Women’s Super League

MARC SKINNER wants Manchester United to show their title-contending maturity by denting Chelsea’s top spot chase.Last September, Skinner’s aces fell to their biggest-ever defeat in the WSL when they were hammered 6-1 at Leigh Park Village.
Marc Skinner’s Man United side have enjoyed a flawless start in the WSL this season with five wins and five clean sheetsCredit: Getty
The WSL leaders hope to claim their first win in the league against ChelseaCredit: PA
But on Sunday the title-holders face a United outfit yet to concede a goal after five games played with an 8,000-strong crowd expected at their ground.
And Skinner, 39, wants the WSL leaders to show how much they have evolved with his team after their first win in the league against the Blues.
The Red Devils boss said: “Sometimes you have to take those punches to understand and know exactly where you’re at.
“For us, it was a devastating result of course but it was our third game in.
“Chelsea were ruthless on the day which we know they can be. We’re well aware of their goal threat.
“We’re a different team but I want us to show that.
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“It’s all well and good me talking about that here but I want my team to show their maturity and energy in this game.
“We know how difficult a task is, they have some wonderful players and historically they are one of the best teams in the WSL.
“But I think it’s for us to go on and choose how we impose ourselves. We need to be confident, not complacent.”
This summer has seen Man United strengthen their ranks with several new signings.
New additions include Nikita Parris, 28, Maya Le Tissier, 20, Rachel Williams, 34, and Adriana Leon, 30, who netted her first United goal during their demolition of Brighton.
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Of his choice of signings, Skinner added: “It was actually carefully designing what each person might bring for us.
“For example, if we need to go into a physical battle with a team – and Chelsea are a very physical team – we know a Rachel Williams can frighten most people.
“It’s really important we have variance and ability to do that.”
Among the players who have shone for the club this term is former Brighton defender Le Tissier.
Two goals and an assist in five top-tier games have seen the defender earn her first senior England call-up before the Lionesses’ games against Japan and Norway.
Maya Le Tissier has impressed for the Red Devils since her summer switch from BrightonCredit: Getty
Skinner said: “She’s a very talented young player but has stepped above and beyond her years in maturity and she shows that.
“All she’s got to do is enjoy these moments. Go and enjoy the camp, go and step up and show her qualities.”
United’s clash with Chelsea will see Mary Earps, 29, become the first goalkeeper to make her 150th WSL appearance.
The Euros-winning shot-stopper has been in fine form between the sticks for club and country,
And Earps has kept five clean sheets in five WSL exchanges this term.
Skinner said: “I’m a huge admirer of what Mary has done in the last year since I’ve been in charge. 
Mary Earps is set to become the first goalkeeper to make 150 Women’s Super League appearancesCredit: Getty
“With Mary, she gives us so much stability to build on.
“I’m really pleased with the mindset of the goalkeeping people we have here.
Chelsea have been on a seven-game winning streak across all competitions since their loss to Liverpool in September.
Their Leigh Park Village visit could see Barclays Player of the Month nominee Lauren James, 21, start against her former club. 
Blues general manager Paul Green said: “Lauren has had a really good start to the season.
“She’s a quality player and put in some great performances this month.
‘It’s no surprise she got nominated off the back of those two great goals last weekend against Aston Villa, plus another assist.”
Lauren James has notched up two goals and one assist in six WSL appearancesCredit: Getty More

BETH MEAD shared her dismay on the World Cup being held in Qatar following fierce criticism of the country’s anti-homosexuality laws.The Euros Golden Boot winner said it is “disappointing” that the contest which starts later was being hosted in the Gulf state.
Beth Mead says she will not be promoting this year’s men’s World CupCredit: Getty
The Lionesses and Arsenal star was sharing her thoughts on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour 17 days before the start of the World Cup.
Controversy regarding Qatar’s laws against homosexuality has dogged the build-up to this year’s tournament, in which Gareth Taylor’s England side will compete.
Same-sex relationships remain illegal in the state and homosexuality can be punishable by death.
The decision to host one of the world’s biggest sports events in the country has been met with anger from campaigners within the LGBTQ community.
And Mead, whose partner is Arsenal team-mate Vivianne Miedema, is among a number of high-profile sports figures who have raised concerns about human rights in Qatar.
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The Gunners forward, who helped England win the Euros in July said: “From the minute it was announced, I thought it’s not the best idea.
 “The way they think is the complete opposite of what I believe and respect.
