Leeds United were the only thing standing between Hull City and the FAWNL Division One North title on Tuesday night.

The so-called Tigresses have been sweating it for weeks. Each season, repeated postponements puts the fixture schedules of clubs across the division out of kilter meaning that, with games in hand, City have had the de facto upper hand in the title race for some time but have avoided the albatross of the top spot by cruising along in third place.

“I just want to get it out of the way,” City skipper Ellie Tanser told HullLive ahead of their visit to Garforth Town, home of the Whites, but it wasn’t the mere might of Leeds or the threat of Jess Rousseau’s right boot which meant that she couldn’t look forward to a potential promotion party.

No, Tanser and her teammates and Rousseau and hers were all desperate for the fulfilment of a fixture that has escaped them twice before. Hull might have had an earlier and more certain grip on Division One North had their 5-1 win over Leeds happened when it was first slated to take place in March, but the bog at Garforth had other plans. Equally, the promotion hopefuls at Middlesbrough might feel aggrieved that the decider happened later in the campaign when Leeds, on paper, had nothing to play for.

The match was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, but rainfall over the weekend determined that the pitch was again unusable.

“It is quite draining,” Tanser said. “In your head, you’re prepping for it all week, building up to it on Saturday night and then Sunday morning, you’re ready for it.

“It’s then a big drain because you’re not going to play, and then you’ve got to hype yourself up again for it.”

An ever-shifting fixture schedule is a huge threat to the delicately-balanced psychology of a title run-in – and that’s assuming everyone can make the rearranged game. Working for Hull City’s charitable trust, Tanser’s football-loving colleagues were amenable to a late rota change, but teammates working in the police or the health service might not be available to play at such short notice.

A touch of disarray for the players – now what about the fans? Hull City Ladies – not affiliated with the play-off-bottling men-maulers – are proud of their epic fanbase, who follow the players vocally and in numbers. More than 700 turned up to watch them draw at home to York City last month, and there was more than a coachload supplying flares and chants in Garforth on Tuesday.

Starved of official communication by the club, the Leeds United phone tree didn’t reach me in time after Sunday’s game was hastily arranged for less than 48 hours later. I was getting my boots on at Tuesday training when I got notice through Twitter that the Whites were kicking off shortly. Too late to make the game or even watch the livestream.

Small mercy that the home pitch of my own team, Leeds Hyde Park, was looking resplendent as the sun was setting. Winter was riddled with postponements, and a wet spring has meant we’ve not played there since February, surrendering our home advantage to the need to beg the use of our opponents’ pitches.

Leeds City Council can’t help the weather any more than the government, but they do hold the keys to the lawnmower, which has been put to good use at last, helpfully, just in time for our final game of the season. The pitch looks gorgeous – that is, until you step into the far penalty box where the ground resembles a deliciously underdone brownie mix.

It remains to be seen whether we’ll get to feast our boots on our cherished home pitch this Sunday, but sadly, the season finale won’t hold as much excitement as it might have done. Earlier in our West Riding First Division campaign, we stood up to the challenge of a visit to the Citadel, the 4,000-capacity home of Farsley Celtic, staving off our promotion rivals and keeping fate in our hands with a 1-1 draw.

On Sunday, we were due to play our ‘home’ match away at Golcar, before their pitch was deemed too soggy too, and we had to play on a pitch which none of us had set foot on before. The 3G surface would have been the stuff of dreams but, having rarely competed on one as a team, we struggled with the way it caused the ball to rip around at an unfamiliar pace, losing the game and our shot at promotion. Had we got it over the line, there remained the question of whether we would be permitted to compete in the league above with so little to offer in terms of facilities.

Similarly, Leeds United could attribute their County Cup semi-final exit to the alien bogginess of Leeds Modernians’ home ground. Playing surfaces matter and pitch availability is proving massively disruptive on a national basis at the moment, according to a recent survey into grassroots football undertaken by equipment suppliers Forza.

Twelve percent of surveyed clubs described their facilities as below average or poor, while 69% reported an increase in participation. The FA are committed to building more 3G pitches and raising the standard of grass pitches, but it’s not happening quickly enough to accommodate the rapid growth of the sport, which is concentrated, at the moment, in the women’s game.

The Garforth Town groundskeeper must have been twitching on Tuesday night as Hull City’s travelling support waved flares next to the turf which is due to host Town’s NCEL Premier Division play-off against Albion Sport on Saturday. With this important fixture in the calendar, Leeds are perhaps fortunate to have been able to play at all this week, since women’s sides who are loaned a pitch at non-league venues are sometimes left helpless if other priorities emerge.

Get Flora Snelson’s women’s football newsletter by email every week. It’s an ongoing celebration of 31st July 2022, when the Lionesses won the Euros and Flora’s head fell off for sheer joy. Get the latest on the Lionesses, WSL and the world beyond.

Please leave this field empty

Enter your email address *

You’ve been successfully subscribed to our newsletter!

Third-tier Halifax were among the first to welcome Hull City back to the Northern Premier when their promotion was confirmed on Tuesday. Halifax’s Sunday fixture against Wolves, due to take place at Yorkshire Amateurs’ home ground the Southern Stadium, was rearranged for Wednesday night at a neutral venue all the way down in Derbyshire. The Ammers had kindly taken Halifax in after they were booted out of their home stadium Clayborn Ground mid-season, in order that Liversedge FC could protect their own fixture schedule. ‘Sedge compete in the eighth tier, while ‘Fax compete in the third; it’s clear that City’s pitch woes won’t disappear as they ascend the pyramid.

Culturally, women’s football has taken massive strides in recent years, but its progress will be stunted until the clubs hold the keys to pitches of their own. ⬢