Ipswich Town Women secured a convincing win in their first ever league game at Portman Road, beating Chatham Town 5-0. Alex Jones reflects on the game.
A special occasion
We all knew that this was going to be a special occasion, but nobody knew just how good it was going to be.
From start to finish, the club did everything they could to replicate a men’s matchday. This included pre-match press conferences, a packed-out FanZone and a coach welcome. The Tractor Girls warmed up to the same songs that we hear at Portman Road every week, and ‘Insomnia’ by Faithless blasted out as they walked onto the pitch.
For all of that to happen in front of a crowd of 10,173 fans was really incredible. That figure sets the record for any team in the history of the Women’s National League South, and as per @fpl_tractor on X, it was the third highest English attendance of the day behind the Men’s England team against Brazil at Wembley and Manchester City Women against Manchester United Women at the Etihad.
After the game, the players went around the side of the pitch, taking photos and signing autographs for young fans who loved every second of what they witnessed.
The whole event couldn’t have gone any better, and you could tell what it meant to those involved.
Putting on a show
Joe Sheehan said that he didn't spend too much time thinking about the result of the game. Of course, his job is to win matches, but the biggest priority here was to put in a good performance for the fans in attendance.
After all, the men’s side have been hailed as one of the most entertaining sides in English football, and their attendances have skyrocketed as a result. Everyone talks about them because they’re incredible to watch, and Sheehan wants to have the same approach.
It certainly showed on the pitch, albeit that it took a little while for them to get going. Fans went wild when Natasha Thomas opened scoring midway through the first half, and Sophie Peskett doubled the lead soon after. Thomas found the back of the net once again after the break, before Lenna Gunning-Williams and Summer Hughes rounded off a convincing win.
Sheehan picked out the fourth goal as his favourite, the one which defines what he wants his team to be. A defence-splitting through ball followed by a slick backheel and a stunning finish to cap it off.
It had to be her
If anyone was going to open the scoring for the Tractor Girls in one of the biggest games in their recent history, it had to be Thomas.
The 28-year-old is one of the senior players in an incredibly young squad, a group that has an average age of around 21. She’s been at Ipswich since 2015 and has made scored almost 150 goals in just over 200 appearances.
Many of those who don’t follow the women’s team know who she is, and Sheehan was delighted to see her overcome some specific barriers to shine on the big stage.
“It’s interesting because sometimes her involvement can look like it’s quite limited based on who we’re playing against,” he explained after the game. “Sometimes there’s not much space for her based on the numbers that occupy the pitch.
“We often find that our two centre-halves don’t have much pressure, and they seem to look like they’ve got a lot of time and a lot of space. Obviously, the closer to the opposition goal, Tash gets less time, less space, more opposition players around her.
“At times, it’s really challenging for her to pick her moment when she can get involved in the game and connect with other players around the pitch.
“We know that if we can get her the ball in and around the box, she’s scored some really good goals this season and racked up a good tally, and I’m so pleased that she’s managed to get a good strike off to get us off the mark.”
An eye-catching talent
Peskett may not have been named Player of the Match, but she was one of the real standouts in the game. Her driving runs down the right flank got fans off their seats - she was full of energy and attacked with a real intensity
Having watched her play for the first time, a comparison to legendary Dutch attacker Arjen Robben came to mind quite quickly. The 21-year-old loves to take on her full-back, cut inside and curl a shot at goal. She struggled to hit the target from those positions in the win against Chatham, but she did find the back of the net with an excellent run into the box.
The ball stuck to her like glue, allowing her to dance past three defenders before slotting it into the bottom left corner. It was the main highlight of an excellent performance from her, and Sheehan was delighted by what she did on the pitch.
“Sophie was good," he said. We know what she’s capable of - she’s a constant threat every week.
“She’s unpredictable, she’s got great end product, and she’s electric when she gets going.
“I’m sure she’ll be really pleased with her performance as well.”
A cameo to cherish
Eloise King is Ipswich through and through. She’s supported the club for her whole life, watches the men’s games and contributes to the club’s foundation where she can. There was a lot of excitement around her when she signed her first professional deal in 2021, but it hasn’t been easy for her.
The midfielder has suffered a number of different injuries, last featuring for the Tractor Girls on the final day of last season. They confirmed that she would miss the start of the season with an undisclosed back injury, but it kept her out for longer than expected.
It was a big surprise to see her named on the bench, although Sheehan revealed that she’d been working towards a return for a for this game.
“It was important that we got her involved today," he admitted. "She’s been out for a really long time and has had a difficult couple of years, in all honesty.
“She’s been back training with us for quite a few weeks, and for her, it was important that she got to experience today.
“We’re pleased that the game allowed us to involve her and put her on, because she’ll take so much pride. She’s probably been coming here since before she could even walk.
“She can come here now forever knowing that she got the chance to play here and get a nice little cameo, because it was important that she got that.”
Looking forward to the future
Town CEO Mark Ashton was brought out on to the pitch to announce the final attendance, but he also used the opportunity to talk about the Tractor Girls and their plans for the future.
The Women’s National League South is quite a high level - the third tier, in fact, yet the players are still balancing football with their full-time careers. Ashton believes that the next step is to win promotion to the Championship and become a sustainable club at that level, which Sheehan agrees with.
They came close to doing that last season, missing out on the title on goal difference. Even then, that wouldn’t have guaranteed promotion, and the rules have been changed this season so that the league winners are promoted while the two second-placed teams from the North and South divisions face each other for a third spot.
From there, of course, the Women’s Super League is the aim. The infrastructure and funding is clearly there to reach that level in the future, but patience will be key.
This is still a team that plays in front of 400 or 500 fans at the AGL Arena in Felixstowe every week. They need all the support they can get to continue to grow in the coming years. With such a young and exciting squad, there’s no reason why they can’t.
Hopefully the game at Portman Road will provide the springboard for bigger and better things down the line.
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