“Although I will be cheering for the boys who are going to play football, I still don’t think it’s the right place, but unfortunately money talks.
“It’s not something that I will be back in our promoting at all but unfortunately, it is going ahead.
“It’s just disappointing I guess in the sense of there’s no respect on a lot of levels even though it’s a game of football.”
In October England skipper Harry Kane revealed he would be wearing a OneLove campaign armband even if it is not ordered by Fifa.
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The armbands are being worn by the Three Lions striker and nine other European country captains who are backing a season-long campaign against discrimination.
Elsewhere 16 players from Australia’s men’s team – including Socceroos captain Mat Ryan -collectively spoke out on Qatar’s human rights in a video released last month.
Among the issues they raised were concerns over issues faced by migrant workers in the country.
On the challenges that have faced workers who helped construct stadiums, Mead added: “The situation with the stadiums being built and the number of people that have passed because of that – it’s not ideal.”
In June, it was reported Qatar’s World Cup bosses said gay fans will not be mistreated when they visit the country.  
However, activist Peter Tatchell, 70, was “arrested and detained on a kerbside” while staging a protest in the country’s capital Doha, although its government denied this occurred.
Harry Kane will wear a OneLove armband during the World CupCredit: EPA More

LEICESTER CITY have dropped the axe on Lydia Bedford’s tenure as manager with the team currently bottom of the WSL.Foxes’ women’s football director Willie Kirk will take charge of the side before a tough home duel with Arsenal following six straight losses.
Leicester have parted company with Lydia Bedford just over a year on from her appointment as manager of their WSL teamCredit: Getty
Willie Kirk will take charge of the Foxes on a permanent basis with the team playing Arsenal at the King Power nextCredit: Reuters
Bedford’s departure comes in a week which has seen Hope Powell step down as Brighton Women’s boss after five years at the helm.
It also comes just over a year on from her appointment after Leicester announced the sacking of former gaffer Jonathan Morgan.
The club also confirmed Bedford’s assistant Nicola Williams will leave her role after just three months following her appointment this August.
Leicester City Chief Executive Susan Whelan said: “We’re extremely grateful to Lydia for everything she has done during her time with Leicester City, guiding our players through a difficult first season in the WSL.
“Her skill as a coach and dedication to improving players were big factors in the retention of our WSL status and will continue to serve her well in a successful career at the top of the women’s game.
“After a difficult start to the season, we now look to move forward with the team led by Willie Kirk, whose experience and knowledge will be of great value for the challenges ahead.”
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Kirk, who managed Everton’s Women’s Super League side from December 2018 to last October, will take on his new role on a permanent basis.
His first game in charge will be a Sunday afternoon clash with Arsenal who set a new WSL record with their 13th successive top-tier match win last time out.  
And he will be supported by first-team coach Steve Kirby and Foxes hero technical coach Emile Heskey.
In the 2020-21 season, Kirk led the Toffees to a fifth-place finish.
The Scotland-born coach also guided the team to the 2020 Women’s FA Cup final where they were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City.
Leicester are chasing their first point and win in the top-flight term with the team currently three points behind Brighton in the league.
Bedford, who previously coached England girls’ youth teams including the Lionesses’ Under-17s, steered Leicester to survival in their first year in the WSL last term.
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The club endured a tough start losing 10 games across all competitions between last September and early December.
This was before Bedford took charge of her first match on December 12 last year which was a WSL duel against the Gunners.
However, the Foxes rallied to pick up four wins and a draw to narrowly avoid the drop finishing two points ahead of rivals Birmingham City.
But the team, who made history by reaching the top flight for the first time last term, have lost all six WSL games played so far this season.
According to the club, the appointment of the Kirk is part of a reorganisation of its women’s first team operation.
Leicester took a first-half lead against Reading during Bedford’s last game in charge before losing 2-1 to the RoyalsCredit: Getty More

HAWA CISSOKO has received a fine and five-match ban after being sent off during a West Ham duel with Aston Villa.The Irons centre-back was given her marching orders after clashing with Villa defender Sarah Mayling during a WSL fixture.
Hawa Cissoko will serve a five-game ban after being sent off following an altercation with Villa’s Sarah Mayling during a WSL matchCredit: Getty
Cissoko was shown a red card for appearing to strike Mayling after the pair began pushing each other following a duel for the ball.
Moments later this led to a heated confrontation between staff from the benches of both clubs.
This occurred as Cissoko was making her way off the pitch at Villa’s Bescot Stadium home.
