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Harrogate’s Rachel Daly wins golden boot

Rachel Daly won the Women’s Super League golden boot today by finishing as the season’s top goalscorer.

Daly was on the scoresheet again in Aston Villa Women’s 2-0 final day defeat of Arsenal Women.

It took her total for the season to 22 — two more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.

The prestigious golden boot is awarded to the league’s top goalscorer and Daly’s total equals the all-time record.

It capped another remarkable week for the England player, who was yesterday named Barclays’ Player of the Season.

Daly, 31, joined Villa from Houston Dash last summer and was a member of the England Lionesses team that won Euro 2022 last summer.

She started her career at Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club and returned to the club this month to open a cafe named after her.

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly on verge of winning golden boot

Harrogate-born Rachel Daly scored again yesterday to go three goals clear with one match to go in the race for the golden boot.

Daly scored just before half-time in Aston Villa Women’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Women’s Super League.

It took her total to the year to 21 — three more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw, who failed to score for Manchester City Women in their 2-1 loss to Manchester United Women.

Whoever scores the most in a season is awarded the prestigious golden boot.

Erling Haaland looks certain to win the men’s award in the English Premier League, now Daley will be hoping to secure the women’s accolade when Villa face Arsenal Women on the final day of the season on Saturday.

Yesterday’s strike means Daly is now just one goal short of the all-time record for most goals in a season in the Women’s Super League, which was set by Vivianne Miedema in 2019.

Daly’s fantastic form since she left Houston Dash last summer to wear the claret and blue of Villa last week earned her a nomination for the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award.

Fans have until Sunday to vote for their favourite and can do so here.

Daly returned to Harrogate to a hero’s welcome eight days ago to open Nomads Daly Brew, the cafe named in her honour by her former club Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club.

Harrogate hails returning hero Rachel Daly

It’s difficult to think of a bigger star from Harrogate right now than England footballer Rachel Daly.

Daly was part of the England Lionesses team that won Euro 2020 last year and is this season’s Women’s Super League leading scorer.

She also has 328,000 followers on Instagram so it was little surprise hundreds of football fans gathered at Killinghall Moor this afternoon to greet her homecoming.

Daly was back where it all started — Killinghall Nomads Junior Football Club — to open the Nomads Daly Brew cafe named in her honour.

She arrived with friends and family, not to mention dog Dexy, shortly after midday to a chorus of ‘She’s Coming Home’ and after a few quick speeches and media interviews signed autographs non-stop for more than hour.

Alongside her mural

Many fans turned up wearing shirts bearing Daly’s name.

Sitting in the cafe bearing her name and mural, people queued with balls, shirts, boots and bits of paper for her to sign. Many wore England or Aston Villa Women shirts bearing the name ‘Daly’.

She obliged them all and flashed her megawatt smile for selfies until everyone had got a memento. Mum Louise, who still lives in Harrogate, looked like she would burst with pride.

Some fans queued for over an hour to meet Daly.

Posing with current Killinghall Nomads players

Daly played for Killinghall Nomads from under-eight to under-15 level before moving on. Her brother and father also represented the club. Dad Martyn, who died two years ago, set up the under-15 girls team.

This was her first trip to Harrogate since Christmas and the event provided a chance to catch-up with some old friends as well as fans.

She was impressed by the building’s transition to a cafe and humbled by the decision to name it in her honour. She said:

“I spent every waking second of the day on these pitches, hitting a ball against this wall so to be here today is a great honour.

“It’s always important to remember your roots. When I was last here it was a meeting room with just a kettle!”

Simon Walker, vice-chair of the club, told the crowd that Daly continued to inspire others, which was evident by the number of girls and boys who turned out.

David Terzza, women and girls’ football lead at the club, said it now had about 150 females on its books.

He emphasised how much Daly had contributed to its growth by sponsoring kit, arranging for some of the junior players to watch the Lionesses train at the St George’s Park national football centre and taking part in a zoom question and answer with girls during covid.

She said:

“Nomads will always have a special place in my heart. If it wasn’t for this place, where I played on every blade of grass and broke every piece of fence, I wouldn’t be here today. It’s such an honour.”

