Huddersfield Town Women aiming high as victory at Durham maintains strong start
Two goals from Fliss Jones and one from Laura Elford on her first start of the season saw off Durham Cestria on the road
It was back to league action for Huddersfield Town Women as they beat Durham Cestria 3-0 on their travels.
A brace from Fliss Jones and a second of the season for Laura Elford meant Town left the North East with three points - putting last week’s heavy defeat behind them, but not out of their mind.
Last week set down a marker. A marker of where Glen Preston and his side aspire to be.
When Town came up against a strong Burnley side in the cup, they saw a club similar with similar aspirations of upward mobility. However, their Lancashire rivals are a few years ahead.
This summer signalled the start of a new era. Town Women saw support and investment from the men’s club increase and the improvements are already beginning to show after a strong start to the season.
And, whilst their league form has started strongly on the pitch, including another solid win at Durham, it’s the work off the pitch they have to thank for it.
Manager Glen Preston is delighted that the partnership has formalised in the way it has, allowing his team to flourish early doors.
He said: “It’s a massive statement. At a time when some other clubs have taken a step back, our chairman has taken a huge step forward and has been really supportive - as has every corner of the football club.
“I genuinely feel welcomed and the Terriers Together spirit is embedded in this takeover.”
With three wins out of four in the league, only falling short against early league leaders Cheadle Town Stingers, it’s hard to not get ahead of yourself with how far this team could go.
And with increased resources across the club, it feels like the fall off at the end of last season is behind them and Town are ready for that next step.
There have, however, been cautionary tales when chasing the women’s football boom. Town will want to learn from clubs like Reading, Notts County and league rivals Blackburn Rovers, who were victims of throwing money at success in the men’s game with no real plan to succeed. Eventually, the women’s teams were the biggest victims of their failures.
But this feels different. Town know they can’t ‘buy’ their way to success. To succeed, you need to build a foundation. You need to build the club from the ground up. And, ultimately, There’s more power in partnership.
This was seen almost immediately with the joint announcement of the signings of goalkeepers Owen Goodman and Bethan Davies during the summer.
The acquisition of players such as Davies, Rhema Lord-Mears, Laura Elford — all of whom have vast experience at the next level and above — has shown the ambition already.
Preston told We Are Terriers: “We’re very humbled and proud to be part of the Huddersfield Town family.
“They’ve increased our resources which has given us the tools to do what we do.
“It’s everything on and off the pitch. It’s about increased professionalism. It’s small things like we’ve got cameras at our games with the club’s media people giving us a professional edge to what we’re doing.
“Behind the scenes we’re getting physio and medical treatment provision and the staff, like myself, can be full time and dedicated to the role now and put everything I’ve got into this.
“It gives us every opportunity. We’re training three times a week which is not something we’ve done before.
“Hopefully, over time, this will reflect in the outcomes of the league.”
And Preston is keen to keep feet on the ground in the midst of an exciting time for the club - citing last week’s opponents as the perfect role models.
He added: “It’s cliche but you’ve got to learn to walk before you can run. We need to take the stepping stones and prove ourselves.
“Every aspect of the club has to increase its professionalism and has to become what a Huddersfield Town club should be.
“And if we do that over the next year or so, maybe that’ll put us in a position to then take another step forward.
“We’ve seen clubs like Burnley implement that model where they’ve gone up to three times a week, then four, then full time. Following in their models will be something we look to do.”