Promotion Favourites: Loughborough Lightning Women FC

Photography by Ed Mayes Photography

Loughborough Lightning Women FC: League title pending?

Last season ended in heartbreak for Loughborough Lightning Women FC as, despite only losing one game all year, they lost out to promotion rivals Sporting Khalsa Women on goal difference on the final day. This season, they appear to be continuing their form from last season as they currently are unbeaten sitting 4th in the league and only 3 points off first placed Peterborough United Women despite having 4 games in hand.

In the league, Loughborough have recorded 11 wins and their only draw of the season saw them share the points with Peterborough United Women who sit top of the league. As we move in the second half of the year, Loughborough will need to keep up this excellent form if they wish to avoid last season’s heartbreak

Standout Players and Key Contributions

Loughborough have been big goal scorers in the league this season and their massive goal difference of 53 is partly down to the efforts of their joint top goal scorers Jessica Collyer and Zynia Delglyn. Both players sit on an impressive 12 goals in the league and sit joint second in the race for the league golden boot.

Number 11 Lauren Purchase has also had a brilliant season for Lightning and has recorded 10 goals in only 17 appearances as well as picking up 2 opposition player of the match awards.

Key Results so far

Loughborough have registered some huge league wins notably beating Lincoln City 9-0 and Lincoln United Women 10-0. These huge victories demonstrate the attacking prowess of this Loughborough side who hope that their goals will be enough to propel them into Tier 3.

As well as that, they managed to maintain their unbeaten league campaign when recording a solid draw against Peterborough United.

Cup Runs: Big wins

After reaching the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup, Loughborough found themselves on the end of a 4-2 result against Tier 3 Stoke City Women.

The County Cup has seen Loughborough record some huge results and they managed to score an incredible 34 goals across two games demonstrating their prowess in front of goal which will doubtless boost their morale as they continue in the league. A league and cup double would be a fairytale ending to an already impressive season!

New Captain:

In the first half of the season, one of Loughborough’s key players was doubtless former club captain Kayleigh Hines as she picked up opposition player of the match 5 times. Hines left the club in November however choosing to join promotion rivals Peterborough United Women instead.

Despite Hines being a big loss for the side, midfielder Sarah Woodbryne has stepped up to the role of club captain in Hines’ absence and has recorded some impressive goals since. The most impressive of these was without a doubt her looping long-range effort against Lincoln United Women!

Upcoming Fixtures: Can they continue their brilliant form?

As we move into the new year, Loughborough have some testing fixtures in their fight for promotion. They are yet to play top of the table Northampton Town yet this season so those two fixtures will be crucial in deciding the league.

They play both Northampton and Peterborough within four days of each other on the 9th and 13th of February and these back to back games will be a test of the squad’s fitness levels. Victory in these games will be essential to avoid the heartbreak that Loughborough suffered at the end of last season.

The club as a whole

As a club, Loughborough Lightning Women FC has strong links to the Loughborough University with several players and members of staff also being students at the University. The team can be recognised easily by their distinctive purple kit which includes Lightning Bolts down the side of the strip.

The team play inside the impressive Loughborough Lightning Stadium and come out on home games to the tune of ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC.

Follow Loughborough’s results as we move into the business end of the season to see if they can continue their unbeaten league form and be crowned champions of the Division One Midlands.