Today’s announcement that ITFC have signed 18-year-old Sophie Peskett as their first ever fully professional female player is yet another sign that, despite the recent woes of the club as a whole, its women’s team continues to go from strength to strength.
One of the few positives from Marcus Evans’ tenure as ITFC owner was to bring the women’s team, then known as Ipswich Town Ladies FC, into the club proper and look to develop it. Since that time, the women’s team has been on an upward trajectory, in stark contrast to the on-pitch fortunes of the men’s team, with a mix of experienced players and young players developed through the side’s Women’s Super League (WSL) Academy team.
This culminated in the recent news that the side was successful in its application to be promoted to the third tier of women’s football, and will be plying its trade in the FA Women’s National League (FAWNL) Southern Premier Division in 2021/22. It’s a promotion that no-one who has watched ITFC Women over the last few seasons can say is not well deserved. The 2019/20 season, before the COVID-19 interruption, saw ITFC Women imperious in the FAWNL’s Division One South-East, completing a league double over Norwich City, and top of the table when the season was initially suspended.
2019/20 also saw ITFC Women reach the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup, beating third tier side Huddersfield Town 4-1 in the previous round to set up a tie with WSL side Manchester City at their Academy Stadium. It was only a second time that a team from the fourth tier of women’s football had reached that stage of the competition.
Although the team eventually fell 10-0 to a star-studded side that would later miss out on becoming champions of England after the 2019/20 WSL season was settled on points per game, there was an immense sense of pride about this cup run. The team also bounced back from this disappointment to beat Norwich City by the same scoreline away in the league less than a week later.
In reality, had it not been for the disruption to the 2019/20 season caused by COVID-19, it is more than likely that ITFC Women would have been promoted on the pitch as champions – sadly instead the season was declared null and void at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
The team started the 2020/21 season strongly, winning all four of their games, scoring 18 goals and conceding zero in reply, before COVID-19 once again ended the season. Although another cup run like the previous season wasn’t quite in the offing, ITFC Women reached the second round proper of the 2020/21 Women’s FA Cup before losing 2-1 to Billericay Town, having scored 22 and conceded only 3 on the way to that fixture.
The club also started the ‘True Blue’ scheme in 2020/21, to allow fans to support the club financially in exchange for admittance to league games and exclusive content off the pitch, as a way to fund a promotion push towards the upper tiers of women’s football in England.
2019/20 was the first season I made an effort to go and watch the home games at the Goldstar Ground in Felixstowe, and I immediately felt a connection with the side that I had not felt watching games at Portman Road in some time. It was apparent very early that the players cared about the club and wanted to perform to the highest level possible, a completely different experience to what I considered I was witnessing in the men’s team at the time.
In 2020/21 I managed to make all four of the home games played, league and cup, and even dared to cross the border to watch us beat Norwich City 3-1 in the third qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup. Those high scoring, entertaining games proved that the previous season’s performances had not been a flash in the pan, and at a time when Portman Road was shut to crowds, were more than an adequate substitute.
To see a player of Sophie Peskett’s talent signed to a fully professional deal is not only heart-warming and progressive, it also appears to signal the intent of the new owners that they want to continue the development of the women’s team and prepare for further promotion in the near future.
Hopefully, Sophie’s signing will be the first of many professional contracts signed with the players of ITFC Women who have given fans a glimmer of hope and a reminder of what it’s like to support a side that you can be proud of. Although I’m excited to get back to Portman Road for matchdays next season, I’m also really looking forward to following the Tractor Girls home and away in tier 3.
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