Portsmouth F.C. Women

Portsmouth Women, formerly known as "Portsmouth Ladies", is a semi professional women's football club for the south coast city of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. The club currently plays in the FA Women's National League South. Their male counterparts are Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth F.C. Women
Full namePortsmouth Football Club Women
Nickname(s)Pompey
Founded1987
GroundWestleigh Park, Havant
Capacity5,300 (710 seated)
OwnerThe Tornante Company
ManagerJay Sadler
LeagueFA Women's National League South
WebsiteClub website

History

Portsmouth Football Club Ladies was formed in 1987, at a time when women's football was in its infancy and consequently the only option was for the team to play in the Southern Region League.

The club entered the league in 1988 where they enjoyed 10 good seasons. During this period the club started introducing Youth teams to compete at a local level.

In 1998, ten years after the team first entered the English women's league system, Portsmouth F.C. Ladies gained promotion into the South West Combination League and in the same season won the South West Combination League Cup.

David Coyle

Any history of Pompey Ladies must start with Dave Coyle. Between his formation of the club in 1987 and his sad passing due to cancer in August 2016 he fulfilled every role in the club, short of playing for them. A common tribute to him was that “he was the nicest man in football”. He was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Football at the FA Women’s Football Awards in December 2015 and a minute’s silence in his honour was observed at all Tier 3 and Tier 4 games on the Sunday after his death. His contribution is still recognised by his appointment as Past President within the club.

Notable Events & Seasons

Promotion to the Premier League National Division

During the 2010/11 season, Pompey finished in fourth place in the league but reached the Semi-Finals of the League Cup where Pompey fell to a narrow 2–1 defeat against eventual winners Barnet. This cup run included a 2–1 victory over Premier League National Division side and league winners Sunderland.

In 2012, Pompey secured the Women's Premier League Southern Division title and promotion to the National Division for the first time in their history in their penultimate match of the season, a 2–1 win over Plymouth. At kick-off Portsmouth's promotion rivals Colchester and West Ham had played all their fixtures while Portsmouth had two games left of their season. Needing a win to guarantee the league title, Portsmouth fell behind to a Plymouth goal midway through the second half. However two goals in the last 20 minutes secured the league title for Portsmouth, who were presented with the trophy at their final match in London. Portsmouth brought the curtain down on their most successful season with a 4–1 win at Queens Park Rangers. QPR welcomed the champions with a guard of honour as the Blues ran onto the pitch prior to kick-off.

Premier League National Division

Pompey faced a tough Premiership National division debut with an away tie against the previous season's double winners Sunderland who also eventually ended up winning the 2012/2013 Premier League National Division title. Pompey's first win in the National Division came in a home tie against Aston Villa at Moneyfields, following a 3–0 win in their second game of the season. This was followed by a 3–2 win against Manchester City, with the winner coming in stoppage time.

In the cups, Pompey reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup following a comprehensive 5–0 victory against QPR at Westleigh Park before falling to defeat away at Yeovil Town. In the League Cup, Pompey finished second in their group and faced Manchester City in the round of sixteen. Pompey won 2–1 at Westleigh Park in front of a large crowd. In the Quarter-Finals, Pompey defeated Barnet 2–1 but Pompey's league cup run came to an end at the Semi-Final stage once again, losing to eventual winners Aston Villa. Following Pompey's last home again against Leeds United, it was announced that manager Vanessa Raynbird would be stepping down as manager to take up a director of football role while Perry Northeast and Katie Poore would become joint managers. The 2012/13 seasons also saw Pompey taking part in the bidding process, alongside 29 other teams around the country, to join the expanded [Women's Super League].

