LEEDS UNITED LADIES AT MOUSEHOLE THIS WEEKEND

[Dave Deacon]

THIS WEEKEND:  MOUSEHOLE AFC HOST LEEDS UNITED LADIES v CORNWALL WOMEN’S TEAM TO CELEBRATE GIRLS’ AND WOMEN’S FOOTBALL IN CORNWALL

In a major boost for girls’ and women’s football in Cornwall, Leeds United Ladies football squad have accepted an invitation from Mousehole AFC to visit West Cornwall over the weekend of 23rd to 25th February. 

The visit comes at a time of an unprecedented increase in the number of active participants and teams, providing further evidence that female football is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.

The Leeds United Ladies will train together with Mousehole’s successful Women’s team on Friday evening (23^rd) from 7-8pm at Mounts Bay Academy. 

Then on Saturday morning they will host a soccer camp for girls aged 6 to 16 from 9-10am, also at Mounts Bay – all welcome, with a chance to be a mascot for the afternoon match. 

Following that, they will play a full-scale game against a Cornwall FA Women’s Representative team at Mousehole’s HQ at Trungle Parc, Paul, on Saturday (24^th), kick off at 2:15pm.

The Cornwall FA Women’s side has not played a match since 2015, when the County FA’s 125^th anniversary was celebrated with a game against Yeovil Town Ladies.  The County squad for the Leeds match will be drawn from players who play for a Cornish side or live in Cornwall, following a series of trials held recently under the watchful eyes of co-managers Vicky Fisher and Beth Willshaw. 

Leeds United Ladies, who are an integral part of Leeds United Football Club,  compete in the FA National Women’s Premier League Division 1.  They are currently in a rich vein of form, with their last three matches all being away and producing two wins - at Chorley and Morecambe – and one draw, at Crewe Alexandra.

The forthcoming event was initiated jointly by Jason Blunt, Mousehole AFC’s Head of Youth and Development, who was until last June manager of Leeds United Under-23s, and locally-based David Haigh, former Managing Director of Leeds United.  Blunt has already used his connections with the Yorkshire club to bring a Leeds United Academy team down to Mousehole in early October to mark the launch of Mousehole’s own Academy and also the re-opening of the club’s Trungle Parc ground after extensive improvement works in the summer. 

Speaking of the forthcoming Women’s football weekend, Newlyn-born Blunt said:  “We want to make this a special weekend – an opportunity to celebrate and promote women’s football - not only showcasing the talents of a top-class team in Leeds United Ladies, but also giving local players the chance to learn from the visitors, and also see how they match up and can aspire to the higher standards set.  It will also be a great social occasion, with the Trungle Parc clubhouse open all afternoon on Saturday for food and drink, and continuing with the friendly hospitality and fun during the evening”

Lee Townend, Leeds United Ladies Chairman, said: “Our team has been going from strength to strength since the New Year and we are thrilled with their performance so far this season.  The trip to Cornwall will be a fantastic chance for the team to take part in a celebratory weekend and help promote women’s football.”

Mousehole Women team are also an integral part of Mousehole AFC and play in the Cornwall Women’s League, where they are enjoying their best-ever season, with a 100% record in 10 fixtures so far, putting them six points ahead at the top of the League table.

For the Cornwall v Leeds match on Saturday 24^th February, admission will be £5 for adults, with free entry for under-16s accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting the eventbrite website, as follows: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cornwall-fa-women-v-leeds-united-women-at-mousehole-afc-tickets-42940068902.

First-time visitors to Trungle Parc may wish to note that the ground (postcode TR19 6AZ) is not in Mousehole, but in the village of Paul, which is approached and signposted from the B3315 from Newlyn. 

[ECPL]

What was the result

[David Bray]

20 hours ago, ECPL said:

What was the result

I've asked the same question 9 hours ago.

Not sure of how many if any of CCFA Members made it to Mousehole.

Many of us had personal circumstances why we could n't get there.

So it would be nice to know what we missed.

