The Aintree Munitions Ladies team had spent several months visiting grounds in Wirral, Chester, Wrexham, St Helens and yet they had never actually played a game in the city they lived and worked in, Liverpool.
Touring the more provincial towns did however give the ladies the opportunity to perfect their skills as footballer in front of ever growing crowds. The introduction of the Haymarket Munitions Ladies added a new dimension as the ladies could play a team not handicapped like many of the men’s teams they played.
By April 1918 the Aintree Ladies had raised around £600 for the Sportsman’s Ambulance fund and played in front of an estimated 30,000 spectators over the months. With increasing interest in the ladies game it would only be a matter of time before a ground more use to men’s First Division football would request the lady’s services.
The game at Prenton Park in 1918 had heavily involved the Everton Chairman of Directors Mr W R Clayton and so it was not surprising he arranged for the Aintree Munitions Ladies to play Haymarket Munitions Ladies at Goodison.
The Aintree Ladies would make their debut at one of the county’s great stadiums on Easter Monday with a high attendance expected. The Liverpool Echo carried an article claiming the women had scored 55 goals this season without conceding a single goal. Although completely untrue the Aintree Ladies were the stronger side going into the game.
Unlike previous games the match at Goodison was to raise funds for the Fallen and Disabled Footballers Fund.
Although the local press had lost a fair amount of enthusiasm for the ladies matches they gave the game at Goodison a good billing.
Aintree kicked off and their dominance of the game began as Haymarket struggled to make it past Miss Geddes and Burrows in the Aintree defence. Miss Geddes was described as ‘Thompson like’ and received great applause from the spectators.
Aintree however struggled as the Echo stated the length of the pitch was too much for the ladies who failed to score from their breakaways due to being so tried from the run up field.
By the end of the first half the scored stood at 0-0 with Aintree failing to capitalise on their dominance.
The slightly longer interval however gave the ladies time to regroup and both teams came out with much more vigour. Aintree however came out the better side pressuring the Haymarket defence time after time. But the best efforts of the Haymarket defence could not stop Aintree and Miss Williamson drew first blood for . Molyneux, one of Aintree’s top scorers made it two from a corner and then scored the third.
Aintree won a penalty which Molyneux stepped up to take, however Haymarket’s Miss Blacklock cleared the shot with no difficulty. This did not dampen Aintree though as they scored their fourth from a free kick. Miss Reece eyed up the goal, shot and found the back of the net.
The final score was 4-0 to Aintree.
The attendance of at the game is not clear but according to Everton FC records the gate receipt for the game was £211 13s 4d, which was a considerable sum.
Several days after the game an opinion piece was place in the Liverpool Echo about the game which summed up well the changing attitude towards the ladies game ‘Many must have gone to Goodison Park on Monday Morning for a pantomimical affair, and they had their eyes opened. There were laughable incidents of course but some of the players showed such good form that the possibilities of Ladies football had to be recognised.’
By playing at Goodison the home of one of the biggest men’s team in the country Aintree and Haymarket had come of age in the sporting world. From this one would expect the two teams to go even further…….but did they…..?
Football Heritage 