Her classy display on the day ensured Daly will also have a special place in Harrogate’s heart too. Time for a statue?

Here are some more photos from today’s event.

Rachel Daly Killinghall Nomads

Harrogate Town release three players

Harrogate Town has revealed it is letting go of three players following the conclusion of the 2022/23 League Two season.

Dior Angus, Max Wright and Alex Pattison will be leaving the club.

Attacking midfielder Alex Pattison spent two seasons with the Sulphurites, making a total of 86 appearances after arriving from Wycombe.

He scored 19 goals and registered 14 assists at Town.

Angus and Wright arrived at the club last summer and made a combined 12 appearances for the club.

Simon Weaver’s side finished the season 19th in League Two.

Eighteen players remain under contract for the 2023/24 season.

In addition, negotiations are underway with midfielder George Horbury on the academy graduate’s future.

Matty Foulds, Tom Eastman, Kazeem Olaigbe, Matty Daly and Danny Grant have all left following the expiry of their loan deals and Rory McArdle has retired after a 19-year playing career that included 39 appearances with Town.

The contracted players are:

Mark Oxley

Pete Jameson

Joe Mattock

Warren Burrell

Toby Sims

Anthony O’Connor

Kayne Ramsay

Josh Falkingham

George Thomson

Levi Sutton

Stephen Dooley

Sam Folarin

Jack Muldoon

Emmanuel Ilesanmi

Luke Armstrong

Miles Welch-Hayes

Kyle Ferguson

Will Smith

Harrogate hotshot Rachel Daly to open Killinghall cafe

Harrogate hotshot Rachel Daly is to return to her roots on Sunday to open a cafe named after her.

Killinghall Nomads opened Nomads Daly Brew this year in honour of the England and Aston Villa striker, who started playing football for the junior club near Harrogate.

Now Daly, who is leading this season’s race to win the Women’s Super League Golden Boot, will return to officially open the cafe.

Sunday’s opening, which will take place at 12.30pm at the cafe at Killinghall Moor Community Park, gives local people a rare opportunity to meet the local superstar, who had advertised her attendance to her 327,000 Instagram followers.

England men’s manager Gareth Southgate and former England player turned pundit Micah Richards have been invited but it is not known if they will attend.

Daly has had a remarkable season since her summer transfer from Houston Dash to Aston Villa Women.

Her hat-trick in Aston Villa Women’s 5-0 defeat of Reading Women on Sunday catapulted her to the top of the list of leading goal scorers in the 2022/23 season.

Whoever finishes top is awarded the prestigious golden boot.

With two games remaining, she has 20 WSL goals — two more than Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.

Manchester United Women’s Leah Galton, who like Daly was born in Harrogate, is joint third with 10.

Nobody has ever scored more than 22 goals in a season since the golden boot was introduced in 2011.

Daly’s form up front has been a major factor in Aston Villa Women’s rise to fifth place in the WSL. They also reached the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Knaresborough Town pair championing women’s football after remarkable season

Promotion and winning a title would be an astonishing achievement for any sports team in their first season.

But for Knaresborough Town Women, it was particularly remarkable.

The squad was formed, took pre-season and kicked off their campaign all within a matter of weeks in the summer of 2022.

For Sarah Parkes, vice-captain, and Emily Crispin, midfielder and team physio, the season was a whirlwind.

Sarah, 26, joined Town after playing for Harrogate Railway, while Leeds-born Emily moved from Harrogate Town.

The pair were keen footballers from being youngsters.

Sarah’s Dad was an academy coach at Leeds United. She said she had little choice but to grow up kicking a ball around.

“Our family is quite interested in football.

“My dad coached Leeds United for 25 years for the academy. He was very focussed on bringing up me, my two brothers and my sister and getting us involved in football.”

Meanwhile, Emily, 25, caught the bug around six-years-old after playing in mixed teams with the boys at primary school in Leeds.

“I played with the boys team and then we ended up having a girls team.

“I think one of the girl’s played outside of school and her dad approached my dad. My dad liked sport, but he was never interested in football. It just went from there, really.”

Sarah Parkes in action Knaresborough Town Women.

Knaresborough Town Women did not exist some 12 months ago.

