Tuesday, 22 May 2018

SHERWOOD CAN LOOK BACK ON LADY GLOVERS SPELL WITH PRIDE

They may have finished the season having scored only two goals and gained two points, but Yeovil Town Ladies can look back at the 2017-18 Women's Super League season with plenty of pride.

As can manager Jamie Sherwood who stood down as manager after four years in charge of the Lady Glovers. During those four years the club have made some incredible strides, from entering Women's Super Two under Sherwood's predecessor Sarah Lawler in 2014.

It was at this point when former Torquay United youth team player Sherwood came in towards the end of the 2014 campaign, initially as a coach and then as interim manager before being appointed as manager on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

This was then followed by promotion to WSL One two years in 2016, as they clinched the league title with a final day victory over Sheffield FC by pipping Bristol City Women on goal difference.

The club's motto reads: 'achieve by unity' and as a group they more than fulfilled the virtues of that phrase.

Next up was the WSL Spring Series, which was used to bridge the gap between a summer and a winter programme for the league and gave Sherwood and his team a taster of what was to come when the main action got underway.

As well as presenting challenges on the field, the top flight of the women's also presented obstacles off it. After winning promotion on merit, the Lady Glovers were told that they needed to find £350,000 to continue to play in WSL One and turn full-time.

However, with no backing from a wealthy men's Premier League side to fall back on, a lot of work went into successfully rising to this challenge and Tier One status was successfully obtained.

Another challenge that Sherwood has had to face is losing several talented players, including Sarah Wiltshire, Lucy Quinn and Angharad James who all moved on to pastures following the Spring Series.

Nevertheless, players such as Jessie Jones stepped up to the mark - a midfielder who looked at home against some of the leading lights of the league - and goalkeeper Megan Walsh staked a possible claim for Phil Neville's Lionesses squad.

And that's not to say nothing of the many younger faces who featured in the green and white of Yeovil, including Thierry-Jo Gauvin and Libby Piggott - the latter being the scorer of the Lady Glovers' first goal in WSL One against Everton Ladies.

For Sherwood's successor - the future is bright, the future is green and white.