Women’s Super League

GEORGIA STANWAY emotionally paid tribute to sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease as she remembered her close friend who passed away from the illness last year.
During lockdown, the cheeky Manchester City striker, 21, proved she could be a star both on and off the pitch as she rallied support for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.

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Georgia Stanway and her family have helped raise £15,000 over lockdown to help the find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd

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Stanway’s close family friend Peter Fell (Felly) passed away from the disease in August last year
The charity was set up by City skipper Steph Houghton’s husband – Stephen Darby and his friend Chris Rimmer.
The pair both have the debilitating disease, which mercilessly attacks the muscles and has no cure.

There is no cure and we have to find one because a lot of people are suffering
Georgia Stanway

Former Liverpool full-back Darby was told of his shattering diagnosis only months after his wedding to Steph in 2018 – and has been given just years to live.
Stanway’s close pal Pete Fell, from her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, tragically passed away in August last year, just five months after his diagnosis.  

The City striker said: “I’m proudly a patron of the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation on behalf of Steph and Stephen.
“My family grew up with a very, very close friend called Felly and unfortunately he died a year ago. We raised a lot of money for him and wanted to do our bit to help find a cure.
“When Stephen created his foundation we were able to put the money that we’d raised for the Felly into finding a cure for MND.

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Steph Houghton’s husband Stephen Darby (left) and his close friend Chris Rimmer (right) set up the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation Credit: Rex Features

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Stephen found out about his diagnosis just months after his wedding to England and City captain Steph in 2018

“In lockdown, me, my dad and my step mum wanted to do a 100k in May and we had a lot of interest from people in Barrow.

“We had about 400 people that all donated a tenner and walked or ran the 100k with us.
“Each month my dad has loved creating a new plan and new exercises for the town to do to raise money.
“It’s been good because it’s allowed people in the town to focus on something and enjoy something.
“We also did ‘Steps for Stephen’ which was a walk of the distance of the football clubs that Stephen has played for.
“Steph is a close friend of ours and Stephen is too. It’s a horrible disease, we can only do our little bit to support them and this is us doing our bit.”
Thanks to Stanway and her family, the people of Barrow raised a staggering £15,000 for the charity during lockdown.

Looking back on yesterday and an amazing few months of fund raising for @DarbyRimmerMND … 100k in May- £12,838. David Goude raffle- £1150. Steps4Stephen- £598.98. @fellys_fund £523.24. Total- £15,110.20. The people of Barrow are amazing!! THANK YOU ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zHWh7CC2Qq
— Georgia Stanway (@StanwayGeorgia) August 31, 2020

The England forward is proud to have raised awareness in a bid to help others battle MND.
She added: “People aren’t actually aware of the symptoms, how you can develop it, how it gets worse, how it makes you feel.
“That was the key thing for us to get across. That it’s uncontrollable and there is no cure and we have to find one because a lot of people are suffering.
“Whether we give £100 or £10, every little helps.
“I think it’s unbelievable how much we have created and obviously, we’re going to go for as much as we can.
“It’s a massive credit to my dad and my step mum who have thought of the idea and pushed it.”
Today, the striker turns her attention to the Women’s Super League and City’s first match against newly promoted Aston Villa.
The Manchester outfit narrowly missed out on the title last season after the top-flight was axed and the table was determined by points-per-game, with Chelsea crowned champions.
But Stanway insists Gareth Taylor’s side are back with a vengeance after the March Covid-19 shutdown.
She continued: “Everyone is just so excited to get going. I feel like this has been the longest pre-season ever.
“It’s the longest time I’ve ever spent with my family and I’ve had enough of them now and I’m ready to get going.
“I’m used to just seeing my family on a Sunday at the game, so I’d love that to happen again.
“But we’re ready to get back out there and showcase the work we’ve been putting in during lockdown.”
USA World Cup winners Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle are set to make their WSL debuts for Gareth Taylor’s side today, while Lauren Hemp is out with a hamstring injury.
Click here to donate to the Darby Rimmer Foundation.

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JESS FISHLOCK believes the Women’s Super League has made great “strides” since her Bristol Academy days. 
And Reading’s loan star hopes this season’s match action gets more attention than debates on whether men’s sides should pour cash into the women’s game.

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OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock will return to the WSL this season with Reading
The 5ft 2’’ midfielder, who made a temporary switch from the NWSL in the United States, once saw the WSL as “lacking in tempo”.
But the 33-year-old now reckons the gap is closing between top-flight women’s football in England and the USA.
The Wales international said: “When I was at Bristol there were four players who were full time. 
“Now it’s all full time, great facilities, great training grounds. Everything has taken strides since I was last here. 

“Everyone’s on a professional contract; we’re training every day, not twice a week. It still has a way to go but it’s definitely taken strides.
“I’ve said from day one the WSL lacks tempo and it lacks competitiveness, but I think right now that probably goes out the window.  
“I don’t think you can say that any more. The one thing I’d like to see is everyone just talk about the football.
“I think we talk too much about men’s clubs investing in women’s teams or the women’s crowds.”