Fratton Park Matches

The Women's team of Portsmouth FC have played 7 matches at Fratton Park:

Date Opposition Result Attendance
01-Dec-13 Spurs L 1-2 673
07-May-17 QPR W 3-2 367
13-May-18 QPR W 6-1 397
15-Dec-21 Southampton FC L 0-1 1,450
03-Apr-22 MK Dons L 0-3 748
25-Jul-22 Brighton U23 W 3-2 2,906
30-Apr-23 Crawley Wasps W 1-0 1,471

Radio Commentary Debut

The 2013/14 season saw live radio commentary for the first time provided by Express FM's Grassroots Football Show and later by South Coast Sports Radio.

Regaining the Southern Division Title

The 2014/15 Women's Premier League Southern Division began with an inauspicious start for Portsmouth FC Ladies as the side fell to a 7–3 defeat at home to Cardiff City, after Lucy Quinn was sent off for handling the ball, a decision that was later overturned. However, blistering form in the league which saw the Hampshire side go undefeated for several months, meant Portsmouth Ladies were challenging for the title. By March this had turned into a four-horse race between Portsmouth, Brighton, Charlton and Cardiff City but by the end of the season, the title was between Portsmouth and Brighton. With just two games left of the season, Portsmouth needed four points to secure the title though Pompey won them both, sealing the Women's Premier League Southern Division title with a victory at home in front of a large crowd. This marked Portsmouth's second league title in four seasons. However, they lost the promotion play off against the Northern League Winners, Sheffield F.C. Ladies after a goal in the 90th minute separated the teams. It was played in neutral at The DCS Stadium, home of Southern Football League Premier Division side Stratford Town F.C.

Portsmouth also retained the Hampshire Cup with a 4–1 win against local rivals Southampton Saints. With this match being the first meeting between Portsmouth and Southampton in women's or men's football since 2011, a large crowd was present to watch Portsmouth Ladies secure their ninth Hampshire Cup.

The 2014/15 season was also significant for the Blues as Ini-Abasi Umotong became the first ever Portsmouth Ladies player to be capped at international senior level when she made her debut for Nigeria in a 2–2 draw against Mali. Ini Umotong was later called up for the Nigeria Women's World Cup squad but was an unused substitute in all three of the Super Falcons group games.

After the departure of Perry Northeast, Portsmouth Ladies appointed former Watford Development Coach Craig Taylor for the start of the 2016/17 season. After a mixed start of results, including an emphatic 8–2 cup victory over Lowestoft Town and disappointing defeats to Basildon & Swindon, Taylor decided to step down only 4 months into his new role. Former assistant manager Jay Sadler, brought to the club by Taylor, is currently in temporary charge. His reign began with a resounding 5–0 win at home to Swindon Town.

First Team turning Semi-Professional - June 2023

On 5 June 2023 Portsmouth FC announced that their Women's team would be turning semi-professional.[1] Portsmouth Women had made steady progress in recent seasons under the stewardship of Jay Sadler culminating in finishing only 7 points from clinching the Southern Premier Title in 2022/23. The announcement would see the Women's team moving under the same owners as the men's team, The Tornante Group. Jane Eisner became the side’s new chair, while outgoing chair Eric Coleborn will remain as a director.

Also serving on the board are Georgia Eisner, Stacey Eisner, Terena Eisner, Eric Eisner, Andy Redman, Clare Martin MBE and Val Cohen.

Former directors Helen Chivers and Bill Griffiths have both been appointed as honorary vice-presidents, while Jay Sadler was to remain as Head Coach.

Head coach Jay Sadler said: “The development of the female game has accelerated in such a short timeframe. In order to maintain growth and competitiveness, clubs must continue to strengthen and evolve.

“This level of commitment from Tornante is monumental in maintaining our reputation as a leading club in the women’s game.

“Our vision is to compete at the highest level possible and this support will provide a solid foundation to achieve that.”

Development teams transition to an Under 23 side - June 2023

On 24 June 2023 Portsmouth FC announced their women's Development side would transition to an Under 23 team.[2]

The Development team had shown a resurgence under Molly Small in the 22/23 season and claimed the FAWNL Reserve Section South West title.

