there is a way.
Another job ticked off my list of Football To Do’s.
THE MAGIC OF THE FA WOMEN’S CUP
Today’s winners will face an away trip to either Birmingham City or Coventry United in the Fifth Round, which will take place on the weekend of the 15-16th May. The remaining rounds of this season’s competition will then take place in the first quarter of the 2021/22 season, with the final being held at Wembley Stadium in October 2021.
Lewes have never progressed past the Fifth Round of the competition, with last season our best performance in the cup when we lost 2-0 away at Arsenal.
PAN-TASTIC EFFORT FROM OUR VOLUNTEER ARMY
Our amazing volunteers continue to revamp the Dripping Pan whilst fans are absent, rebuilding fences and giving the whole ground a facelift. Work will continue throughout the summer but we all just wanted to say thank you to our volunteers, especially the Supporters Club for everything they are doing for the club. Want to know more about their work? Click here to find out.
NOTES FROM THE CHAIR
Good afternoon and thanks for joining us today for our FA Cup tie against Southampton. I’d like to welcome the Saints to the Pan this afternoon and hope that their journey back along the A27 is pain-free as well as our global audience who will be watching online via our streaming service.
The cup provides us with an opportunity to pit our wits against teams from outside of the Championship. We watched Southampton’s win last week against Yeovil United in the Third Round and know they will be a strong match for us, even though they play two tiers below us at the moment, but based on the resources and ambition of the club I don’t they will be there for too much longer.
The club have had their season interrupted by the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 but that will not count for much come kick-off and they will give it everything to try to progress to the Fifth Round. Today’s winner, whether that is in normal time, extra-time or even penalties, will face a trip to fellow Championship side Coventry United or Super League Birmingham City on the 16th May.
Our last game saw us travel to Liverpool, or should I say Birkenhead. In recent weeks we have seen more Women’s games being moved to Men’s Premier League grounds – Old Trafford and White Hart Lane in this instance, so it was disappointing that the game wasn’t also moved to Anfield. Prenton Park, home of Tranmere Rovers, is a fine stadium, but it isn’t the home of Liverpool FC. At a time when the Women’s domestic game is growing so much, despite the impacts of Covid-19, I hope all Super League clubs have plans in place to move all, or at least a majority, of their games to their main stadiums in the next season.
The game at Prenton Park was memorable for a couple of reasons. We can count ourselves unlucky to have not come away with something. We conceded early in the game from a corner that only the referee saw had come off a Lewes player, then had a very strong claim for a penalty in the last minutes of the first half after a Liverpool player blocked a goal-bound shot.
It was also memorable for the fact the Lewes media team (Maggie, Hannah and Ben) had to improvise to provide a stream of the game (in most instances it would be the home side that provided such a service but….) which involved an attachment for a steering wheel, Ini iPad, one of the coaches phone, tethered to a 4G network and a lot of Duct Tape. I stepped in to make my debut as a cameraman, something that I doubt I will return to in a hurry! But we made it through and hopefully everyone managed to see most of the game, even if on occasions the camera was slightly behind the play! You can read more of the game elsewhere in this progcast edition.
Finally, I’d like to say a big Get Well Soon to Dave Evans, one of our loyal Supporters Club members who has been unwell this week. We all wish you a speedy return to full health and to the fantastic job you and the rest of the volunteers have done in making repairs to the ground over the last few weeks.
Enjoy the game and COME ON YOU ROOKS!
Stuart
OH WHEN THE SAINTS….INTRODUCING SOUTHAMPTON FC
In 1970, Southampton Women’s F.C. was formed by female fans of the men’s team, but the two clubs were unaffiliated. Southampton Women’s F.C. went on to great success in England, winning the WFA Cup (Women’s FA Cup) eight times.
Another team, Southampton Saints Girls & Ladies F.C. were formed in 1979 as Red Star FC, who were founder members of the WFA Women’s National League in 1991. As Saints Girls & Ladies, the club was absorbed by Southampton F.C. in 2001. The club had financial difficulties in 2005; the men’s senior side were relegated from the Premier League after 27 years of top-flight football, and Southampton F.C. withdrew support for the female side. Southampton Saints Girls & Ladies continued without major club support for another 14 years, before announcing their demise due to financial difficulties in July 2019.
By 2016 Southampton FC, under new ownership, saw the need for a competitive senior women’s team as the profile of women’s football in the UK grew. With the club’s Regional Talent Centre, a Southampton Under-16 team was formed, and an Under-21 side in May 2017. In March 2018, Southampton unsuccessfully applied to enter the FA Women’s Championship (Tier 2).
