More than just a football team
Here at Merstham Ladies we are very proud of being more than just a football team. We are a community, a friendship group, a family and off the pitch we also have a lot of fun!
FA Rec Festival
Merstham Ladies sent two teams to the Surrey Ladies 7s Flexi league tournament at Cobham yesterday. It was an evening full of competitive play, team spirit and determination
Our Merstham Blacks, managed and captained by Sara and Kelly, flew into their first of their 3 group games with a win and a great goal by Sara The next couple of games proved more challenging though and a couple of goals crept into the back of the ladies net.
However, finishing third in their group meant they qualified for the plate knock outs and with renewed spirit, the ladies came out and Lina and Sadie provided two brilliant goals to get the Blacks into the semi finals. The semi final was an even fight and the match went to penalties, where Leona was a hero, smashing an incredible penalty and making an epic save. Kelly also found the back of the net with a strong penalty.
Into the finals the ladies went, where Sara, with 4 mins to go, found the back of the net with a wonderful strike. The countdown was on, with the last 30 seconds feeling like 30 minutes. Finally, the whistle went and Merstham Blacks were plate champions
As well as our Merstham Blacks, the ladies also had Merstham Ambers competing in the Surrey Flexi League tournament
Our Ambers, lead and managed by Gilly, started strong in their group and didn’t lose a game. The first finished 1-1, with Jess finding the net in an edge of the box battle and where her quick thinking put the ladies ahead. Moving into the second game, Mia scored a screamer from a free kick and the ladies held onto their lead, with the game finishing 1-0 to the Ambers. Into the third match, a fierce battle was goalless and finished 0-0.
This meant the ladies came second in their group and qualified for the cup knock outs against some strong teams. The quarter final was against Richmond and it was end to end football, with Merstham’s keeper Becky making some phenomenal saves However, a very strong strike from Richmond took a slight deflection and put them ahead with only a couple of minutes to go and despite coming close several times, the ambers couldn’t quite get an equaliser.
In true Merstham spirit though, they stayed on to cheer the Blacks to victory
Crystal Palace Women v Chelsea Women
In September 2024, a few of the ladies went on a trip to watch @cpfc_w and @chelseafcw take on each other in a Friday night WSL match
Palace and Chelsea fans sat together and watched and enjoyed the fact that women’s football is becoming bigger and growing fast…. At long last!!!
Women in Football Health Summit
Our fab Lisa went to an amazing event this week…. Read all about it!
I was absolutely delighted to attend the first ever #womeninfootball health summit @fulhamfc
A hugely insightful and thought provoking day filled with incredible insights from leading industry professionals.
The opening panel session revealed a number of personal stories demonstrating some of the biases that exist for women in a football space.
Then we had talks on key issues including:
How Stress Affects Women’s Mental and Physical Health with @bernadettedancy_stresscoach
Making Your Hormones Work for You with @drnadia_gynaecologist
Optimising Women’s Health through Nutrition with @ruthtongue.
Thank you @womeninfootballofficial @elevate_london for providing this opportunity and driving the culture shift
Surrey FA Her Health Conference
On Saturday 16th March 2024, a few of the ladies attended the @surreycountyfa Her Health conference, which was running in recognition of International Women’s Day There were some incredible talks and the chance to ask professionals questions, as well as coming together with like minded people to talk about the sport we love
It was absolutely the best and inspiring day, talking about well being, nutrition, pregnancy, periods, injury prevention and SO MUCH MORE! Thank you so much to Surrey FA for organising this and we can’t wait for the next one!
Reigate and Banstead Sports Awards 2024
The awards just keep on coming!
Merstham Ladies were runners up for team of the year at the Reigate and Banstead Sports Awards!
We are so proud of our squad and the amazing people who manage, coach, play, cheer on and support us on a daily basis.
This is only the start and we can’t wait to see what the future holds
England and Chelsea Superstar visits Merstham!
Some of the Merstham Girls had a visit from England and Chelsea superstar Fran Kirby at training on 28th February 2024 .
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The girls got the chance to show off some of their talent on the pitch and hear all about Fran’s footballing journey including her career highlight of winning the Euros and what it is like to play under the great management of Sarina Wiegman and Emma Hayes, as well as how to manage anxieties in the build up to high pressure games.
Some of our girls coaches had the opportunity to gain some coaching tips and talk discuss some of the challenges that face girls football including ACL injuries.
Massive thank you to Fran Kirby for taking the time to come down to the club and give the girls such a memorable experience!
