Watching on from the comfort of his front room will be Ray Smith, the coach who took a giant leap of faith when a young Lucy Bronze turned up at training and became the first girl to play for youth football for the Northern Alliance League side.
“I had picked my squad when I got a phone call from her mother,” Smith told The NLP. “She told me that one of her family wanted to sign up for us. I said we still had a couple of places left.
“Then she said ‘she’s a girl’. Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of Alnwick Town FC. At the time, no other girl had ever played for us.”
Times have clearly changed since, but back then Smith’s immediate concerns were of the young Bronze getting ‘kicked off the park’ in a part of the world where no quarter is asked and no quarter is given.
He needn’t have worried.
Denne historien er fra August 20, 2023-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
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Denne historien er fra August 20, 2023-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
WRAGGY WILL BE SORELY MISSED
MACCLESFIELD FC have led the tributes to “colossal” former manager Peter Wragg, who has passed away.
BURY & RAMMY HIT BIG STAGE!
BRYANLY’S late penalty kept Bury top of the tree in front of another record-breaking crowd at Gigg Lane on Boxing Day.
BRAVE BERKO ARE ON TRACK
Ducks demolition maintains title tilt
OWLS THAT! CLEE GLEE ON TOP OF THE TREE
CLEETHORPES Town maintained their four-point lead at the top of NPL East with a hard-fought 2-1 derby win over North Ferriby at the Myenergi Stadium.
HAWKS SWOOP IN FOR DERBY GLORY
REUBEN AUSTIN hailed Havant & Waterlooville teammate Leon Maloney’s wonder goal as ‘a hell of a strike’ as the Hawks continued their promotion push with a 3-1 local derby success over Gosport Borough.
JULIUS DICTATES - BUT FANS MIST IT
JULUS Ndene handed Leek Town a famous victory in the mist – not that any of the fans got to see it!
GOLDEN BROWN BACK AT THE TOP
PHIL Brown gave his Kidderminster Harriers players Christmas off – and was rewarded with a climb to the top of the tree.
BRENNAN'S BOYS SALVAGED IN 'KAMIKAZE' YEAR END
STRAIGHT talking Dean Brennan lamented ‘kamikaze’ defending despite seeing his Barnet nick a dramatic late point to end 2024 at the National League summit.
FIVE-STAR PIRATES PUMMEL ROVERS
IN the final game of the year at the Ledger Stadium, second-placed Real Bedford faced off against fourth-placed Barton Rovers, who arrived as the league’s in-form side.
MOORE'S LATE GOAL SEALS BIG REDS WIN
GEORGE Moore was the hero grabbing a stoppage-time winner to sink Kingstonian and take Uxbridge to third in the table in what is becoming a fascinating promotion race in the Pitching-In Isthmian South Central.
