Latest News


We are Premier League!

The Essex County Women's Football League held its AGM on 28th June where it announced the 2010-11 constitution.  The competition will comprise of a Premier Division of eleven teams and a Division One of twelve teams.

The divisions will be made up of the following teams:

Premier Division

Assandun Vikings
Barking Reserves
Beacon Hill Rovers
Colchester Town (previously known as West Bergholt)
East Thurrock United
FC Clacton
Hawkwell Athletic
Redbridge
Runwell Hospital
Saffron Walden Town
Witham Town

(Premier Division season: Sunday, 19th September 2010 – Tuesday, 31st May, 2011)


Division One

Billericay Town Reserves
C&K Basildon Reserves
Chelmsford City Reserves
Ekco Whitecaps
FC Clacton Reserves (new team)
Harwich & Parkeston
Hutton Reserves (new team)
Loughton (new team – mainly ex Boca players)
Runwell & Rayleigh
Shrimperzone
Southend United
Tigers

(Division One season: Sunday, 12th September 2010 – Tuesday, 31st May, 2011)


Women's FA Cup first round ties will be played on Sunday, 12th September


2009-10 Awards

Congratulations to the following players who won awards at the Presentation Evening on 12th June:

Player of the Year: Laura Stone

Runner-up (joint): Chelsea Hinz & Jess Tuffen

Players' Player of the Year: Jess Tuffen

Top Goalscorer: Katy Judd - 55 goals (41 league, 14 league cup)


Rockettes in the News



To download the full size article from the 07-04-10 edition of the Evening Echo click here

Rockettes Elected to Essex County Women's Football League

East Thurrock United Ladies FC was elected to the ECWFL at the AGM on 26th June.  We will play in Division 3 with no less than seven other newly elected teams.

The full line-up will be:
  • Barking Reserves (newly elected)
  • Billericay Town Reserves (newly elected)
  • Boca  [previously known as Loughton Academy]
  • East Thurrock United (newly elected)
  • FC Clacton
  • Foxash (newly elected)
  • Harwich & Parkstone (newly elected)
  • Shrimperzone (newly elected)
  • Southend (newly elected)  [not to be confused with Southend United in Division 2]
  • Tigers (newly elected)
The first league game of the 2009/10 season will be on Sunday, 20th September.


Rocks Promotion Bid Fails

As everyone knows, the first team will not be promoted to the Premier Division of the Ryman League next season despite finishing 16 points ahead of Concord Rangers and scoring more goals (112) than any other team in the entire Ryman League.  If anyone wanted proof that the play-offs (at any level) are nothing more than a cynical money making exercise, then this was it.  Brentwood Town, who finished the season in a clear third place, also failed to reach the play-off final.

Neil Speight wrote two superb match reports for the Essex Enquirer which are reproduced below.

Match Report:  Rocks vs Aveley

Match Report:  Rocks vs Concord Rangers


Essex Girls League Fixtures Released

Cup

Leigh Rockets          Home – 09/11

Cup Q/F is on 01/03, S/F is on 29/03 and the Final is on 17/05.

 League

Leigh Rockets

Away – 16/11

Home – 11/01

Away – 15/02

Colchester Town

Home – 23/11

Away – 18/01

Away – 22/02

Harlow Town

Away – 30/11

Home – 25/01

Home - 08/03

Stevenage Borough

Home – 07/12

Away – 01/02

Away – 15/03

 

Essex Girls League Format Announced

The Essex County Girls Football League issued the following email to clubs at 18:05 on Monday, 20th October:

After consultation with the Secretary of the Girls League, the format adopted at the AGM will be adopted, i.e. 2 divisions.  Everybody will play everyone in their respective league 3 times (the 3rd was pulled out of the hat re venue).

Following the results from the seeding games, the 2 Divisions will be made up as follows:

Division 1

Leigh Rockets, Harlow Town, Colchester Town, Stevenage Borough & East Thurrock.

Division 2

Havering, Barking, Hoddesdon, Rayne, Echo Whitecaps & Assandun Vikings.

I will be sending out the fixtures and draw for the League Cup 1st round ASAP.

The fixtures will be published here as soon as they are released.


England Women Book Their Place in Finland

England Women's team made their travelling band of supporters sweat in Spain before earning a 2-2 draw to secure their place in the UEFA 2009 European Championship Finals in Finland next summer, topping Group One.

Hope Powell's side maintained their unbeaten run in qualifying, but were made to work hard in Zamora by a Spanish side who were themselves looking to win the group.

Source: http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/EnglandSpain_report.htm

Read the full report here


FA Board Approves Three Significant Initiatives for Women's Football

A new FA Women's Super League will launch in 2010 to run during the summer months.

The Board also gave the green light to the appointment of a Women's Performance Manager to lead a new Women's Performance Unit. This role will focus on national teams and talent development.