In July 2018, the club appointed former England international Marieanne Spacey-Cale as head of Women’s and Girls’ Football. Spacey-Cale has 91 senior England caps. In June 2018, the senior team was listed for the following season’s Southern Region Women’s Football League First Division South.
In the 2018â19 season, the club in fact played in the Southern Region Premier Division, and won the title with a perfect record of 18 wins, earning promotion to the FA Women’s National League Division One. They also beat Oxford City Women in the League Cup, achieving a domestic Double.
The squad:
1 Kayla Rendell
2 Ella Morris
3 Shelly Provan
4 Kirsty Whitton
5 Rosanna Parnell
6 Kelly-Marie Fripp
7 Georgie Freeland
8 Phoebe Williams
9 Ella Pusey
10 Shannon Sievwright
11 Alisha Ware
12 Sophia Pharoah
13 Sara Luce
14 Kelly Snook
15 Charley Evans
16 Caitlin Morris
17 Lucia Kendall
18 Kitty Cleeve
19 Rachel Panting
20 Ellie Head
21 Grace Palmer
23 Emilie Castagna
24 Milly Mott
25 Tilly Thomas
26 Kelci-Rose Bowers
28 Ellie Chaffe
31 Laura Da Silva
The Saints last five games:
Sun 11th April – FA Cup – Yeovil United (A) – 3-0 – Sievwright, Pharoah, Panting
Sun 4th April – FA Cup – Plymouth Argyle (H) – 3-0 – Kendall, Panting, Parnell
Sun 13th Dec – FA Cup – Bournemouth (A) – 5-0 – Pusey x 2, Kendall x 2, Panting
Sun 1st Nov – FA Cup – Ilminster Town (A) – 4-0 – Williams, Ware x 2, Pusey
Sun 10th Oct – FA Cup – Helston Athletic (A) – 11-0 – Panting x 4, Ware x 2, Pusey x 2, Sievwright x 2, Freeland
OUR LAST GAME HERE AT THE PAN – LEWES 2 LONDON BEES 1
Pictures thanks to James Boyes. You can view more of Boysie’s pictures from the whole season here.
THE NEXT FOOTBALL THING – A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO NFTS
I guarantee that by the end of this year, everyone will have heard of NFTs. Cards on the table, I had no clue what a NFT was until two months ago and now there is rarely a day goes by without seeing a reference to them. Over the last two weeks, NFTs have started to be talked about by rock bands, art galleries and even Disney. So, what are they and how could they play a part in the future of football?
Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are digital assets. They may not sound appealing but they soon could be one of the most important transactional instruments used by us all. They are used to create and authenticate physical and virtual items such as sports memorabilia, art work and music. Simple, right?
Well, not quite. Iâm not an expert on the inâs and outâs of NFTâs (but these guys are) and can explain it far better than I can. But since you ask, hereâs a 5 second explanation on what they are.
A Non-Fungible Token is essentially a unique digital asset, which uses blockchain technology to verify its authenticity. There, simple. But who is talking about them, and why?
NFTs are unique â no two NFTs are identical, even if they represent the same item. A digital record is kept on a blockchain which includes information that verify the source and history of the NFT.
Letâs take the age old problem of ticket touting. Itâs June and England have made it through to the European Championship semi-finals. Fans are allowed back into Wembley but as usual the touts have taken all the tickets and are asking ÂŁâ000 for them. Some are genuine, others are almost perfect looking forgeries. The touts/scammers win, the genuine fans lose. A familiar story we have encountered for years.
The solution is NFT. Tickets can be issued as part of a blockchain. The blockchain will include full details of who the ticket was originally allocated to, what price they paid and whether it has been resold to someone else. Each one is unique and easily verifiable. If a ticket ends up in the hands of a tout, their details will be recorded and there will be a chain of transactions held within the blockchain. If the tickets are held digitally, then they can only be transferred from one holder to another through the blockchain application.
Each NFT, or in this case, ticket contains distinguishing information that makes it both distinct from any other NFT, or ticket, and easily verifiable. This makes the creation and circulation of forged tickets pointless because each item can be traced back to the original issuer.
