SEVEN local girls, playing in the Thame Under-16s team in the Oxfordshire Girls Football League, have won the 2006 County Championship Cup Final against Carterton.
And they won it in FA Cup Final style ? in a penalty shoot-out, following a nil-nil draw and nail-biting extra time.
The Cup Final was played in a chilly wind at the Oxford City ground, whilst other Cup Finals for other age groups were being played on the same day, Saturday, May 13.
The win was made particularly extraordinary since Thame played the full game, plus extra time and the penalty shoot with the same seven players and no subs, while opposing team Carterton had three subs to rest their players.
Just three years ago the same seven Thame area girls, plus a few others, took Lord Bill?s School?s Under 13s team to the national finals in the English Schools Football Association (ESFA) Coca-Cola National Cup League, playing the final on Liverpool?s hallowed turf of Anfield, but losing the final to Thomas Telford School on the full-size pitch.
Amy Cummings, Charlotte Wild, Emily Shriver, Gemma Rockingham, Leanne Carlisle, Lindsey Ackland and Rose Osbourne took the trophy for Thame Girls Under 16s this year.
The bitter irony is that these girls may never get to represent Thame again, since they will be too old to play in the girls league, and the Thame Ladies disbanded a few years ago.
Team coach, Derek Mansfield said, ?These girls play very well as a team; we have played all season with the same seven players, beating 12 other teams, some larger, taller, stronger teams, from across the county. It would be a great shame if our girls had to play for another town after this cup win.?
Commenting on the final game, coach Mansfield said: “Carterton was ready for us this week, because when we played them last week, we took the game right to their net, playing practically the entire game in their half of the field, but we just couldn?t score (it too was a nil-nil draw). In both halves of regular time in the final, each team had four to five shots on goal, but were either saved by the keeper or were unlucky for the striker.
?In extra time, each team had another two or three shots on goal, but we still had a nil-nil draw at the end of extra time,? he added. ?Walking off the field, our girls tongues were dragging in the dirt – they were that tired. I?m so proud that they each gave 110 per cent for such long game.
?Given that these girls don?t really practice much, partly due to their upcoming GCSE exams, they play very well together. They have been playing as a team, with an occasional extra player, for the past three or four years.
“Thanks to our kit sponsorship from the Haddenham Motorist Centre, the girls look like a good team, as well as playing like one. Local businessman, Nick Carlisle from the Haddenham Motorist Centre, has sponsored kit for all the Thame Girls teams.”
Mr Mansfield also thanked Trevor Grace and Graham Caulfield for their training support throughout the season, as well as all the parents who supported the team through wind and rain.
?I hope they can find more ladies to re-form the Thame Ladies Team again,? he said. ?If there are any young women 16 or older in the Thame area and surrounding villages, can they please ring me on 01844-261311 and we?ll see if we can get a young Thame Ladies side together again.?
And if younger girls in the Thame area want to play football in the Oxfordshire Girls League, please also ring Derek Mansfield for details. Thame does have more promising future ladies players coming up through the ranks. Last year?s Thame Girls Under-14 side won Division Two in the Oxfordshire Girls Football League.
You never know – if these girls are shown the proper amount of support and encouragement, Thame could provide the bulk of a winning England Ladies team one day in future.