Sheffield Wednesday Ladies valiantly defeated in front of hefty crowd

Wednesday went into this clash with the Millers as underdogs, despite having finished the season in a respectable third position in the SHWGL... They’d have to play at the absolute peak of their powers to compete with the East Midlands Womens Regional Football League Premier Division outfit - who sit two tiers above Wednesday.

On top of that, Rotherham’s squad was used to the ordeal of playing in front of a hefty crowd after beating Mansfield Town last year in the debut of the Her Game Too Shield, a game which saw over 1,100 make the pilgrimage to the New York Stadium... This year was even bigger with a massive 1,500 turning up to see who would be crowned the Shield winners.

With Aleks Fox remaining a doubt at full back due to injury, Kieron Lee opted to continue with a back-three consisting of Romy Lee and Maisie Gilligan either side of Molly Wilde in the centre. Imogen Yeardley and Renée Simmonite-Scott filled out the midfield, with Rachel Norsworthy and Eleanor Vessey providing width. Wednesday number 10, Heidi O’Reilly, was to sit just behind Olivia Mellor and Amy Broomhead leading the line.

The EMWRFL side would have been wary of the threat that the Owlesses have in their side, particularly from Amy Broomhead who finished a clinical season for Wednesday with a ridiculous tally of 44 league goals.

Wednesday got away with an early scare when Gilligan played it back to Tonner, her clearance cannoned off the Rotherham attacker. They got away with it, but moments later, Rotherham drew first blood as Alesha Gale was played through, making no mistake in taking it past the Owlesses stopper between the sticks.

And on the 20th minute mark, the hosts made it two, this time courtesy of Delia Hurdiss, who was quick off the mark to beat Wilde for pace, sighting Tonner off her line and striking an inch-perfect shot into the net. The second acted as a wake up call for Lee’s team, who really started to show their true character.

The link-up between Vessey and Broomhead was starting to show signs of danger for the Millers, who gave away a foul in a precarious position. Mellor was on call to take, whipping in a dangerous ball which evaded the Rotherham defence, but could only be collected by shot-stopper, Katrina Parsons.

Entering half time, Wednesday were still well and truly in this game. They were managing to catch Rotherham by continuously attempting to exploit the defence with balls over the top, and the visitors started the second half in similar fashion. Pressure on the hosts full back managed to earn Wednesday a corner, and while the resulting set-piece saw O’Reilly take a one-two, the cross could only be directed towards the keeper.

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An hour had gone at the New York and Wednesday were still playing in their groove. Rotherham had very few chances to speak of, leading to agitation seeping into the players. But in truth there weren’t many chances for either side as the latter stages of the game played out. And it meant that, despite a valiant showing, it would be Rotherham were crowned as the winners of the Her Game Too Shield for a second year running.

The away side could take so much from their performance, going head to head with a side two divisions higher in front of a bolster crowd, and the performance showed yet again how far Lee’s side have come this season. It’s safe to say the foundations are there for a successful 24/25 period.