Women’s football is on the rise in the sporting world and this is especially the case in England.
For Tranmere’s Ladies team, they have continued the trajectory and this season they finished in an impressive third position in the North West Women’s Regional League.
At the beginning of September, the 2018/19 season kick started with a home match at The Campus against Merseyrail. In an eight-goal thriller, the points were shared in an exciting draw. Just one week later, the first away fixture of the season against Mossley Hill Athletic was also full of goal-mouth action. A 3-3 score line saw TRFC maintain their unbeaten start to the term as the search went on for the first win.
Those crucial three points would come just one week later, on the road at Sir Tom Finney FC, which was followed by a comfortable 4-0 triumph away at Manchester Stingers. The undefeated streak in the league wasn’t breached until November, when Rovers fell to the hands FC United of Manchester.
The first defeat of the campaign sparked a six game winning run, stretching over a two month period. The highlights of this surge of form were emphatic victories against Sir Tom Finney FC and Penrith AFC, seeing the side rack up a collective 15 goals in the two matches.
With the league campaign in full swing and Tranmere fighting it out in the upper echelons of the table, it was time for cup action to begin and the anticipation of knockout football. The thrills of the cup appeared to be inspiring the Rovers players, as they sailed through the first two rounds of the competition, winning 3-0 on both occasions. In the first round, Wythenshawe Amateurs were on the wrong side of a fantastic Tranmere display, before Mossley Hill Athletic fell victim to a rampant Rovers XI.
Unfortunately, the next knockout encounter in March marked the end of the Rovers Cup run. A narrow 1-0 loss away at Merseyrail was a tough result for Tranmere to take.
However, elsewhere in the Cheshire FA County Cup, the Ladies reached the final where they faced old rivals Stockport County. After a battling contest, the tie finished 1-1 and went straight to penalties. Unfortunately for TRFC, it wasn’t to be their day as Stockport narrowly clinched the trophy on penalties.
The final two games against Stockport County and FC United of Manchester, yielded an opportunity to return to winning ways. However, both matches ended in unfortunate defeat for Tranmere Ladies, first losing 5-4 at Stockport County in an attacking contest. The final loss came at the hands of FC United of Manchester at home; Rovers found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 score line.
Despite losing the last couple of fixtures, it has been a season of progress for the Ladies team and their attention is now fixed on what they can achieve in 2019/20.