The Teesside derby is in store for Boro Women as they face Norton & Stockton Ancients.
The background
Last season the Ancients finished in 9th place, with two spots and eight points separating them from the relegation zone, winning five of their 22 games.
Since making their way into the FAWNL Division One North in 2018, Norton's highest finish in a full season came in the 2022/23 season where they finished in 7th place.
In last week's opening game, Norton & Stockton Ancients fell to a three-nil away defeat to Stockport County LFC, the first time they have lost on the opening day since 2018, where they lost out 5-4 to Chorley in a nine-goal thriller on what was their debut game in the FAWNL Division One North.
Key Players
Norton's key player is a name that will be well-recognised by those following women's football in the North East. Bianca Owens, who scored 12 goals in the league last season, six of those coming in the form of two hat-tricks, against York and Chorley.
Cara Milne-Redhead is a young starlet at Norton, at just 21 years old she plays a key role in Norton's midfield. Joining from Newcastle United in February, Cara played all of the Ancients' remaining fixtures, bagging three goals - one, a free kick hit over the wall and off the underside of the bar against Boro in our three-all draw with the Ancients last season.
Grace Campbell is a young player rated highly within the Ancients' ranks, where she is kicking off her senior career after impressing at youth level, earning appearances at two England Talent ID events, the latest in May this year.
Victoria Burton played every game last season for Norton & Stockton Ancients, she is a throwback in midfield and a physical presence with plenty of experience making her a player the Ancients have relied on in seasons gone by.
Previous meetings
The last meeting between the two sides came at the business end of last season's campaign where fans enjoyed a goal fest and a spirited Boro comeback, first from 1-0 down then once again from 3-1, with goals from Lauren Robson and Faye Dale earning us a point.
Prior to that, we last met on the opening day of last season where once again the teams had to settle for a draw, this time at 0-0 but Boro would have been the happiest of the two sides, after going down to ten players as Ellen Turnbull was shown a red card.
The two previous fixtures both ended in a 3-1 scoreline, once a Boro win and once for the Ancients, taking the goal tally in the past four meetings to 14 - meaning tomorrow's Teesside derby could be an entertaining one for the fans.