The side started out in July last year, with trials being held at Knaresborough Celtic for players aged 16 and over.

Sarah found out about the set up through family. Her brothers are both involved with the men’s side, with Simon the manager and club captain Ben

“It’s a very family club. We have a lot of friends and family involved in it.

“It was a no brainer coming to Knaresborough.”

For Emily, the move to Knaresborough was different.

Emily Crispin, who is also club physio.

She knew Ged Maloney, who helped set up the women’s side, from college. Ged was also involved with Harrogate Town, where Emily was playing the previous season.

At the time, Emily says she was “in between” whether to play or to take on physio – something which she studied at university.

In the end, she ended up doing both and has been the team’s physio while also helping lead the side to promotion.

Pre-season to champions

It was a quick turn around for Knaresborough Town.

Both Emily and Sarah had two weeks from pre-season, which was overseen by head coach Mike Bligh, to kicking off the season.

The pair prepared for the campaign by sharing facilities with the men’s side, including the playing home games at Manse Lane.

Town were thrown in the deep end against one of the league favourites Field Ladies FC for the first fame of the season.

Sarah said:

“It was very intimidating not knowing anyone and then we had to go into the first game after only meeting each other around four or five times at training.

“It was nerve wracking, but after that first game we got to know each other a bit more.”

Knaresborough Town Women clinched the title at Bradford City in April.

However, the club went on to win promotion, sometimes winning games at a canter.

Along the way, they clocked up scores such as 15-0 against Leeds Hyde Park and 22-0 against Wakefield.

Once promotion was confirmed, the title was clinched with a 1-0 win away at Bradford City in April.

‘There is demand for women’s football’

With the success of England’s Lionesses at the Euros and the rise of the Women’s Super League, women’s football has seen success over the past couple of years.

For Sarah, who grew up in Knaresborough, this has been demonstrated locally.

“I think more people want to get more involved.

“When I left Harrogate Railway, they set up a reserve team with the amount of interest they have got.

“I’m hoping that Knaresborough Town will get similar interest and set up a development squad or something for people who want to get involved in football to come and get started at Knaresborough.”

Emily said women have proven that the demand is there for girls to get involved in football.

She points to the 60,000 people who attended last week’s Women’s Champions League game between Arsenal and Wolfsburg at the Emirates as an example.

“The demand is there. It’s amazing.

“We have clearly proven the demand is there if you women the platform to play in those type of stadiums.”

This is the second article in a series of Sporting Spotlight interviews. If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Ex-England footballer Micah Richards fined for speeding in Knaresborough

Former England footballer Micah Richards has been fined for speeding in Knaresborough.

Richards, 34, of Nidd, near Harrogate, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday charged with the offence.

He pleaded guilty to speeding in excess of 30 mph on the B6165 at an address listed as Howe Hill in Knaresborough on August 3 last year.

A separate charge of failing to identify the driver of a vehicle in relation to another traffic offence on December 27, 2022, was withdrawn.

The 34-year-old, who was driving a Rolls Royce at the time, was fined £666 and his licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

The magistrates also ordered Richards to pay a victim surcharge of £266 and court costs of £90.

Richards was previously banned from driving for six months in 2013 after he failed to respond to two speeding notices sent to his home address.

The former footballer made 203 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa and Manchester City, where he won the league in 2012 and FA Cup in 2011, before retiring in 2019.

He also won 13 caps for England between 2006 and 2012.

Richards now works as a pundit for Sky Sports and BBC Sport.

Harrogate Town secure English Football League status

Harrogate Town secured their status in the English Football League with a win at Newport County last night.

The 3-2 victory will see Town remain in League Two next season.

It means Harrogate can prepare for a third campaign in the EFL since their historic promotion in 2020.

Financially, it also means the club will continue to receive Premier League solidarity payments, EFL money and potential broadcasting fees if fixtures are shown on television.

The Premier League pays solidarity payments to all EFL clubs, with those in League Two receiving an estimated £450,000 each in recent seasons.

The club plans to renovate its EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road to comply with EFL standards.

It can now proceed in the knowledge that its place among England’s top 92 clubs is safe for at least another year.

