15
Feb
Knaresborough Town women to play Harrogate Railway in County Cup
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Knaresborough Town Women’s Football Club will play against Harrogate Railway in a local derby this weekend.
The County Cup match, which will take place on Sunday (February 16), will be the second time the two sides have faced each other since last season, despite being in different leagues.
The match will kick off at 2pm at Station View, which is Harrogate Railway's ground.
The two teams played in the same competition last season, where Knaresborough fell short in a 3-1 loss to the Harrogate side.
There is an added element this time around, as two sisters will be playing against each other.
Sarah and Jo Parkes both played for Harrogate Railway at junior level. Due to family ties to the area, Sarah left to join Knaresborough in 2022. Joanne decided to stay loyal to Railway, meaning the two will likely play against each other on Sunday.
Knaresborough currently sit in second place in the West Riding County Women’s Football League division one. This is the second tier of the league.
Harrogate Railway sit in sixth place in the premier league, which is the division above.
Harrogate Town aside, Knaresborough and Railway are the next best women’s football clubs in the district.
Boroughbridge and Ripon both have women’s teams, but they are in division two and division five respectively.
Knaresborough Town
Knaresborough Town women's team is very new, having only been established in 2022. Despite this, they have cruised through the league tiers, having been promoted in every season.
Knaresborough women’s manager Michael Bligh told the Stray Ferret about the club’s meteoric rise:
This is only our third year of existence. We started in division four and won back-to-back league titles to get into the division we are in now.
We’re aiming for three promotions in a row. We’re currently sat in second place, so things are looking positive.
When we played Railway last year we dominated the first half and went 1-0 up, but couldn’t see the game off.
The girls are continuing to improve, and we are hoping for a better result this time.
Knaresborough Town WFC Manager Michael Bligh. Credit: Caught Light Photography
Knaresborough won all 18 of their division four games in their debut season, scoring 163 and only conceding eight. They boasted huge scorelines such as 20-0 and 22-0.
Due to the clear ability gap, and with the establishing of a fifth division, Knaresborough were promoted straight into division two. They won the league again, having only drawn and lost one game each.
Town have made three new signings this year in their bid for a third successive promotion.
Goalkeeper Maria Chatzistamou, midfielder Lauren Macleod and forward Ellis Baxter have all joined the club.
Whilst they are currently an amateur side, Michael said that the club’s long-term aim is to become semi-professional:
If we get promoted this year, then we will be eligible to compete in the FA Cup, which would be a massive step forward for us. We would still be amateur but would only be a few promotions away from semi-professional status.
If Knaresborough are promoted this year, then they will be in tier seven of the Women’s Football League Pyramid.
Teams typically become semi-professional at National League level, which is in tier four. Knaresborough would need to be promoted at least three additional times to achieve semi-professional status.
Harrogate Railway
Whilst the Knaresborough women’s team are still, albeit rapidly, learning to walk, Harrogate Railway women’s have been around for much longer.
Established in 2006, they are one of the longest running women's teams in the area.
The Stray Ferret spoke with Harrogate Railway manager Rich Burns who spoke about his experience with the club:
Personally, I’ve been doing it with the club for 17 years. There has been lots to be proud about in that time.
In the 2014/15 season we won the league and cup double which is our best accoladed achievement to date.
But what I’m probably most proud of is that, two years ago, we were able to form three different women’s teams.
We previously only ever had one, so having enough people interested in the club to form three teams is huge for us.
Harrogate Railway WFC. Credit: Caught Light Photography
Rich said that these local derbies often also tend to generate an element of nervousness, and that the notion around the dressing room was that it was “inevitable” that the two clubs would be drawn against each other.
He also said that there was an extra level of excitement around the game inside the Railway camp because of the family rivalry of the Parkes sisters.
Both teams currently train twice a week, and are "always on the lookout" for new additions to the squad. If you would like to join or would like more information about Knaresborough Town, please click here. For Harrogate Railway, please click here.
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