Gemma Lancaster, captain of Merseyrail Ladies, smiles as she reflects on the success of the team last season.
A club that was only formed in the summer of 2013, they’ve risen through the leagues at an impressive rate and they’re now about to embark on a new campaign in the fourth tier of the women’s game. But last season’s success is yet to be forgotten as they were crowned champions of the North West Women’s Premier Division and earned their promotion to the FA Women’s National League Division One North.
“We brought two teams together at the start of last season and we had a new manager come in from Tranmere, who were in our league as well. A few of those girls came over then we had a core group of girls already at Merseyrail,” Lancaster began, reflecting on the season just gone. “There was the idea that we could go on and do well in the league and win it. That was the aspiration but there was also the fact we were practically a brand new team and might need some time to gel.
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“The two seasons before it, due to Covid, were very on and off and we were able to have a bit of a pre pre-season in March and April (last year) and then we had a little break before we started the actual pre-season. It allowed us to gel with the new players a little bit earlier but there was that expectation that we could do well because we knew we had the quality, but it was a question of whether we’d click in time and luckily we did.”
The team suffered just one defeat all season, a 3-2 loss away at Darwen FC Women’s first team in September last year. The blip was followed by a 15-game unbeaten run that saw them finish 10 points clear at the top of the table by the end of the campaign.
It was a short spell after Christmas with victories over Salford City Lionesses and Cheadle Town Stingers that instilled a belief within the squad they could go on and secure the title and promotion.
Lancaster continued: “It was a turning point for us just after Christmas. We had one of those games where we knew we could pull away from the group a little bit and we scored in the last couple of minutes. A little screamer from our right back and I think we all knew from the celebrations that we could go on and do this.
“We had a couple of teams at that point on our tails a little bit but we were picking up the better results. But that game was the big turning point and it ended up being the goal of the season!”
Merseyrail Ladies were eventually named Champions in early March with two games to spare after a 3-0 win away at Mossley Hill Athletic. Among their own celebrations were a number of messages from familiar faces.
Former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane, along with club captain Jordan Henderson sent video messages to congratulate the side on their success. Liverpool Women and Northern Ireland midfielder Rachel Furness also took part, along with ex-Manchester United star Patrice Evra and TV presenter Gabby Logan.
“It was validating, you know! It was sick, I loved it,” Lancaster said, speaking on the video messages. “I’m a big Liverpool fan, I’m gutted Mane has left but I loved the message from him! Ellise (Newby), one of our players, she works for New Balance and so she works closely with Mane and she got him to do that. Chelcee (Grimes) obviously got quite a few names, with Henderson and a few others. It was nice, it was just a little extra buzz and we were already buzzing at the fact we’d won the league so just that little bit extra was so cool.”
The squad’s attention is now firmly fixed on the new season and preparing for life in a higher division. The Toxteth-based team welcomed a new coaching set-up earlier this summer with Sam Cotterill taking charge alongside assistant manager Mark Towers. They’ve also been boosted by the addition of first team and UEFA B licenced coach Katie Halligan.
“We’ve lost a few core starting players who have been part of the spine for the last few years through retirements and starting families,” Lancaster continued, speaking on the squad’s development over the summer. “So we had to bring in new faces and we’ve had a new manager and coaching staff come in, too.
“They’ve come from Chorley reserves and they’re quite young and looking for new ways of playing. They brought a few girls from Chorley with them who are like 17/18 years old and they’re so good, you can just see they’re going to go far. It’s given us a spark of youth, but we’ve also brought in girls from tier 4 established teams like Stockport, a girl from (Liverpool) Feds, who have gone up to tier 3 and a girl from AFC Fylde, also in tier 3. So we’ve got a wealth of experience, but also that impact of youth, speed and fitness and it balances things out.
“I’m not the youngest, so I’m not the quickest but I can understand the game a bit more and I think a few of the girls are the same. We’ve got quality in every single area of that pitch and on the bench, it’s going to be difficult for the manager to choose a starting line-up, let me tell you that!”