Town’s 3-2 win at Newport last night was secured with a goal from Luke Armstrong seven minutes from full-time.

Armstrong’s 16th goal of the season leaves Harrogate nine points above the relegation zone with two games remaining.

Speaking after the match at Rodney Parade, manager Simon Weaver said he wanted the team to continue to build momentum despite securing survival.

He said:

“We said before the game that we want to finish with as many points as possible. We wanted to excite the fans, keep building momentum and end on a positive note for the fans.”

How Pateley Bridge man won two league titles with Leeds United

Pateley Bridge man Alan Sutton can barely believe he won league titles with Leeds United.

His career at United spans three decades and includes a First Division title, a Second Division championship, a cup final at Wembley and stints in Europe.

But Alan was not a player – he was the club’s physio.

Sitting in his conservatory at his home in Pateley Bridge on a sunny April morning, he says it took him a while to realise his achievements.

“Have you ever seen that episode of Dallas when Bobby Ewing gets killed, but then he comes back again? He comes out of his shower and it was like a dream.

“It’s a bit like that. I wake up and think: ‘did that really happen?’”

He’s documented his career in a book My Journey: Pavement to Premier League with Leeds United, which initially started as stories for his grandchildren during the first covid lockdown.

But Alan’s story of his time at the pinnacle of English football is not a conventional one.

In fact, 25 years prior to joining Leeds United as its physiotherapist, he was flagging pavements in Bradford.

So how did a kid from Bradford go from working on building sites to lifting a First Division title?

Flagging pavements in Bradford

Alan was born in Bradford in 1946. His mum and dad, Winnie and Alf, both worked typical mill town jobs.

Alf was a foundry man and Winnie worked in the mills.

Much like a lot of teenagers in post-war Britain, Alan left school at 15 in 1961.

His dream was to play football and his education suffered for it. As a result, he was left to apply for manual jobs in his hometown – some with not much success.

He said:

“I had three jobs in three months and got sacked from every one of them.

“I think the youth employment place was a bit fed up of seeing me.”

After many tries, Alan finally found a job as a street mason which involved him laying flags and kerbs for the Bradford Corporation.

For two weeks, he was told to sit in a shed armed with a lump hammer and a chisel learning how to chip away at stones.

“As you can imagine, I probably hit my hand more times than I did the chisel.”

While Alan was working on building sites and laying flags, he pursued a passion for football.

He played in the Yorkshire league for Salts FC at Saltaire, as well as Bradford Minors.

Alan caught the eye of local coaches as a player and went on to play Leeds FA in the West Riding FA Cup final for Bradford Minors.

In a sign of things to come, Alan says on the day of the game, he read about a new signing for Leeds in the local Telegraph & Argus paper.

“I read in the paper that Leeds United have just signed another Scottish schoolboy international called Edwin Gray.

“It’s ironic how your life pans out and 30 years on, the amount of hours I would spend with Eddie.”

Despite his dream, Alan did not go on to have a football career as a player.

He turned down an opportunity to sign as an apprentice for Bradford Park Avenue after impressing their manager, Jimmy Scoular.

From Canada to Leeds

After saving up money working in the building trade, Alan headed off to Canada in 1967 to pursue more work.

He returned to England in 1968 after making enough money and worked in the building trade while taking his coaching badges.

While helping coach young players at Bradford City, he opted to learn physiotherapy and take on an FA Management and Treatment of Sports Injuries diploma at Lilleshall.

Alan with his First Division title medal

His big break came in July 1981, when Halifax Town FC hired him on £50 a week.

Alan went on to pass his diploma and took up a role at Mansfield Rugby League, before going on to Halifax Rugby League in 1985 where he would get his first taste of silverwear.

Despite the success in rugby league, Alan’s career would take a different path in another part of West Yorkshire.

In August 1986, Leeds United physio Geoff Ladley called Alan.

Geoff had decided to leave the club after 10 years to take up a new job at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

He asked Alan if he would be interested in taking over as physio and if he would meet with Leeds manager and club legend Billy Bremner.

The initial interview did not go to plan though.

“I’ve gone through to see Billy.

“But I’m still on a roll from winning the championship with Halifax and I’m not exactly the most positive person when I’m talking to him.”