And it was followed by Hammers boss Paul Konchesky being sent off during the match which his side won 2-1 on October 15.
The FA have charged both Women’s Super League sides for failing to ensure “their players and officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion”.
And both clubs have been hit with a fine of £1000 each.
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France ace Cissoko, who was initially given a three-match ban, has been banned for a further two games.
The central defender, who started in West Ham’s opening four league games this term, has also been fined £200.
Konchesky, whose team will play Brighton next, was hit with a fine of £325.
And Villa staff member Jack Hopkins was fined £250.
Last month West Ham revealed Cissoko had been on the receiving end of “racist and abusive messages” from a number of social media accounts following the incident.
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The club says it has passed “hateful content” the player had received to the police.
Cissoko, who shared details of some of the abuse she received, posted a written apology to Mayling, her team-mates, and West Ham fans following her sending off.
The defender said she regretted her actions towards the end of the game and said “there was no excuse”.
Aston Villa and West Ham have both been fined £1000 for “failing to ensure” their players and officials behaved in an orderly mannerCredit: Getty More

HOPE POWELL has stood down as boss of Brighton Women bringing her five-year tenure in charge of the side to a close.Her departure comes a day after the Seagulls endured one of their heaviest defeats in the WSL – an 8-0 drubbing at home to Tottenham.
Hope Powell has left Brighton after a five-year spell in charge of their women’s sideCredit: Getty
Brighton fell to an 8-0 loss at home to Tottenham with the team currently 11th in the leagueCredit: Alamy
Today the club confirmed Powell, 56, had stepped down “with immediate effect” as manager of the side currently second from bottom in the league.
Albion assistant manager Amy Merricks will take charge of the team at their next game with support from Alex Penny and Albion Girls Academy chief Perry Northeast.
The club are due to play West Ham away on Sunday.
The Seagulls had won over 40 per cent of the 116 matches played under former England head coach Powell after she took charge in July 2017.
And in the 2020-21 season, she led them to sixth place, their highest-ever finish in the top tier.
However, they are three points above the WSL’s drop zone having lost four of their opening five games this season.
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Powell said: “We’ve had a very challenging start to the new season with many changes to our squad and results not going as we had all hoped.
“Sunday’s heavy loss at home to Tottenham was particularly disappointing. 
“As a club, we’ve made a lot of progress in the past five years, but I feel now is the right time to step aside and allow a new coach to take the team forward with plenty of Super League football still to play this season.”
Brighton Women’s chair, Michelle Walder, added: “Hope’s contribution to the development of women’s and girls’ football at our club, and for the women’s game in this country, cannot be underestimated.
“She has established Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League and has overseen the opening of a new state-of-the-art women’s and girls’ teams training facility at our club.
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“She has undoubtedly inspired further generations of young girls to play football. We wish her well for the future.”
Powell’s departure followed reports concerning speculation over her future with the team falling to losses of four or more goals in three of their first five WSL games.
Her departure also follows a summer that has seen Brighton’s senior squad depleted following the exits of several players.
First-team regulars who departed include highly-rated defender Maya Le Tissier who sealed a move to Manchester United.
Other aces who left include forward Aileen Whelan, Dutch duo Inessa Kaagman and Danielle Kerkdijk, and Finland full-back Emma Koivisto. 
Maya Le Tissier is among several players who left Brighton this summerCredit: Getty More

WHEN Stephen Opoka’s playing career ended in his early twenties after a knee injury, a move into coaching was the furthest thing from his mindFifteen years on the ex-Colchester United youth player has become West Ham Women’s WSL Academy manager, the first black coach to take on the role.
Stephen Opoka played for Colchester United during his teens
A knee injury led to Opoka embarking on a career in coachingCredit: https://www.whufc.com/news/stephen-opoka-appointed-womens-academy-manager
Becoming a coach was something Opoka, 34 would eventually see as his dream job years after a promising start as a Colchester United youth player.
The ex-U’s youth player’s journey into football began at seven after being inspired by the Three Lions’ heroics during Euros 96.
It would later lead to Opoka, who was born in Uganda, getting a call-up to Uganda’s senior side at 18, ahead of an African Cup of Nations qualifier.
The former Colchester midfielder, who grew up in Newham in East London said: “Watching Euro 96 was a big moment
“I started to get a football vibe from watching England get to the semi-finals and Paul Gascoigne’s famous goal against Scotland.
