British Ladies Football Championships 2004

BRITISH LADIES FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
2004

I represented the HEC at the British Ladies Football
championships in Birmingham at the weekend and witnessed
a weekend full of great games and plenty of fun. Before
I give a brief report on the weekend the following are the
results.

Saturday Results:

Group1
Teeside	0-8	0-1	Abertay
Liverpool Hope	2-4	0-1	Chester
St. Mary’s	2-9	0-1	Teeside
Abertay	0-0	3-5	Liverpool Hope
Chester	1-0	2-4	St. Mary’s
Teeside	0-0	1-10	Liverpool Hope
Abertay	0-0	1-10	St. Mary’s
Teeside	0-0	2-7	Chester
Liverpool Hope	0-0	0-3	St. Mary’s
Abertay	1-0	4-6	Chester

Group2
Huddersfield	5-14	0-0	Sterling
LJMU	0-11	2-4	Bangor
Huddersfield	0-2	2-6	LJMU
Sterling	0-0	8-7	Bangor
Huddersfield	2-0	4-4	Bangor
Sterling	0-0	10-11	LJMU

Sunday Results:

Plate Semi – Finals:
Chester	4-7	Abertay	1-2
Teeside	8-12	Sterling	0-1
Plate Final:
Chester	3-9	Teeside	0-0
Cup Semi Finals:
St. Marys	4-3	Bangor	0-0
Liverpool Hope	0-12	LJMU	0-0
Cup Final:
St. Marys	2-4	Liverpool Hope	1-6

The British Championships were held in Pairc na hEireann
in Birmingham and served up some great football. I got the
chance to witness first hand the amount of work that is
being done over in Britain in order to promote Ladies Football.

Facilities:
The facilities used for the weekend were second to none.
2 full sized pitches right beside each other along with
8 dressing rooms and a bar for comfort. Warwickshire GAA
Club should be complimented for their great work and in
keeping these facilities in such good shape. It was the
ideal place to host a competition.

Officials:
This year for the first time ever 2 Irish referees travelled
to the British Championships. The teams in Britain appreciated
this and felt that they were a worthy addition to the competition.
They, along with a local referee from Donegal originally,
did a great job throughout.

Teams:
All teams should be complimented for their efforts throughout
the weekend. The main reasons we play the game are to play
football and have fun and these were highlighted at the
weekend. The level of commitment shown by all teams was
outstanding. Special mention should go out to Chester as
this was the first time competing in the championships and
won the Plate competition. They also played some great football
and credit should be given to those involved in setting
up the club. Also, Sterling should receive a mention. They
have no Irish connections in their team and although results
did not go their way they showed great heart and determination
throughout.

Commiseration’s must go out to the two losers Teeside and
Liverpool Hope on losing the plate and cup respectively.
Liverpool Hope were hoping to end the dominance of St. Mary’s
Strawberry Hill in the final but just came short losing
in the end by a last minute point. St. Mary’s, who I must
congratulate, will now go to Galway and represent Britain
in the Lynch Cup and they will hope to follow their male
counterparts and try and bring the Cup back over the water
for the first time ever. The Cup Final finished off a great
weekend. It was played at a high tempo with both teams giving
their all to win. The level of skill and sportsmanship showed
was a treat to watch.

George O Rourke

All the above would not be able only for the work of one
man, George O Rourke. He is a one man show and ensures that
ladies football in Britain is in a healthy state. The weekend
ran off really well and was well organised. Special thanks
to George for the hospitality shown to the ref’s and I on
our visit to Birmingham. Well done and keep up the good
work.