National Player central contracts have also been approved. These will allow players to dedicate themselves to England training programmes as part of The FA's strategic vision to create winning England teams for the future.

FA Chairman Lord Triesman said: "It is very good news that the biggest female participation sport in England will achieve perhaps the biggest boost in its history."

The commencement of a new League is subject to the adjustment of current FA regulations, and a sub-committee comprised of four FA Board members will examine in finer details the operational aspects of its first year.

Over 1.3 million girls and women now play some form of football, and The FA has 52 licensed FA Centres of Excellence in operation across England, providing weekly quality coaching and a localised fixture programme for talented girls from the age of 8-16.

That progress has also been reflected on the international stage. England most recently reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA Women's World Cup in China last year and this weekend resume their Euro 2009 qualifying campaign, with just two draws away to Czech Republic and Spain being enough to reach next summer's finals in Finland. This Autumn, England's U20 and U17 Women's teams will also compete in their respective age group World Cup Finals, in Chile and New Zealand.

England Women's coach Hope Powell said: "This is another massive step forward for women's football and the England teams.

"The new Super League will provide a concentrated, high-quality competition, and during the summer months give the game an exposure when there is no other top-flight football being played. I also hope that it will prevent our best players from joining the Women's Professional Soccer organisation in the USA.

"I am very confident that the new Performance Unit and central contracts will help us raise the bar further at the elite level and build upon recent successes. Our teams will now arrive at tournaments in early or mid-season, rather than at the end of a long 9-10 months, as was the case at Euro 2005 and in last September's FIFA World Cup in China. These are very exciting times for everyone involved in the women's game."

Source: http://www.thefa.com/Womens/PremierLeague/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2008/09/FAWPL_BoardBacking.htm


Brentwood Town Ladies U18 Fold

The Essex County Girls Football League has announced that Brentwood Town Ladies have folded their U18 team so their match at Rookery Hill on 14th September was their last!


2008-09 Squad Announced

The club held its formal signing-on session on 3rd July.  The following players are being registered with the Essex County Girls Football League:
  • Brooke Whittaker - left back (joining from Brandon Groves)
  • Chelsea Hinz - midfield / defender
  • Courtney McGovern - centre back
  • Emma Smith - defender
  • Hayley Williamson - midfield
  • Jess Tuffen - right back (joining from Southend United)
  • Katie Wilson - midfield (joining from Brandon Groves)
  • Kealy Farley - striker
  • Kerri Thomas - midfield / striker (joining from Southend United)
  • Laura Stone - midfield (joining from Southend United)
  • Layla Prior - goalkeeper (joining from Southend United)
  • Lucy Cooper - midfield (joining from Assandun Vikings)
  • Sophie Dowman - striker
  • Sophie Drake - midfield
  • Tia Hart - midfield
In addition to the above, there are two more players with whom we are currently negotiating.


Goodbye Sophie!

With the arrival of a second goalkeeper in the squad, established No.1 Sophie Mingay has opted to seek a fresh challenge and is stepping up to the Essex Women's League with Hutton Ladies. Naturally we are very sad to see our 'Most Improved Player of the Year' award winner  leave, but we wish her well with her new club. 

Sophie's decision leaves us back at square one as far as our desire to have two specialist goalkeepers in the squad is concerned (see Notice Board).


U18 League Entries Revealed

At the AGM of the Essex County Girls Football League on 24th June, the following clubs confirmed entries for the inaugural Under 18s League:
  • Assandun Vikings
  • Barking Ladies
  • Brentwood Town
  • Colchester Town
  • East Thurrock United Ladies
  • Ekco Whitecaps
  • Harlow Town
  • Havering Girls
  • Herongate Ladies
  • Hoddesdon Owls (Hertfordshire)
  • Leigh Rockets
  • Little Thurrock Dynamos
  • Rayne Girls
  • Stevenage Borough (Hertfordshire)
The league will be set up on a regional basis initially (two groups of seven) and the teams in each group will play each other once (six games).  Once the relative strengths of the teams has been established two divisions will be set up with teams playing each other home and away as usual (twelve games) to decide the divisional titles.  Therefore each team will play eighteen league games in total.  Points from the regional group games will not count towards the final league tables.


TPP SystmOne Continue Sponsorship

We are delighted to announce that clinical software company TPP SystmOne have agreed to continue as kit sponsor for another season.  TPP Managing Director, Satvinder Virk, said, “congratulations on a successful campaign . . . I have been very pleased with the coverage you have received . . . I would love to carry on the sponsorship for next year.”

The Management Committee would like to thank TPP for their enthusiasm and their ongoing financial commitment to the club.

Negotiations are also at an advanced stage with our perimeter board sponsors and we hope to be able to confirm their continued support very shortly.


Captain Courtney

At the Presentation Evening Head Coach Scott Farley announced the appointment of Courtney McGovern as club captain for 2008-09. She succeeds Charley Sayer-Payne who is joining Falkirk Ladies in Scottish Women’s Division One next season after six seasons with the team.


