Town Women’s manager Jordan Wimpenny gives his verdict on FA announcement
- FA announced that Town Women’s season has been curtailed
- Jordan Wimpenny on the disappointing end to the league
- FA Cup duty goes on for Huddersfield Town women
Earlier this week, the FA announced that Tiers 3-7 of the women's football pyramid were curtailed with immediate effect, meaning that Town Women are unable to claim the league title.
Sitting six points clear at the top of the table, the Terriers were in pole position to seal their first ever third-tier title, although second-placed Fylde Women did have two games in hand.
2020/21 is Manager Jordan Wimpenny's first season in charge and he says hearing that the league was being curtailed for a second successive season was hard to take.
“It’s been tough for everyone to accept because this is now the second season in a row. As you can imagine, the players are disappointed at the announcement and currently emotions remain high.
“We still would have had a long way to go, the season was half complete for us and we know we still had a big job to do.
“However, what we have achieved up to that point is credit to all the staff and players involved. We had worked tirelessly hard to get to that stage and we will continue to do so going into our next game and then next season.”
Despite picking up just one point from their opening two games, Town went on to win eight straight league matches, climbing to the summit in the process, and were on course for a club record points haul. Wimpenny has been delighted with his side's mental resilience.
“I’m extremely proud of all those involved with the club but especially with the belief, desire, commitment, trust of those players have allowed them to be in a position they have not been in before in this league at this stage.
“It was a tough start, but one that allowed us to learn quickly and brought us together as a group. We then used this to build going forward.”
Despite having no further league matches, Town are still in this season's FA Cup and will host either Brighouse Town or Newcastle United in the Third Round, having beaten Liverpool Feds 3-2 after extra-time in Round Two.
The famous competition has thrown up lifelong memories for the women in blue and white in recent years, not least the dramatic Fourth Round win over Charlton Athletic to set up a tie with Women's Super League side West Ham United in 2018/19.
3-0 down after 70 minutes, the Terriers rallied to somehow be level at 3-3 just eight minutes later, with Katie Nutter dispatching the winning penalty in the shootout after a brilliant save from Laura Carter set up match point.
Many of the current squad played that memorable afternoon and, despite losing to West Ham just one stage before the Quarter Finals, Wimpenny wants to inspire the team and let history repeat itself to give the fans something to be proud of.
“For me, the fans are a huge part of any club and it was great to see so many of them at our games when we had the chance.
“We have given them a style of football that hopefully they enjoy watching. We have grown in support and I thank them massively for all the support they give to our team and I can’t wait to welcome them all back at our games once we are allowed to do so.”
