WOMEN’S SEASON REVIEW: PART ONE (2023)

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The story of how the 2022/23 season unfolded for the Claret Women month by month…

2023-05-13T09:00:00.000Z

WOMEN’S SEASON REVIEW: PART ONE (2023)

The story of how the 2022/23 season unfolded for the Claret Women month by month…

2023-05-13T09:00:00.000Z

The story of how the 2022/23 season unfolded for the Claret Women month by month…

JULY

As England battled their way to glory on the international stage in EURO 2022, and the women’s game was propelled to a level never witnessed before, Burnley were gearing up for a second campaign in the Northern Premier Division of the FA Women’s National League.

Jonathan Morgan, appointed the previous month, was at the helm and pre-season commenced with a thumping 9-0 win in the South West against Swindon Town Ladies.

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Further run outs followed against Merseyrail Ladies, Barnsley Women & Stockport County before the month was out, while the Claret Women discovered their fixtures for the upcoming season and continued to add new faces to the squad including hometown girl Leah Embley, making her return for a second spell.

AUGUST

Pre-season continued into August, with victory against Newcastle United up in the North East in the last friendly for Morgan’s side.

Signings also continued, with Lucy Walsh – who would go on to miss just one game all season – joining as part of a trio of youngsters alongside Lou Lou Newton & Aimee Kelly.

Eventually, the season got underway on 21st August, and Burnley began the 2022/23 campaign in style with a last-gasp 3-2 win on the road at Derby County, with Dom Cooper netting the winner in the 97th minute.

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A 1-0 win against Stoke City the following Sunday saw Morgan’s side kick off their home campaign with three points as Millie Ravening opened her account, while a first midweek game of the season ended August with 100% record still intact after a 4-2 victory away at AFC Fylde. Evie Priestley grabbed a hat-trick that night.

SEPTEMBER

Dropping points for the first time, Huddersfield Town held Burnley to a draw at the County Ground in Leyland as September began, with Laura Elford – who would go on to join the Clarets – on the scoresheet for the visitors.

Bouncing back though, the Clarets next visited newly-promoted Boldmere St Michaels, and Embley’s 93rd minute strike, with the last kick of the game, earned all three points in dramatic fashion down in the Midlands.

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The month ended with progression into the first round proper of the FA Women’s National League Cup courtesy of a 3-1 win up at Hull City. Ravening hit a brace against the Tigresses, while striker Kelly came off the bench and was also on target.

OCTOBER

October would prove to be a month which the Claret Women would live to regret come the conclusion of the season, though it started on a high with a richly-deserved 3-1 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had won the league title the season prior and been denied promotion with defeat to Southampton in the play-off final.

Coming from behind, Burnley would then earn a point from a 1-1 draw at home against eventual league winners this term Nottingham Forest thanks to a Ravening header, before successive draws followed against Brighouse Town & West Bromwich Albion.

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Defender Emma Taylor, one of four dual registration signings for the season from Manchester United, had scored against the Baggies and it looked like Morgan’s side would pick up all three points until a gut-wrenching 93rd minute leveller from the visitors.

Again coming back strong the week after however, Burnley would go on to secure passage through to the next round in the League Cup oncemore with a resounding 5-1 win at Liverpool Feds.

NOVEMBER

Merseyside became a common destination for Morgan’s side in the weeks which followed. Another trip to Feds, this time in the league, for a second Sunday running brought another win.

7-0 the full time score as Ravening netted a hat-trick and Sarah Greenhalgh grabbed a goal late on with a diving header.

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The latter would net a treble of her own seven days later as Burnley’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup campaign began with a 9-0 rout at Tranmere Rovers in which Sammy Fleck played her last game for the Club.

Cups were very much the order of the day over the next two months, and seeing off AFC Fylde in the quarter-finals of the Lancashire FA Women’s Senior Cup the week after, Burnley played a first-ever game in the competition to set up a last-four tie with Blackburn Community Sports Club Ladies which ultimately wouldn’t come to fruition.

November ended with a fifth straight win, this one in the FA Cup, and again it was Ravening on target in a 1-0 win at Cheadle Town Stingers on a damp day in Greater Manchester.

DECEMBER

As the festivities began in the final month of the calendar year, the Clarets would provide an early gift to their travelling fans as they made the trip to Derby for the second time of the season.

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With this one in the League Cup, the result and circumstances would be more similar than anyone of a Ewe Rams persuasion would’ve liked with another late goal sealing a 3-2 victory for the visitors. Striker Priestley was the matchwinner this time around, with the celebrations no less than those four months prior.

After that triumph in the Midlands though, there’d be no more match action for Burnley in December with numerous matches postponed as inclement weather swept the nation.

Part two of this season review will be published tomorrow…