Goodbye, Thanks and Good Luck

The following players have either decided to leave the club or have been released:
  • Caroline Sheppard
  • Charley Sayer-Payne
  • Hayley Earley
  • Justine Palmer
  • Kelsey Bridges
  • Lauren Riddick
  • Leigh Wainford
  • Mae Town
Each and every one of them leaves with our grateful thanks for their past endeavours and our very best wishes for whatever they do in the future.

The identities of our new recruits from the four trial sessions held in May will be revealed once they have signed their registration forms in July!


Referee Hayley

Former midfielder Hayley Earley has decided to call time on her playing career and take up the referee's stopwatch and whistle instead.  By all accounts she has got off to a great start in her new profession.  She won't be eligible to officiate in our games for a few years yet, but she has promised to come back and run the line for us if she has a free Sunday (unlikely!).


Scott Gets Qualified

Head Coach Scott Farley will be taking his 'FA Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Football' course this summer at Writtle College.  The course gets under way in late July with an intensive six days running from 9:00am to 6:30pm.  The final assessments are in January next year.

He is also planning to take the 'First Aid in Sport (Football)' course which is eight weekly three hour sessions.


East Thurrock United to build new stadium?

Friday, 11th January 2008

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has published 'The East Thurrock Masterplan', a consultation document presenting various options for the development of 'key opprtunity sites' in the area.  The land occupied by the current East Thurrock United stadium in Rookery Hill, Corringham has been identified as one of these sites.  The proposed options are:

A)  Improvement of the existing stadium  to provide a high quality sports and leisure hub.

B)  Residential development on the Rookery Hill site designed to respond sensitively  to the site's historic and natural context.  A new
East Thurrock United stadium, linked to a sports and leisure hub, would be built on land between the A13 and the B1420 Southend Road near the Five Bells Interchange.

C)  Residential development on the Rookery Hill site designed to respond sensitively  to the site's historic and natural context.  A high quality leisure hub, including a new stadium for East Thurrock United, and playing fields would be built on land bounded by the A1014 Manorway, the C2C railway line and the small watercourse near the The Manorway Interchange at Stanford-le-Hope.

The consultation period ends on Monday, 25th February.

View consultation document here



Wickford Town withdraw from the League

Wednesday, 19th December 2007

Essex County Girls Football League has announced that Wickford Town has withdrawn their team from the Under 16 Division B and all of their results have been expunged from the records. 

We had not played Wickford Town this season - the scheduled game in October was postponed by them - but this news has had the following effect on our rivals:


Little Thurrock Dynamos – GD reduced by 13, points reduced by 6

Harlow Town – GD reduced by 21, points reduced by 3

Barking Ladies – GD reduced by 13, points reduced by 3

Leyton Orient ASS – GD reduced by 6, points reduced by 3

Assandun Vikings – GD reduced by 6, points reduced by 3

Colchester Town – GD reduced by 5, points reduced by 3


Rockettes go unbeaten for twelve months!

Sunday, 11 November 2007

Essex County Girls Football League Under 16 Division B side ‘East Thurrock United Ladies’ are celebrating a remarkable run of results that has seen them go unbeaten for 12 months.  During that time they have played 16 competitive games, winning 13 and drawing 3, and five girls - Emma Smith, Hayley Williamson, Kealy Farley, Lauren Riddick and Sophie Dowman - have played in every one of them.

The girls last lost a game on 19 November, 2006, when then went down 6-5 at Rayne Cygnets under their previous guise of Corringham Cosmos Girls U15.  With their next fixture not coming until 25 November, today’s 4-1 win at Assandun Vikings ensured the 12 month record was in the bag.  This result also put them three points clear at the top of the table.

Manager Nigel Payne said, “I never thought we would go on a run like this. That defeat at Rayne continued a dismal start to last season that had seen us lose five times and draw once.  The progress that these girls have made has been remarkable.  Head Coach Scott Farley can take much of the credit for that.  It is not so long ago that the old Corringham Cosmos side lost every game bar one in a season, many of them by massive scores.” 

Farley added. “Not many clubs can look back at their history and see a time when they went a year unbeaten.  It shows the mark of a very good team and a lot of hard work behind the scenes”.

The Management Committee of East Thurrock United Ladies FC would like to thank all the people who have helped us along the way: John Coventry, Steve Gracie and the rest of the people at East Thurrock United who have made us so welcome; our kit sponsors TPP SystmOne who ensure the girls look so professional in their coordinated tracksuits, warm-up tops and playing kit; our perimeter advertisers Bathtime, City of LondonDry Cleaning Company, Dadson Motorsport and Harry’s Transport Services; the parents for their support and, of course, the girls themselves.


The squad that beat Assandun Vikings at Ashingdon to go twelve months unbeaten.