It was announced that Molly would stay in charge of the side and that they would once again be competing in the FAWNL Reserve Section South West as well as the Reserve League Cup, PDFA Cup and Women's Midweek Combined Counties Cup.

The backroom staff of the Under 23 team would be Molly Small (Head Coach), Ben Evans (Assistant Coach), Luke Barron (Technical Coach) and Teagan-Christine Brown (Therapist).

Academy and Youth System

The first Pompey Women youth teams were established in the early 1990’s and these continued to operate at a variety of age groups.

In 2000 Portsmouth F.C. Women officially introduced a Youth Structure within the club, catering for U14 and U12 teams.

Since being introduced, this has continued to expand and now the club has programmes allowing girls and women of all ages to participate in football. In 2005 they became only the second women's club in Britain to establish a Football Academy for females.[3]

For the 2014/15 season, an U18 side was introduced to bridge the gap between the U16 team, which was currently the eldest youth team level, and the senior teams (including both the reserves and the first teams), allowing a clear pathway for players coming up Portsmouth FC Ladies' youth ranks. This new U18 team competed in the newly formed Hampshire U18 League along with other local sides.

At the end of the 2016-17 season the entire youth organisation was transferred to Pompey in the Community where it currently runs under the stewardship of former Portsmouth Women player Kirsty Pearce (McGee).

In July 2023 PITC announced they had been granted a 2 year Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) licence by the FA. Their ETC will sit under their Youth Development Teams to further strengthen the girls player pathway.

Since the PITC take over of the youth system they have produced three notable first team players in Mia Adaway, Freya Jones [4] and Jess Smith [5]

Stadium

Portsmouth F.C. Women have played in a number of different stadiums throughout their history. A popular venue in the clubs recent history has been Privett Park, the home of National League South side, Gosport Borough F.C. Prior to this, Pompey played at the Moneyfields Sports Ground, the home ground of Wessex League Premier Division side Moneyfields FC. The team have also in recent seasons played at The City Ground, home of Southern League Division One South & West side Winchester City. Other ground called home include Cams Alder, Fleetlands, University of Portsmouth's Furze Lane, Havant Front Lawn, Littlehampton Town and Portchester,

In the Fourth Round of the 2012/13 FA Cup, Portsmouth played their home tie against QPR at West Leigh Park. Subsequently, this stadium was announced as the home venue for the rest of the season, although the last two home games were played at the College Ground, home of Hayling United FC, as a result of the overrunning of the season due to bad weather and the pitch at Westleigh Park being re-laid. Westleigh Park continued to be used as Pompey Ladies' main home ground for the first half of the following season, however poor weather over the New Year period saw Pompey Ladies relocate, with the Blues playing most of the second half of the season at Privett Park, home of Conference South side Gosport Borough.

In the 2018/19 season, the team secured a deal with local side Baffins Milton Rovers to ground share their PMC stadium for home games.

From the start of the 2020/21 season Portsmouth agreed a deal with local side Havant and Waterlooville to use their new artificial pitch to train and play their home games on. [6] They still play there to the current day.

Managers

Dave Coyle was manager for many seasons in the early years of the club. Vanessa Raynbird managed for 11 seasons (from the 2002-3 season to 2012-13) before becoming Director of Football. She was followed by Perry Northeast, and initially Katie Poore, who served for 3 seasons. Craig Taylor was appointed as Manager at the start of the 2017-18 season but departed in the November 2017 . Immediately following Taylor's departure current Manager Jay Sadler was appointed.