Alan went back to his part-time job with Halifax Town, but was confronted about his interview by manager Mick Jones.

“He asks: ‘how did you get on with Billy?’ And I said ‘yeah alright’.

“He just looked at me in the eye and said: ‘Listen, you just cannot turn down Leeds United.’”

Alan called Geoff back up and asked for another chance, which he was given. Fortunately for him, Billy asked when he could start.

Success with Leeds United

Leeds missed out on promotion and reached the 1987 FA Cup semi final in Alan’s first season.

He describes his workplace as “mayhem” as the club’s physio.

“I had 40 people from kids to the squad to look after. Also, on a match day, I was kit man as well as physio.

“What I loved about Billy was he would come into the treatment room, he would sit down crossing his legs, smoking a fag and start telling all the stories.”

But Billy’s tenure wouldn’t last and a new manager would come in in 1989 and spark a “culture change”, as Alan describes it.

Howard Wilkinson arrived from Sheffield Wednesday and led an overhaul of the club.

The 1989/90 season saw Leeds promoted back to the First Division.

For Alan, who saw it firsthand, part of the reason for the success was recruitment and the type of players that were brought in.

“I get asked loads of times about who was the best player in my near 30 years at Leeds United.

“Without a shadow of a doubt, in those early days it was Gordon Strachan. He was like the manager on the field.

“We were still in the culture where everyone was drinking. He started to change all that.”

Leeds United’s 1992 squad, which were the last team to win the First Division before it became the Premier League. Alan can be seen in the blue jumper with an “AS” logo.

Strachan would be pivotal in that promotion season and more so two years later when Leeds won their first title since 1974 – and became the last team to win it before the Premier League.

The championship was clinched n April 26, 1992, after a chaotic game at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United.

Alan, who still has his First Division medal, recalls the aftermath of that game in Sheffield and finding out that they had clinched the title on the drive home on the radio.

During the drive, Liverpool were playing Manchester United at Anfield. A victory for the home side would secure Leeds the championship.

“I got my nephew to pick me up and take me to my sisters in Bradford.

“While we were driving, Liverpool had gone one-nil up. I’m half asleep and Mark Walters had got the second goal with about three minutes to go.

“My nephew said: ‘Uncle Alan, I think you have just won the championship.'”

Alan would get his hands on the title at the Norwich game at Elland Road the following weekend.

Today, he keeps a picture of him with his wife Shirley, his son Miles and daughter Adele on the pitch, with the trophy in his home.

‘It gets under your skin’

Alan left Leeds in 2014 after 37 years of service.

When asked to sum up his career, he is thoughtful and takes time to reflect on his achievements.

Alan with current Leeds United captain Liam Cooper.

Much of his thoughts on his career are in his book, the proceeds of which go to two of his chosen charities: Sarcoma UK and the Gary Kelly Cancer Centre in Drogheda, Ireland.

For the most part, Alan reflects on how much Leeds managed to get to him throughout the past three decades.

“When someone asks me if I’m a Leeds United supporter, I say no.

“Leeds United became far deeper. It becomes your life. Eddie Howe was talking about Newcastle the other day. He said: ‘This place gets under your skin’. That was Leeds United.”

Alan’s book ‘My Journey: Pavement to Premier League’ is available now here. All proceeds go to Sarcoma UK and the Gary Kelly Cancer Centre.

This is the first article in a series of Sporting Spotlight interviews. If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.

Harrogate’s Rachel Daly on target as England win Finalissima

Harrogate-born striker Rachel Daly scored in the penalty shootout as England beat Brazil to win the Finalissima last night.

The match, in front of 83,000 fans at Wembley and broadcast live in ITV, saw Euro 22 champions England take on Copa America winners Brazil.

England led 1-0 at half-time but Brazil pounced on a goalkeeping error in injury time to take the match to penalties.

With the score at 1-1, Daly — who came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute — put England ahead with a powerful drive and the Lionesses went on to win 4-2.

They are now unbeaten in 30 matches.

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Pre-season to champions

‘There is demand for women’s football’

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Flagging pavements in Bradford

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From Canada to Leeds

Success with Leeds United

‘It gets under your skin’

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