Leeds United Women know one thing: they need a near-perfect season to win promotion.
Only the top team in the FA Women’s National League Division One North go up, so finishing as champions is the only way to climb from tier four to tier three of the women’s pyramid.
But the task is a daunting one.
Last season, current leaders Middlesbrough only lost two of their 22 matches but still missed out, while Leeds finished sixth.
This time, Leeds are third after nine matches, one point behind Middlesborough and trailing second-place Cheadle Town Stingers only on goal difference with a game in hand. Tomorrow, they play their first match at Elland Road for two years, against neighbours York City, who are second-bottom of the 12-team table.
“This season the league is so competitive and even the four teams who could be front-runners have lost to teams near the bottom and middle of the league,” says Kath Smith, a midfielder who has been with Leeds for four seasons. “It’s crazy. As competitive as it’s ever been. There’s no hiding that we need to be consistent and deliver. There’s no easy game in this league.
“(Elland Road) is our stadium and our territory this weekend. It’ll be a tough game and the pitch is massive, that’s something I remember from playing there. There’s nothing that compares to walking out into a stadium, especially when you know that Leeds fans are as passionate as they are.
“We get a couple of hundred core fans at our usual home at Garforth Town (10 miles east of Leeds) every home game, so you get to know the faces. We go and sign shirts at the end of the game for those fans, so it’ll be a treat for them to go to Elland Road to give them that opportunity in a nice environment.
“Women’s football still has that personal touch, that interaction so that they know what we’re like as players.”
Leeds United have a rich history in women’s football, with England internationals Steph Houghton, Ellen White, Carly Telford and Jade Moore among their former players. However, having previously competed as a top-flight team, they withdrew their bid to join the new Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2010 due to a lack of funding.
The women’s team then ceased to exist in 2014 under Leeds’ owner at the time, Massimo Cellino. Reformed as a separate entity named Leeds Ladies FC, the side were eventually brought back under the umbrella of Leeds United in 2017, during Andrea Radrizzani’s ownership.
As the women’s game in the UK has moved to a new professional era, Leeds have rebuilt, with the past two seasons representing a new evolution of the team under manager Simon Wood.
“We had success a few years ago by winning a national competition, the National League Plate (for clubs below the WSL and the second-tier Championship),” Wood says. “I came in last year and we had a bit of a rebuild to do. We did big recruitment in the summer, brought in some good players, and we’re hoping they push us on this year.
“The backing we get from the football club means our aspiration should be to play in a higher league. We’re currently third in the league, one point behind the leaders, so we’re in a really good position. This is a perfect time to go to Elland Road with everyone feeling high.”
Wood is a lifelong Leeds fan who first had a season-ticket in 1991-92, when Howard Wilkinson led the men’s team to the title in English football’s final pre-Premier League campaign. With the men chasing a return to the top flight under counterpart Daniel Farke, he says it is vital the women’s team are seen as part of the wider club.
“In the summer, during recruitment, to bring players to Elland Road and share our ambitions with them is huge,” he says. “When we bring players to the training facility at Thorp Arch and they can see we share it with the men’s team and the academy, they see that what we have got there is really special.
“We make sure the players are aware that the support they get is not given to all the clubs in this league, but they know they need to respond in performance. This season, we’re seeing that.”
Smith is one of the players thriving this season amid competition from those new arrivals.
The 31-year-old is an experienced member of the team and is closing in on her 100th Leeds United appearance as well as being the team’s leading goalscorer. Like the rest of Wood’s squad, she is semi-pro and works alongside her football career, splitting her time between playing and working as a football development manager for the Manchester FA.
“The competition is there in the squad and the standard has gone up,” she says. “We’ve recruited really well and that makes the players in the team step up their game. The standard has really improved and the consistency is there.
“It’s unusual, we have so many service professionals with day jobs, where they work shifts. We have police, fire, medical staff, so it can be really hard to get a consistent number at training. With the new injection we’ve had that (regular numbers at training), which is why we’ve seen an improvement this season.”
Come Sunday, Smith will be able to add another Elland Road outing to her Leeds CV as the team continue to work towards their goal of promotion by making it six games unbeaten. Though they currently occupy a relegation place, York are expected to be difficult opposition.
“It’s going to be another league game as well as an occasion,” says Wood. “The players are aware of what has got them into this position, the mindset is great. We have a lot of people that are good leaders in our dressing room.
“We want to make sure that we go out and give them a good performance to hopefully come away with three points.”
(Top photo: Leeds United)