“These were my earliest memories and trying to replicate these moments – that’s what got me into football as a kid in a playground.
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“When I was 11, I joined a grassroots side called Abbey Raiders based in Forest Gate in East London.
“I was a midfielder at the time and some of my heroes back then were players like Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane.
“I later joined Colchester as a schoolboy.”
Opoka’s appointment as the Hammers’ Women’s Academy manager last month, follows a journey that saw him undergo a knee op in a bid to continue playing.  
He would later take on a variety of jobs before deciding to take the plunge to become a coach.
Opoka added: “I was at Colchester for five years from the age of 14 playing in midfield.
“When I was 19, I didn’t get offered another contract and went for trials at Stoke City and Brentford.
“I ended up injuring my knee whilst I was training by myself and damaging the cartilage and ended up needing a knee operation.
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“That was tough because at that moment I was feeling really good and ready to go for trials.
“I ended up working in retail for a few years from 19 to 21. Within that period I decided to develop new skills.
“During that time, I experienced a bit of heartbreak as my dad passed away while I was waiting to have knee surgery. 
“I was waiting for an operation via the NHS and that takes some time.
“But I found out through a company my dad worked for that I was medically insured through them.
“When he passed, that’s when I had the surgery.
Opoka undertook a variety of jobs after his playing career ended early due to an injury
“After my knee operation, I was thinking I could get back into playing.
“The surgeon said I could have a professional career but advised against it because I was at risk of (me) developing arthritis
“I continued to work and also started playing football semi-professionally for a while, but I didn’t enjoy it.
“That’s when I started my head started to turn towards coaching and helping out friends who were (and some who still are) professional players.
“During the off-season, I would help them do during sessions that were specific to their playing positions when they were coming back from injuries.
“I remember working with my good mate Troy Archibald-Henville (now a youth coach at Tottenham).
“He was at Swindon at the time playing under Paolo Di Canio.
Opoka wants to provide West Ham Women’s Academy players with a chance to develop skills off the pitch as well as on it
“I was also doing similar things during the off-season with friends playing for West Ham, Tottenham, and Everton.”
“I was 23 then but during those couple of years previous from 19 to 21, I had no thought of getting into coaching.”
It was not until Opoka was in his late twenties that he decided to he wanted to go into coaching full-time.
A decision that would see him complete a Uefa B license course and establish his own coaching company before becoming the head coach of the University of East London’s women’s football team.
Not everyone has that mindset where they can look and say I can imagine myself doing that roleStephen Opoka – West Ham Women’s Academy Manager
He would later become assistant manager of West Ham Women’s Under-21s before taking on the role of WSL’s club’s academy chief. 
Opoka, is one of a small number of black coaches working at the highest levels of the domestic game in England.
Brighton boss Hope Powell is currently the only black head coach in the WSL while Patrick Vieira is the only black manager of a Premier League side.
A new report published this month revealed just 4.4 per cent of managers in the English game are black.
Reflecting on this Opoka said: “It is important to see representation.
West Ham men’s first team coach Paul Nevin is among a small number of black coaches working at the highest levels of football in EnglandCredit: Getty
“Not everyone has that mindset where they can look and say I can imagine myself doing that role.
“Sometimes they need to see it and say, ‘I can see Hope Powell (Brighton), I can see Patrick Vieira in his role at Crystal Palace and I can see Paul Nevin (first team coach of West Ham’s Prem first team), so it is possible’. 
“It is definitely a big thing for many people from different backgrounds coming up in coaching.
“They need to see somebody who looks like them, sounds like them, and may have gone through similar obstacles as them. 
“If I saw limitations, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”
In his new role is relishing the challenge of helping West Ham Women’s WSL Academy to flourish.
The team’s Under-21 side is currently seventh in the Southern Division of the WSL Academy League having won three of their first six games this term.
Opoka says Irons Women’s boss says Konchesky has been a regular presence at matches.
And the Newham-bred coach has high hopes for the academy which he describes as being in its infancy.
He added: “We’re constantly communicating with Paul.
West Ham Women’s boss Paul Konchesky often attends the Irons’ WSL academy gamesCredit: Getty
“He has been at every home Academy game this season and I can’t praise his support highly enough.
“The biggest thing for me is making the academy a place where players know that when they come in, they’re going to get what they need, whether its psychological support, as well the tactical and technical coaching on the pitch.
“It’s having an environment that is professional and there for the girls to have a platform to give it their best shot.” More