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This week, Mary Earps was named the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, beating short-listed Alexandra Popp, Aitana Bonmati, Sam Kerr and Fridolina Rolfo to the punch to become the first goalkeeper to win the award.
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And to think it wasn’t so long ago that Earps was crying on the kitchen floor. Forced to question whether she’d continue goalkeeping when she was cast out of the England side, Mearps pulled off quite the turnaround and credits this tough spot for the rock-hard mentality that helped her to save a crucial penalty in a World Cup final this summer.
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“There was a time when no one was really watching what I was doing,” she said, “and to work hard in silence, nobody notices what you do, it doesn’t matter what you do [to anyone] apart from yourself and your own standards.
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“I think that’s a big part of being where I am today and the resilience I’ve shown and I know there’s going to be many more moments when I need that resilience.”
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Professional football players are playing football every day but it must feel weird when you’re not getting on the pitch on matchday. Firefighters sit and wait for their moment, and understudies spend countless nights twiddling their thumbs, but it's relatively unique — constantly practising your profession with no guarantee of performing in a meaningful setting.
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"It’s a weird dynamic, because you can be the best mates ever, but ultimately you want that person’s job or they want yours," Cumings said. "It can get really awkward — there can be a lot of animosity there. Beef and bad blood. I hate it when that happens.
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“You do have to do it properly otherwise the session is spoiled. We’re working together to complete the session and if someone else is half-assing it, then I’m getting nothing from it — the environment’s shit, everything’s bad. If you’re all pushing each other, doing your best — that’s when it’s most fun.”
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At Leeds United Women, the number 1 shirt was Carrie Simpson’s at the start of this season, after she did a great job of guarding the Whites’ goal throughout the 2022/23 campaign. She was a part of the side which lifted the FAWNL Plate in May and saved three penalties to knock higher-league opponents Brighouse Town out of the FA Cup on the way to United’s famous tie against Arsenal.
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This summer, former Leeds no. 1 Skye Kirkham returned to the side after a couple of seasons away at Bradford City. She has since had seven goes in goal, including on Sunday at Darwen, where United were hoping to replicate the FA Cup success that took them all the way to Borehamwood last season.
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She might have done a better job of clearing a corner before Darwen equalised, but she couldn’t do anything about the performance of her opposite number. Leeds got many chances against a side competing in the tier below them but ‘keeper Taylor Gregson refused to let in more than one.
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With nowt between the teams after full time and extra time, Kirkham and Gregson had the chance to star as the tie went to a shootout.
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Penalty shootouts are stressful, intense affairs that are never won or lost on the merit of who is better at shooting and saving. After 120 minutes, though, everyone’s buzzing to get home so you’ve got to use some measure to wrap the whole thing up, even if it’s arbitrary and unfair.
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It was so remarkable that the International Football Association Board changed the rules of the game. As of the summer, it is no longer ok to unfairly distract the player taking the penalty or show them disrespect. These rules are quite difficult to interpret and apply. What is a ‘fair’ distraction? When does a distraction become unfair? What does a show of disrespect look like?
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Stepping up to defend United’s goal from the first penalty of the afternoon on Sunday, Kirkham was giving it all wiggle wiggle clap clap wave wave. It looked like a fair distraction to me, and it might have been enough to prompt taker Alicia Johnson to betray which corner she was aiming for, but that information is useless if you can’t get down there quickly enough.
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It’s pretty grim picking the ball out of your own net but Kirkham made sure she placed it nicely for teammate Kathryn Smith, who buried her penalty as Kirkham stood by adjusting her hair. Over in the dugout, injured captain-cum-coach Rebekha Bass was chipping in with the mind games, using her her foghorn voice to cheer more loudly for Smith’s goal than all of the home side’s boos.
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BIG FROM YOU SKYE, Bass commanded, but again, diving the right way wasn’t enough to stop the ball going into the net. I’d be frustrated at this point. It’s not nice to concede goals but it hurts more when you came close to stopping them.
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To make matters worse, Darwen’s taker had scored so emphatically that the ball ricocheted out of the net into the path of her goalkeeper Gregson, who took full advantage and piss by doing kick ups with it as Kirkham was dragging her bones off the floor.