20 hours ago, ECPL said:

What was the result

 

[Gary C]

42 minutes ago, David Bray said:

I've asked the same question 9 hours ago.

Not sure of how many if any of CCFA Members made it to Mousehole.

Many of us had personal circumstances why we could n't get there.

So it would be nice to know what we missed.

 

According to the Cornwall FA Facebook page, the result was Cornwall 0 Leeds United 3

[David Bray]

2 hours ago, Gary C said:

According to the Cornwall FA Facebook page, the result was Cornwall 0 Leeds United 3

Yep, founded it now, should have thought of 'twitter' in the first place i suppose.

Good crowd, just over 200.

[Dave Deacon]

Received today from the club..................

A weekend to celebrate and promote girls’ and women’s football was a great success, with Leeds United Ladies, who play in the Women’s FA Premier League Northern Division, having a joint training session with Mousehole’s own successful Women’s team on Friday evening and hosting a soccer camp for girls aged 6-16 on Saturday morning.  They also found time to visit the Penlee Lifeboat in Newlyn before taking on a Cornwall Women’s representative side in a full-scale match at Mousehole AFC’s Trungle Parc on Saturday afternoon, followed by a social get-together in the clubhouse during the evening.

The event was initiated and organised jointly by Jason Blunt (Mousehole AFC’s Head of Youth & Development and until last June the manager of Leeds United Under-23s), and locally-based David Haigh, former Managing Director of Leeds United.

Watched by a crowd of 215 on a bitterly cold and windy afternoon, Leeds Ladies won the fixture 3-0 with a display of clinical finishing.  Cornwall Women were playing their first game since 2015 but gave a good account of themselves against the visitors, who play regularly together in league and cup matches and have enjoyed a good run of form and results since the new year. 

Mousehole’s Lyndsey Mayers made some good saves in goal in an open first half and Cornwall came close on a couple of occasions through Tori Marks and Kerri-Ann Moxon, but it was Leeds who took the lead with the last action before half time.  Amber Hadrill nearly equalised for Cornwall with a long-range free kick but the visitors doubled their lead with a well-worked corner routine and added a third goal late on. 

Cornwall Squad:  Alice Bennion, Amber Hadrill, Beth Overton, Chevonne Johanning, Chloe Harris, Kaitlyn Harris, Lauren Bennett, Tori Marks (all Charlestown), Charlotte Whitmore, Sally Salter (both Cornwall ACC), Dani Salt, Faye Ivall (both Plymouth Argyle), Jodie Hood, Laura-Beth Medcalf, Zoe Arundell-Lethbridge (all St. Agnes), Kerri-Ann Moxon (Helston), Lyndsey Mayers (Mousehole), Sara Rowe (Callington)

*Jason Blunt was delighted with the weekend’s activities:  “We are very grateful to Cornwall FA for their work in preparing this fixture, and to Leeds United Ladies for spending time with us and showing the standards we can aspire to as the girls’ and women’s game develops.  We know they had a great time down here and enjoyed the Cornish hospitality.  The weekend needed a great deal of planning and organisation and once again the club’s hard-working volunteers did a superb job all round.  Let’s hope we can move on to stage similar events in the not-too-distant future.”

*Lee Townend, Chairman of Leeds United Ladies, was equally enthusiastic today about the success of the weekend visit:  ““It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to Cornwall and a fantastic adventure for our ladies and staff.  Our time at Mousehole AFC could not have been any more perfect - the club’s staff and players, and the Cornwall FA players, were all very professional.  We were looked after in a way that could only be described as amazing.  Jason (Blunt) and all the coaches looked after us ‘above and beyond’, and David Haigh’s hotel at Lamorna Cove was just unbelievable.  Overall, such a beautiful place to visit and rest assured we will be back at some point in the future.”

*Mousehole Women then completed a perfect weekend on Sunday afternoon with a dominant 6-0 win over Penryn Ladies at Trungle Parc in the quarter-finals of the Cornwall Women’s Cup.