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Eight wins in a row and 36 goals - a Stoke City team that's on fire
Stoke City Women might be going into their toughest game of the season this weekend but they are going into it on the back of eight successive wins. And it’s eight thumping wins too, scoring four, five, six twice, three twice, five and four while letting in just three goals combined along the way.
Now it’s a clash against unbeaten title favourites Forest at the City Ground (Sunday, 2pm) and their form has been pretty eye-catching as well. It’s 43 goals in 10 league games for them while only letting in four.
Stoke must hope their stars like summer signing duo 15-goal Millie Ravening and Shannon Stamps, who laid on a quite incredible six assists in one game last month, have been holding back an extra bit of magic. Either way, it will be a good test, a useful gauge of Stoke’s progress and, it’s pretty certain, a blast of entertainment.
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“Morale is very high,” said Stoke head coach Marie Hourihan. “It’s been a fantastic run. We did bring in quite a lot of new players in the off season so knew it was probably going to take a little bit of time to bed in and get everyone on the same page in terms of how we wanted to play and get those relationships built.
"Now it’s come to fruition but the biggest thing has been confidence and belief. Once players started to see the impact of hard work in the off-season and pre-season, all of a sudden they start to enjoy themselves and it becomes a lot more natural. It’s the beauty of the position we’re in at the moment. Players are playing free and confident and it’s been a pleasure to coach.
“It’s testament to the group and the culture. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got some fantastic players. We’ve got a small squad compared to some clubs but it’s playing into our favour because everyone is valued. Everyone has played their part in this run, which is really important. We’ve got players at the top end of the pitch who have hit a real purple patch, they enjoy playing with each other. They’re coming into training bouncing and that’s being reflected on the pitch.”
Stoke are fifth in the National League Northern Premier Division, the third tier, level on points with Rugby Borough and Burnley in the two places above while Forest are four points ahead in second with a game in hand on leaders Wolves, who are two points clear.
Forest topped 6,000 for a home match last season and a kid for a quid offer, plus both teams’ recent results, is likely to see a decent crowd on Sunday.
Stoke’s stellar scorelines have already been attracting more supporters to home matches at Yarnfield, at Clayton Wood or the bet365 Stadium, and they have been treated to some brilliant goals as well as a lot of them.
Hourihan added: “The biggest thing for me has been the visibility. I think now that with the brand of football we play, people who come down to watch us will enjoy the game. It’s a big factor: it’s an experience and a different experience of going to a men’s match day but most importantly it’s entertainment. We’re here to entertain those who come to our games and we want to be a possession-based team, control games, we want to be expansive and to be exciting.
“Certainly on this run we’ve been on we’re seeing some unbelievable goals and unbelievable moments of skill. That solidifies what we set out for at the beginning. It’s coming to fruition now and we’re getting more supporters coming down because they want to see Stoke City Women, they want to see the matches and what the team is doing.”
It is all encouraging progress for Stoke, who turned semi-pro last year and still have a long road ahead to get to where they really want to be.
Hourihan said: “When I first came into the football club it was openly spoken about wanting to get the women’s team into the Championship and understanding that was going to be a process. It’s a transition from training twice a week to ultimately becoming a full-time team. We did make a big step this season in terms of increasing contact hours and the majority of players are able to get access to them now. We have made a significant step this season and we need to back that up with performance levels on the pitch, getting into a position where we can make the next step to eventually going into a full-time environment.
“In terms of support from the club, that’s never wavered, the messages have always been the same. They want the women’s team to be in the Championship and, bigger picture beyond that, the WSL. That would be the ultimate dream. We’ve made steps forward this season and it’s up to us to solidify that now up to Christmas and in the second-half of the season and then re-evaluate again to see how we can bridge the next gap. The club has fully embraced us and has been supporting that.”
