Bethany School’s First Ever Girls Football Match

A week on from taking part in the biggest ever football session, inspired by the Football Association on International Women’s Day, the U13 Girls’ football team created history on Friday 15^th March 2024, by becoming the first ever girls’ football team to play a competitive match in Bethany School’s 158-year existence.

From the team’s first Thursday lunchtime session in November 2023, the U13 football team have shown fantastic commitment, support, and encouragement to each other along the way.

For Bethany, the result against an established Radnor House side was immaterial because of what the team had already achieved. Match day proved to be an exciting occasion, with lots of laughs, music (with plenty of touchline singing of the team’s playlist!) and good football.

Bethany’s goal was one for the purest as opposed to all those scored by Radnor House. Late in the first half, the defence stopped another Radnor House attack and broke away down the right-hand side of the pitch. Isobel A, who had taken up a good place wide on the right, received a good pass in behind the Radnor defence. Isobel sent over an excellent cross into the Radnor penalty area for Juniper A-G to prod the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. The combination of Juniper’s well-timed run and Isobel’s clinical cross made it the best goal of the match.

A very special mention and huge thank you to Maisie, Year 10, who has been an excellent role model for the team by giving up her Thursday lunchtimes to support, coach and help develop the team.

In another powerful statement of the strength of girls’ sport at Bethany School, exciting times lie ahead for this team and for all the other girls’ teams that will hopefully follow in their footsteps.