Fishlock, who is currently the most-capped Welsh footballer of all time, joined the Royals on loan in August from Washington-based club OL Reign. 
The midfielder, who battled back from a serious knee injury she picked up in July, is one of four summer transfer additions to Kelly Chambers’ new-look Reading side. 
The NWSL star is the second OL Reign player to make a short-term move to England’s top tier, with World Cup-winning US star Rose Lavelle agreeing to a one-year deal with Manchester City in August. 
Fishlock added: “Seeing people like Rose play here at club level will be pretty special. City, Chelsea, look great, we look great.
“It’s exciting. It’s really exciting for WSL. It’s closing that gap massively.”
Bridging the gulf between the league’s established top three and the rest of the table is something Fishlock and her new teammates aim to do this term. 
And the Royals, who finished fifth last season, have made some astute signings ahead of their highly-anticipated season-opener against Arsenal. 
Among the big names who will be helping them challenge the dominance of Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City is former Gunners golden girl Danielle Carter.

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Danielle Carter spent 11-years at Arsenal and made 184 appearances for the clubCredit: Getty – Contributor
The fleet-footed forward, 27, is hoping to make her comeback following two devastating ACL injuries that put the brakes on her playing career for two seasons. 
And the former Arsenal star,  who spent 11 trophy-laden years with the former WSL champions, is looking forward to playing alongside Fishlock and her old Gunners teammate Fara Williams. 
Carter, 27, said: “Fara and Jess have got so much experience in the women’s game and have been around for a while.
“That experience and their quality can hopefully benefit me with them playing behind me.
“Reading have high ambitions to challenge and bridge that top-three gap because they have been a top-four, top-five team consistently.
“So now it’s a case where they want to do what they can to bridge it as much as possible.”
The Royals face Arsenal away in a behind closed doors game on Sunday.
The last time the two sides faced each other in the league was in December 2019 with the Royals losing 3-1 at home. 
And the North London team have won the last four of the two clubs’ WSL clashes against each other. 
Carter added: “When we used to play Reading, they were always like a bogey team just in terms of how hard they work and almost how annoying they were.
“Now being amongst it (at Reading), it’s just a case of we need to carry that on and now push with the quality side of things to really compete with the other teams.” 

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HARRIET SCOTT wants to save lives on the NHS frontline after hitting the big time at Birmingham City.
The Republic of Ireland defender, 27, juggles Women’s Super League football with a full-time medicine degree at Keele University.

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Harriet Scott juggles football in the English top-flight with a full-time medicine degreeCredit: Sportsfile – Subscription

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Scott bagged a degree in physiotherapy from the University of the West of England in 2014Credit: Instagram @harrietascott
She is about to embark on the third-year of her studies, just as the top-flight gets underway this weekend.
The Blues will take on their fellow relegation scrappers of last term, Brighton, for their first taste of competitive action since the March Covid-19 shutdown.
Scott said: “I’m really enjoying the balance. People always ask me, ‘how do you do it? How do you manage it?’
“But if you want to speak to anybody in football, they say that you should have something outside of the sport.

“And if you speak to anybody in medicine, they say you should have something outside of medicine.
“When I’m studying really hard and it’s getting a bit stressful and I’ve got exams, I throw myself into football.
“I compete as much as I can as it takes my mind off it.
“If football is really hard, I can throw myself into a book. It’s the way that my balance works at the moment.”

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The Birmingham City defender arrived at Damson Park in 2018 after three seasons with ReadingCredit: Instagram @harrietascott

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Scott met women’s football icon Megan Rapinoe (right) after Ireland played the USA last year Credit: Sportsfile – Subscription

Scott catches up on lectures in the evening after a day of training with the Blues.
She dedicates her time to football on the weekends and sneaks in 1-1 sessions with the coaching staff to help her stay sharp on the pitch.
The Irish defender already has a physiotherapy degree under her belt as she never thought she could make ends meet from football.
And now Scott believes her calling in life is to save lives in hospitals after hanging up her boots.

Her uncle works in a hospital and many of her course-mates volunteered to fight the coronavirus pandemic while the universities were closed.
And after seeing NHS heroes battle the killer virus in crippling hospital conditions, Scott is “prouder” than ever as she gears up to one day join the front-line herself.
The Blues ace added: “Covid-19 has made a lot of people realise having the NHS is such an amazing thing.
“No one should have to worry and think that they won’t get the help they need for their health.
“It has highlighted how grateful we are all for it. It’s a really difficult time because there is a lot of pressure on it, and I think we need to support it more.
“I don’t have many family members that are in the healthcare sector, but I have a lot of friends that are working as physios, nurses, doctors.
“A lot of people in my course volunteered and everybody tried to see where they could help.
“It is really pleasing to see how many people were willing to put other people before themselves – that’s a really nice trait to have. 
“All of the individual healthcare workers and key-workers have done amazing things and stepped up.
“It’s people like that that have been able to keep everybody else safe at home and without them we wouldn’t be able to be in the good position that we are in.”
Scott arrived at Damson Park in 2018 after helping Reading win promotion into the top-flight in 2015.
The full-back made 11 WSL appearances last term, as well as reaching the quarter-final of the postponed FA Cup which is set to resume this month. 

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