**As International Women’s Day falls tomorrow, we wanted to shine a light on our Women’s First Team and celebrate their progress on and off the pitch, especially this season.**
Since the formation of the Women’s Team in 2019, the Club have progressed up the women’s football pyramid and currently play in the East Midlands Regional Women’s Football League Division One North.
We spoke to Club Captain Dani Brighton, who’s in her fifth season with the Mariners and her third leading the team, about the progression on the pitch this season, the increase in competition and the backing from the Club.
“It’s been a good season so far,” said Dani when reflecting on the past seven months since the start of the 2024-25 season in September. “We’ve had new management come in, so it’s really nice to see that we’re starting to adapt to how they want us to play and that’s reflecting in the games which has been fantastic to see.
“We’re also managing to score plenty of goals across the board which is always a great feeling.”
Ben Challen’s side have scored 79 goals across 22 games in all competitions, with top goalscorer Beth Wharton contributing with over 30. 14 other players have found the back of the net on one or more occasions this campaign.
“Beth does what she does naturally in front of goal and she’s a terrific player, but it’s really nice to see a lot of the other girls getting on the scoresheet as well, because we don’t want all the goals to have to come from Beth and it shows that everyone on the team can contribute, whether they’re a striker or a defender.”
Last season was a struggle for the Women’s Team, suffering relegation after a difficult season on the pitch.
“Relegation always takes a massive toll on you as a Club but also individually as well. Last season was difficult for us, but it’s nice that we’ve been able to string together some really strong results this season and plenty of wins and just enjoy that feeling again.
For me, it’s more about the difference in the performances, from last year to this year and it’s been great to see everyone adjusting to that mentality of not just wanting results, but also wanting to be proud of the performance we put in.
The league is so much more competitive now and you do have to graft harder to earn three points, but when you’re starting to play in the style that you want to establish as a club, you want that consistency, for example when we hopefully get promoted further down the line, we want to be able to stay up in that league.
I absolutely love the Club, and I think as time progresses, you fall more in love with it each season.”
Dani has been able to lead her teammates out onto the Blundell Park turf on two occasions this season, with the 1-0 win against Chesterfield in November being supported by a record-breaking 535 fans in the stands.
“For me this season has been really special. We feel really backed by the Club, Polly and the Foundation and everyone else involved behind the scenes.
Dani joined the Club in December 2019, with Olivia Kershaw, Beth Wharton, Alisha Dejonge and Ellie Wilson also being part of the team when it was first formed.
“We always laugh and joke about how we’ve been through a lot together as a team, but that’s what makes us stronger and I’m grateful that we still have that core group of players; it just shows how special the team is.
“For me, playing football has just been about enjoying it wherever I go. I want to make sure I’m leaving something for the next generation of young players that come in.
“I’m really enjoying myself at the moment and enjoying helping us get to the best professional standards we possibly can.
“I do see us as the best club in the area and we want to keep that status and keep progressing as a team.”
“We’ve got seniors like myself in the team and we’ve come from playing with hand-me-down kits from men’s teams, so to see where the game is today and to also have the likes of Polly and people in the Foundation really backing us means everything.
“We’ve got a great group of women in the team. Many of them are mums and even step mums, a lot of them are sisters and it makes me really proud.”
**UTM**