Some new faces in the team include Ella Whittaker, Jade Collins, Jodie Mortimer (from AFC Fylde), Erin Slade (Liverpool Feds), Hannah Derbyshire, Beth Sullivan (from Man City U21s), Courtney Jevons, Leah Collins, Jace Carlin and Chloe Drury. Along with fresh signings, the club have also been hard at work ensuring the current crop of players committed their futures to the team.
Singer, television presenter and footballer Grimes is among the players retained, after she joined the club from Tranmere the season prior. Captain Lancaster, goalkeeper Jess Carberry, Alicia Hardacre, Georgia Wood, Charlotte Tyers, Newby, and Charlotte Cloy have also extended their contracts.
With a tough challenge ahead in the FA Women’s National League, it’s no surprise training has ramped up for the players as they ready themselves for their season opener against Newcastle United at Admiral Park this Sunday (August 21) at 2pm.
“What the coaches have set out is we want to be the fittest team, so we’ve done a lot of fitness,” Lancaster said. “We can see it in the pre-season games, we played over the weekend and it was 33 degrees and we were still running until the 90th minute. You can let your football do the talking when you’re fitter so that’s definitely something that has been pushed.
“We’ve also brought in a coach called Katie (Halligan) who is UEFA B standard, she’s really, really good. She’s very clever and tactile and she’s looking at phases of play from each section and how they link together, so it’s that tactical side that’s also really come in now. You’ve got to be clever, football is a work of art and each piece is like a different part of a puzzle and that’s what we’re working on now to get our game plans going for the start of the season.”
Promotion to the National League is only the latest step in the incredible journey this team has been on over the last few years. They hope to make an impact in the division and continue pushing up the leagues.
“The ultimate goal is to stay in the National League but we’ve said from the off we’re not there just to make up numbers,” Lancaster continued. “We are there to make an impact, we want to go in there and shock the league a little bit.
“I know it’s going to be difficult, we all know it’s going to be hard as it’s the standard above and each season teams are bringing in girls from higher divisions to improve their chances and carry on moving up. We’ve done exactly that ourselves.
“We are there to win games and do well, this is where Merseyrail wants to be - in the National League and beyond. We don’t want to sit down any further, we’ve got a really good thing going on at this club in terms of backing and funding so it’s only right.
“This is the time to do it so we want to excel from here and keep moving forward. Like I said, it’s going to be difficult but this is where pre-season will come in, the more intense training sessions and the improvements to the tactical side of our game.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time but we’re there to win. I don’t want to be losing, I think we’ve got a really good side and we’ve got the chance to go and get some good results and shock a few teams in this league.”
Lancaster joined Merseyrail in the 2015/16 season, a couple of years after the club's formation, but she's had a football at her feet from a young age.
“I’m the youngest of three girls and I think my dad wanted a little boy to be fair! I think from nursery I was kicking a football and I got scouted for Everton Ladies when I was seven and I played for them for 11 years, before it was an academy," she said.
“Everton and Liverpool, at the time, weren’t academies. Liverpool became one first when I was at under-14s level so I could play for Everton Ladies and Liverpool’s academy at the same time, then the season after Everton became an academy too.
“I stayed with Everton because I knew all the girls from when I was seven years old, so I played with the likes of Alex Greenwood and Nikita Parris. I’m a little bit older but Parris came in the last season I was at Everton and I played with Greenwood for a good couple of years, she had a great left foot back then!
“Then I went over to America for a year and a half and played football out there, then I stopped playing for a little bit. I had a knee injury, then came home and went to university but without football my life is dead boring! I can’t not play football, I need to be involved with it in some way, shape or form."
Then came Merseyrail but, having spent a couple of years away from the game, Lancaster joined the club's reserve team. She quickly progressed to the first team and was later made captain of the side.
"Since I’ve joined the club I’ve really enjoyed it," she concluded. "We’ve had players that have come and gone but it’s always been a really nice group of girls and a bit of a community. Considering the club only started in 2014, to where we are now, it’s been a huge success and it’s so boss to be a part of.
"I wouldn’t go anywhere else now, I love it here and it’s who I am - all my mates know I play for Merseyrail and I wouldn’t even say it’s my hobby! It’s my job and I’ve still got a 9-5!”
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