FCLFC History
In the summer of 2009 after a successful season at Under 17s level, it was decided to switch to adult women’s football and become Farsley Celtic Ladies.
The league chosen was the West Riding County Women’s League second division with the likes of teams faced in previous years such as Brighouse, Tingley and Oulton. Five new faces joined the nucleus of the U17 team to boost the squad numbers. Pre-season was tough for the players, but it left them on a good footing for the campaign which exceeded all expectations.
Nerves were high ahead of the inaugural match against Wortley on the 13th September 2008 at Stanningley Park, but the Celts came through it to record a 3-2 win. Hayley Hare scored the first goal in the club’s history.
Three wins followed, including a 14-0 demolition of Amaranth. This was slightly dented when an under-strength Farsley were beaten in the League Cup by higher-league Heyside.
But, Farsley regained their form in the next game to beat Nostell. The next match at Oulton proved to be one of the most memorable. 3-0 down at half-time and then 4-2 behind with ten minutes remaining, super-sub Stephanie Farley led the comeback. The Celts got the score-line to 4-4 and Farley hit the winner with 30 seconds remaining.
Wins kept coming in the league and a record 15-0 victory over West Leeds in March made the run 13 on the bounce. The Celts appeared on course for the league title with nine games remaining. Two weeks later, the Ladies played on the Throstle Nest surface for the first time and entertained the larger than normal crowd with an 8-1 win at the expense of Uppermill. Uppermill’s defeat ruled them out of the title race and it was now a two-horse race between the Celts and old rivals Brighouse. Due to a 3-2 over Brighouse in September, the Celts had the upper hand. Wins in the last few matches and avoiding defeat against Brighouse on the 2nd May would secure the title.
However, there was to be a nasty twist. The bad weather caused a number of postponements over the winter months and it was decided to play the two matches against Tingley Athletic as a double-header. So, at Tingley on a warm April day, the Ladies’ incredible run of wins came to a grinding halt in controversial style. The first game ended in a 1-0 defeat due to a dubious goal and the second finished in a 2-1 loss. The results meant the title was suddenly turning in the direction of Brighouse.
The Ladies’ bounced back from the shock defeats to beat West Leeds 13-1 ahead of the big game at Brighouse. The Ladies had to win to level Brighouse on points, but an early Brighouse goal proved to be the decisive moment and they went onto score three more times to win 4-0 and effectively seal the league crown.
The ladies finished the season in second place which secured promotion to the First Division.
A ground move to Becketts Park at Leeds Met University’s campus followed for the first campaign in the First Division.
Farsley began the season positively and did hold one of the promotion spots for a long spell until Christmas when injuries and unavailability of key players caught with them.
The Ladies could only manage two more wins in the closing months of the season and slid down to fourth in the table.
The season ended with many of the long-serving players announcing because of other commitments such as University, that they would be unable to guarantee their availability for the 2011-12 campaign.
Captain Katy Williams and vice-skipper Lottie Marriner relinquished their roles, paving the way for Kath Raw to be appointed the new club captain.
It was also revealed, the team would move to another location to play their games – Throstle Nest.