Players

Current squad

Updated 21 October 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Hannah Haughton (captain)
2 DF England ENG Nicole Barrett
3 DF England ENG Kelci Bowers
4 MF England ENG Leeta Rutherford
5 DF Wales WAL Evie Gane
6 DF England ENG Jazz Younger
8 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Ava Rowbotham (vice-captain)
9 FW Wales WAL Emma Jones
10 MF England ENG Dani Lane
12 MF England ENG Sophie Quirk
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF England ENG Annie Rolf
15 MF England ENG Jess Smith
16 FW Wales WAL Ella Humphrey
17 FW England ENG Georgie Freeland
20 DF England ENG Ella Wild
21 FW England ENG Alison Hall
23 FW England ENG Emily Pitman
25 DF England ENG Izzy Collins
26 FW England ENG Beth Lumsden
27 DF England ENG Riva Casley

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
7 FW England ENG Tierney Scott (at Worthing until January 2023)
19 FW England ENG Mia Adaway (at Fulham until 31 December 2023)

Board Members and Staff

Current Board Members and Presidents

Name Job title
United States Jane Eisner Chair
United States Georgia Eisner Director
United States Stacey Eisner Director
United States Terena Eisner Director
United States Eric Eisner Director
United States Andy Redman Director
England Eric Coleborn Director
England Val Cohen Director
England Helen Chivers Honorary Vice-President
England Bill Griffiths Honorary Vice-President

Current Staff

Name Job title
England Jay Sadler First Team Head Coach
England Kim Stenning First Team Assistant Head Coach
England Luke Prior First Team Performance Analyst
England Lee Callender First Team Head of Goalkeeping
England Rosie Castle First Team Sports Therapist
England Molly Small Development Team Head Coach
England Ben Evans Development Team Assistant Coach
England Luke Barron Development Team Technical Coach
England Teagan-Christine Brown Development Team Therapist

Notable Former Players

Gemma Hiller

Gemma Hillier is Portsmouth Women’s all time record goal scorer and appearance maker. She is also the only Portsmouth Women player currently inducted into Portsmouth FC’s Hall of Fame.[7]

Officially Gemma made 292 appearances scoring 92 goals during her 17 years at the club. She was Captain for eight of those seasons. However FA records only start in 2003 and Gemma had already been playing for the club since 2001 meaning she made over 300 appearances and is believe to have scored 99 goals.

Born in 1987, she started playing football at primary school in Gosport but had to represent the boys’ team. After joining Gosport Borough Ladies, at the age of 12 she was offered the choice to join either the Fulham centre of excellence or Southampton – she chose Fulham.

With Portsmouth Women she played at the highest level in women’s football, featuring in the FA Women’s Premier League and the Southern Premier League, while also claiming the Hampshire County Cup on multiple occasions.

During her time with Portsmouth Ladies, Hillier was offered the chance to join most of the top-league clubs in financially rewarding deals, but she remained loyal to Pompey, where she never received payment.

Gemma also has a very successful Beach Soccer career representing England and Team GB at many international tournaments.

Danielle Rowe

Danielle Rowe played for Portsmouth Women between July 2018 and June 2023. During her 5 years at the club she made 129 appearances scoring 6 goals and Captaining the side 57 times. She won 3 Hampshire Cups and 5 PDFA Cups with the Blues.

Before joining Portsmouth Danielle spent seven years at Brighton and graduated from the under-14s right the way through to the first team.

After making 15 senior appearances for the Seagulls – 10 of which arrived during their title-winning campaign – she had a nine-month sabbatical to go travelling, prior to a brief spell with Lewes before joining Portsmouth.

In her early Portsmouth career she played as a central midfielder before moving to centre back where she formed a formidable partnership with Jazz Younger.

A firm fan favourite at Portsmouth, Danielle was widely regarded as one of the best players in Tier 3 of the women's game during her time on the south coast.

