Lauren loves her football again

Tameside United Ladies player Lauren Alford has rediscovered her love for the game thanks to the welcoming nature of the club.

Lauren began her journey in the sport at the age of eight with local club Hyde Tigers, and despite enjoying her football as the only girl in the team, decided to leave after three years to pursue her interest in athletics.

The 24-year-old always wanted to return to the game and eventually made her comeback with Hyde Clarendon’s Women's Team, before joining Tameside Ladies at the beginning fo the 2018/19 season.

Lauren, who works for Active Tameside and Fledglings Nursery in Bredbury, has never looked back after joining the club and believes exciting times await for the Ewen Fields outfit. Speaking to Reporter Sport, she said: “Since starting with Tameside United I have found my love for football again; they were so welcoming when I first started, especially after not kicking a ball for a few years, so I was not the best.

“During the first season we climbed the league and, in the end, we finished second, just missing out by one point in winning it. 

“We also went on to win the League Cup against West Didsbury. Having started my first season back with a second place finish and to also win a cup, made me excited about the prospect of the following season.”

Tameside United’s success can be partly attributed to the work carried out by former coach James Caldwell. However, he has since moved on and the club are set to begin a new journey under new leaders. Lauren said it was disappointing to lose James but is confident that the other coaches can continue to guide the team in the right direction. 

Reflecting on the 2019/20 season in the Greater Manchester Women's League Division One, which included an FA Cup debut against Fleetwood Town Wrens in September, Lauren said: “The season got off to a rocky start as we had moved into Division One, so we were against much harder teams. 

“With new players coming in and old players leaving for different reasons, we struggled to get into the swing of the league, however as the league went on we started finding our feet but were struggling to win games as we went through a period of close games. After Christmas, the team started to work on different aspects that we felt were lacking in games previously, and our performance started improving with the result of us winning games. Unfortunately, lockdown came at that point and the season’s been put on hold.

“James played a big part within the team at the beginning of the season, changing the way we would train which was good as he could see what needed to be done to help improve the team and he also got our current physio involved in the team while he was there. 

“As it was disappointing to see him go, we have a good set of coaches behind us who have helped bring the team to where we are today and are there to support us however we need.”

Lauren has maintained her fitness during lockdown by completing 5km and 10km runs around her local area, as well as doing strength sessions with weights from the comfort of her home.

And her colleagues have also been busy during the lockdown, launching daily videos and updates to the nursery’s Facebook page in a bid to keep parents and children engaged from home. She said: “Before lockdown started, a Facebook page was created that updates parents with the different activities that were happening in the nurseries, and any help and support can be posted on there to help them.

“Different staff members have been posting videos of them reading stories and doing games and different activities that the children can be watching or doing during lockdown. Ultimately, it’s being done so children are still seeing familiar faces and have some link to nursery while at home.”