The major growth in NFTs has been in collectibles including art works and sports memorabilia. By creating a single, global database of all art objects, the risk of buying a forgery or a stolen work decreases significantly, because every piece is tagged. The clever part of any blockchain application, such as NFTs, is that it can only be updated by consensus. That is, the everyone who is within the blockchain system must agree on additions and changes to the chain itself â something which becomes significant when you factor in that nothing entered into the blockchain can be removed. NFTs cannot be destroyed, removed or copied. One other interesting element, which has been ceased upon by the band Kings of Leon in releasing their new album is that ownership of NFTs belongs to the purchaser, not the licensor. So, if you buy their new album via a NFT, you own the music, not just the licence from the record company to listen to it.
If you think it is a fad, then think again. Nearly $200m has been spent on NFTs in the last three years and their popularity is revolutionising the collectibles space â The NBA has created an application called Top Shots for collectible âmomentsâ that is like ebay on steroids, where buyers digitally queue to buy packs of video clips from NBA games featuring a particular player and then can trade them on a blockchain market place.
It is only a matter of time before the Premier League wise up to the massive opportunity that NFTs offer. Whilst the ticketing concept is a step in the right direction for fans, the EPL will be eying the NBA model of how to monetise their teams, and the teams their players. Liverpool have already jumped onboard, partnering with Sorare in January to allow fans to purchase NFTs.
The French company has already put partnerships in place with PSG, Juventus, Porto, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for their fantasy football game where playerâs performances impact the value of the NFTs.
NFTâs may not be a new concept but they are making the jump from a cypto-application to one that can deliver some real benefits to traditional sporting models and challenges. It will take some clever marketing to get people comfortable with the idea but the possibilities are significant for clubs, governing bodies and fans. Letâs hope they are used âfor the good of the gameâ and not just an excuse to extract another pound of flesh from fans.
CONGRATULATIONS TO NORTHERN IRELAND!
You could sense something special in the Belfast air on Tuesday as Northern Ireland chased their dream of reaching a major tournament, reported Andy Gray for BBC Northern Ireland.
The 2-0 win at Seaview victory over Ukraine completed a 4-1 Euro 2022 play-off triumph as the euphoric Northern Ireland squad celebrated the country’s first ever qualification for a major women’s tournament. It also featured one of the most cynical fouls committed in football for many years (Watch with care here!).
To put the achievement in context, the women’s national team was only reformed in 2004 after being disbanded at the turn of the century. Northern Ireland’s rise from the ashes to history-makers in the space of 17 years is nothing short of astonishing.
“No one can understand how a team with players who work in shops or hospitals are here against professionals,” said manager Kenny Shiels before the match.
And he’s right. The journey for this group of unlikely heroes has been remarkable.
The part-time nature of the team cannot be underestimated. Of the 11 players who started in Ukraine, seven of them had not kicked a ball for their clubs since December, with one friendly against England in February their only match practice.
Any team would struggle with eight key injuries to their squad, yet Northern Ireland, 49th in the world, proved the doubters wrong against a team 26 places higher in the rankings. Russia are the next lowest ranked team to qualify for the Euros at 24 in the world. Roll on next Summer when the Irish will be in action in England at the tournament.
FILMING AT TODAY’S GAME
Today 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 match day looks/sounds like and to generally promote what we do. 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.
CREDITS AND LEGAL INFORMATION
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
Chair Stuart Fuller
Directors Ed Briggs*, Charlie Dobres, Stuart Fuller*, John Peel, Eddie Ramsden, Galia Orme, Roger Warner, Steve Keegan, Karen Dobres, Trevor Wells
Claire Rafferty**
*Re-elected at AGM Oct 2020
** Directors seconded onto the board
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 Maggie Murphy
Assistant GM Lynne Burrell
Marketing Director Charlie Dobres
Marketing Officer Maggie Murphy
Safeguarding Officer Lynne Burrell
Pathway Coordinator Alison Palmer
Manager Simon Parker
Assistant Coach Jesus Cordon
Assistant Coach Ady Penrose
PP Coach Christos Andreou
GK Coach Sergio Maldonado
Nutritionist Stefano Montanari
Asst PPC Kayleigh Bonwick
Physio Paul Paredes
Team Psychologist Chelsea Orme
Data Analyst Adam Chilcott
DS Coach Lewis Singleton
U18s Manager/ Head coach Kelly Newton
U18s Manager/ Coach Charlie Carter
U16s Manager/ Coach David Seymour
U16s Coach Lucy Barnes
U14s Manager/ Coach Tom Young/ Rob Palmer
Pathway Co-ordinator Alison Palmer
Pathway Goalkeeping coach Peter Stimpson
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editor Stuart Fuller
Club Photographer James Boyes
UP NEXT AT THE PAN – LEICESTER CITY – SUNDAY 25th APRIL 2021