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This is — probably — where it all went wrong. Determined to do her duties for her teammate, Kirkham walked over to ask Gregson for the ball back and Gregson... looked the other way 🤢 bouncing the ball on the ground a couple of times before tossing it toward the penalty spot leaving Kirkham to scurry awkwardly out of her box. This I would call disrespect, but the referee let it happen.
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Leeds United full back Charlyann Pizzarello had a good go at saving the day. Look at the way she turns away after scoring to even things up, here.
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As though disrespect is going out of fashion.
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Kirkham was twitching as she stepped back in net, untucking and retucking her shirt as though it’s school photo day not a second round FA Cup tie decider. Psyching herself up with a coupla big claps, it looked like it could be third time lucky, but this one was the most agonising of the lot.
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Kirkham got a hand to Darwen’s Maddison McKenna’s strike this time, but it still went in the net. She took a moment to sit on the floor, recovering from the awfulness of it all, and Bass’ voice was there, again — SKYE HEAD UP — but the call come too late. Kirkham's head was down, trudging out of the penalty box, leaving young Izzy Elliott to fish the ball out of the net — which now clearly belonged to Gregson — before she could have her go.
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I don't fancy goalkeeping, me. I want to throw up under pressure and I can’t make myself big when I’m feeling small. But maybe a few hours crying on the kitchen floor would sort me out.
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- The International Football Association Board are recommending that sin bins are trialled in professional football. This is good because it means that people will be less mean to referees and it adds a fresh element of drama to the game, as seen at grassroots level, where it has been in place for four years.
- Kristie Mewis is living the dream. The freshly-crowned NWSL champion is in London making WAG TikToks of her matchday routine, supporting Sam Kerr from the sidelines at Kingsmeadow.
- After knocking every single person's socks off at Stamford Bridge last week, Lauren James wasted no time slaying again on Sunday, scoring Chelsea's first goal against Leicester under two minutes into the game. Did someone say cheat code?
- On Wednesday, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer announced that the government are contributing £25m to the delivery of 30 new 3G pitches across the UK which will give priority to women's and girls' teams.
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"I’m probably more fired up and angrier than I’ve ever been" - Beth Mead is feeling all the things and football's gonna get it.
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Former Lionesses manager Phil Neville left her out of his Team GB squad for Tokyo 2020 but that only made Meado determined to show him what a fatal clown he is. Back in the squad under Sarina Wiegman, at the Euros, she won golden boot and player of the tournament and only the bloody Euros themselves. Everything was looking fantastic before she ripped her ACL and had to sit out for a year, all while processing the loss of her mum.
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But last week, our Beffy was getting called up for England again and on Sunday, she scored her first AND SECOND goal for Arsenal since returning. One of them was so good it got a dog in the crowd up on his hind legs, cheering like billy-o.
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The message is clear — those of us who thought Mead's Revenge Tour ended with the Euro 2022 goalfest were severely mistaken. The fate of Team GB will be decided by England's upcoming games against the Netherlands and Scotland, and Mead could play a part in getting her own ass to Olympics. Can't stop me now, Philip.
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- Friday - Nations League
- England have to beat the Netherlands or else Team GB won't go to Paris 2024.
- Lauren 'Hempo' Hemp could get her 50th cap at the Home of Football, Wemberrrrrrley. She's only 23! 💀
- Sunday - West Riding County Cup
- Leeds United Women won't lift the FA Cup but they could most certainly win the County Cup. After getting through the first round with a bye, the Whites kick off their campaign against Ripon City, who compete in the seventh tier.
- Sunday - West Riding County First Division
- Me and precisely 10 other Leeds Hyde Park teammates face Hepworth United this weekend. I've not played since October and am coming out the end of a rotting cold so I'm personally buzzing to give Puff the Magic Dragon a run for his money for 90 minutes.
- Tuesday - Nations League
- It's another big venue for Sarina Wiegman's babes as England face Scotland at Hampden Park.
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Soggy bogs and misty eyes
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A non-league ground lined with golf brollies for a rainy FA Cup tie reminded me of being at Histon as an 11-year-old. This time, Leeds brought the magic.
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