Former Super League players

This is a list of former Portsmouth FC Women players who have or still play in the FA Women's Super League.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF England ENG Kirsty Pearce (Former Super League player)
MF Republic of Ireland IRL Lucy Quinn (Former Super League player)
FW Nigeria NGA Iniabasi Umotong (Former Super League Player)

Notable honours

FA Women's Premier League Southern Division

  • Winners: (2) 2011–12 , 2014–15
  • Runners-up: (2) 2004–5, 2006–07

South West Combination Women's Football League

  • Winners: (1) 2002–03
  • Runners-up: (2) 2000–01, 2001–02

South West Combination League Cup

  • Winners: (1) 2002–03

Hampshire Cup

  • Winners: (17) 2003-04, 2004–05, 2005-2006, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021-22[8]

Portsmouth Divisional Football Association Cup

  • Winners: (5) 2018-19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022-23[9]

Seasons

Notes:

  • FA Records are incomplete before early 2000's
  • In 2006/7 The Women's Premier Division Southern Division previously Tier 2 of Women's football was moved down to Tier 3 due to the formation of the Women's Super League.
  • In 2012/23 Portsmouth's application for a place in the WSL2 failed so they were relocated into the Tier 3 Women's Premier League Southern Division.
Season Division Tier Position Manager Cups Top Scorer Goals
2002–03 South West Combination League 3 1st (Champions Vanessa Raynbird
2003–04 Women's Premier League Southern Division 2 8th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup
2004–05 Women's Premier League Southern Division 2 2nd Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Stacey Nevin 8
2005–06 Women's Premier League Southern Division 2 4th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Charley Wilson 15
2006–07 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 2nd Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Brooke Chaplen 11
2007–08 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 4th Vanessa Raynbird Brooke Chaplen 8
2008–09 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 5th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Lisa Langrish 12
2009–10 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 4th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Zoe Nash 11
2010–11 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 4th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Lindsey Roe 11
2011–12 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 1st (Champions) Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Jemma Tewkesbury 18
2012–13 Women's Premier League National Division 2 9th Vanessa Raynbird Hampshire Cup Charley Wilson 15
2013–14 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 4th Perry Northeast Hampshire Cup Lucy Quinn 20
2014–15 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 1st (Champions)

No promotion due to losing play off game.

Perry Northeast Hampshire Cup Ini Umotong 29
2015–16 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 5th Perry Northeast Hampshire Cup Ini Umotong 25
2016–17 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 8th Jay Sadler Hampshire Cup Sammy Quayle 17
2017–18 Women's Premier League Southern Division 3 6th[10] Jay Sadler Hampshire Cup Sammy Quayle 18
2018–19 FA Women's Nation League Southern Division 3 8th[11] Jay Sadler Hampshire Cup, PDFA Cup Rachel Panting 17
2019–20 FA Women's Nation League Southern Division 3 (Void Season due to Covid)[12] Jay Sadler Hampshire Cup, PDFA Cup Jade Widdows, Becki Bath, Charmaine True 10
2020–21 FA Women's Nation League Southern Division 3 3rd (Abandoned season due to Covid)[13] Jay Sadler PDFA Cup, (No Hampshire Cup played due to COVID)[14] Becki Bath 14
2021–22 FA Women's Nation League Southern Division 3 7th[15] Jay Sadler Hampshire Cup,[16] PDFA Cup[17] Shannon Albuery[18] 32
2022–23 FA Women's Nation League Southern Division 3 4th[19] Jay Sadler PDFA Cup[20] Sophie Quirk[21] 16

References

  1. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  2. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  3. "Women's Football". BBC News. 19 August 2005. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007.
  4. "The News Portsmouth". The News Portsmouth.
  5. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  6. "The News Article". The News.
  7. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  8. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  9. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  10. "FAWNL Website". Full Time.
  11. "FAWNL Website". Full Time.
  12. "FAWNL Website". Full Time.
  13. "The FA Women's National League". Full Time.
  14. "Hampshire FA News". Hampshire FA.
  15. "FAWNL Website". Full Time.
  16. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  17. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  18. "FAWNL Website". Full Time.
  19. "Full Time". FAWNL Website.
  20. "Portsmouth FC Website". Portsmouth FC.
  21. "Full Time". FAWNL Website.

50°52′01.48″N 0°58′26.90″W

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