Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, we caught up with two members of our Stockport County Ladies’ team, Fran Davies and Kenedy Owen, to talk all about their life as female footballers, what it’s like playing for County at Stockport Sports Village and their advice for any young girls looking to follow in their footsteps…
Fran, has been at the club since 2019, joining shortly after the club’s promotion to the FA Women’s National League, and has recently returned to first-team action with the club after being away on maternity leave.
Kenedy meanwhile plays in midfield, and is loving her time at Stockport Sports Village so far after joining County in the Summer, and being named as Club Captain. She has been a key part of a County side currently sixth in the league table, and looking to finish the season strongly under manager Steve O’Hara.
See below what they had to say:
Where did your passion for football begin?
KO: I used to go out playing with my brother and his mates, who were all six years older than me. I remember one time we went out on the field and they made me take a penalty against one of his mates to see if I could play, if I was good enough. I scored and then I was allowed to play, and from then on it was every day they’d be asking me to play, asking if I was coming out. I got knocked about a bit but I owe it all to him really!
FD: Like Kenedy, and like a lot of people I think, for me I started playing football with my brother and his mates. It wasn’t always easy for me because they never used to pass me the ball! But I stuck at it and for me that was how it started, and it very quickly becomes such a massive part of your life.
Growing up, what women in sports did you look up to?
KO: You know what, growing up I don’t think women’s sport was that accessible. Obviously you can get it anywhere now, it’s televised a lot more but when I was growing up women’s football was only televised when it was the FA Cup Final on BBC. Who I would say would probably be Farra Williams, from what I did see growing up I just loved the way she played football. I thought she was unreal, and I still think if she came out of retirement now she’d run rings around everybody!
FD: For me there wasn’t really many female figures in football I could look up to, because there wasn’t anywhere near the amount of coverage there is now, it was so rare to be able to watch women’s football at the time. In terms of sport in general I think people like the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, would always inspire me, their journey and the incredible careers they went on to have from such a young age. I know it doesn’t relate to football specifically but to have the profile that they did as women in sport really paved the way for young girls with those aspirations to follow in that direction.
What do you think are the most important qualities to excel as a female footballer?
KO: The top one would have to be commitment. It’s not as easy as people think, to just turn up after school to play football. You have to organise everything in your life, make sure you’re not missing out on school because of football, or missing out on football because of school. Even now as an adult, you come home from work and you’re straight back out the door. I leave for work at 7am, and then don’t get back from training until 10pm, it’s a long day so commitment is right up there.
Resilience as well I think. You see as soon as there’s a video of a bad pass or bad defending in a women’s football game, it’s all over social media with people saying ‘these want equal pay’. I think you have to be able to go blind to that and not bite at it, accept that you’re going to get people on social media that don’t like it, or don’t agree with it – don’t pay attention to them, just crack on with what you’re doing.
What’s your favourite thing about playing football?
KO: My favourite thing about playing football is that I think for that time, you don’t think about anything else, the only thing you want to do is win, or perform well. As well for me when I was younger, football was a way of connecting with people. My grandad used to come and watch me play every week, my dad would be there every week – stuff like that, it just brought everybody closer together. You still see it now, some of the girls are adults and still have their mums and dads there on the side-lines every week, it’s really nice.
What’s the thing you enjoy the most about playing for County?
FD: It’s definitely being able to work with the girls that we have here at the club. It’s a really special group that we have here right now, there’s a real togetherness about us on and off the pitch. We’re all serious about winning on the pitch, but we still all have a laugh off it as well. Not playing football for so long over the last year was tough at times, but the girls have been amazing all the way through that and really welcomed me back like I’ve never been away, they’re all great and we all have each other’s back.
Do you have any pre-match rituals you like to follow?
KO: I don’t have any rituals exactly, I don’t think so anyway! I always like to do things in the same order, when we’re getting ready. I won’t warm up in my shin pads, I put them and my match shirt on after the warm-ups. I always put Vaseline on after the warm-ups too, and I always sit on the left of Levi in the changing rooms so maybe I have more than I thought I did!
FD: I’m not too sure really, I don’t think I have any. I always wear the same sports bra actually, every time we play a game it’s the same one, so I guess I’d go with that.
How often do you train at County?
FD: At the minute we just train once a week, on Wednesday nights at Stockport Sports Village. It can be tough at times as that’s a lot of things to cram into just one session, and I’m sure the coaching staff would like more time to work on certain things. Training more often and having more time on the ball is definitely something we want in the future.
You have a new manager in charge as well – how are you enjoying working with Steve O’Hara, and what are you hoping to achieve under him?
KO: I love Steve, I think he’s been quality since coming in. I don’t think he’s managed a women’s team before, but what I like about him is that he’s open about that, and if there’s something he’s not sure about when it comes to women’s football and running a team full of women, he’ll hold his hands up and want to learn. It’s nice, because sometimes you get coaches coming in and acting like they know everything already. I like him, I think he’s good for us – he has us playing faster and using the ball better, and it feels like everybody is on the same page. I’m excited about the chance to have a full season with him next year, and hopefully we can push on and try to win the league.
FD: I’ve really enjoyed it so far, since I’ve been back from maternity leave. He’s got us playing in a back three at the minute, which I think really suits me and my game as a player, almost playing as the sweeper in that role. He’s come in and had a really positive impact on us as a team, he has a good relationship with all the girls and I think that’s shown in our performances in the last few weeks, which are getting better all the time. He’s not had too much time to work with us yet since coming in, it’s been a busy schedule, but I think we’re all looking forward to what we can achieve with him in charge for next season, after he’s had a full pre-season with us.
Is there a stand out/favourite game you’ve played for County?
KO: For me it would be when we played FC United of Manchester at home on a Wednesday night earlier on in the year, around September time. We hadn’t been playing well at all before then, but all of a sudden under the lights at SSV we just turned it on, and won 3-0. There was a big crowd there, a bit of a derby, we had all of the junior teams there cheering us on, it was rammed. For us that day it all sort of clicked, and it was like ‘this is what we can do.’
FD: I’ve obviously not played too many games in the last year or so whilst I’ve been away on maternity leave, so for me it would probably have to be my first game back against Liverpool Feds, about a month or so ago. Going away to the team top of the table, and although we ended up losing the performance that day was really good, we were really unlucky not to get something out of it. For me personally though to be back out there with the group, and playing football again for County after so long, it was a special moment and one I won’t forget – it’s been great to be back!
What advice would you give to a young girl who wanted to follow in your ‘boot steps’, and pursue a career in football?
FD: I think my biggest piece of advice would just be to enjoy it – always play with a smile on your face and make the most of every single moment you’re out there playing whilst you can. We’re really lucky to be able to do what we love doing, playing football, not everyone gets that chance. It takes a lot of hard work to get there, but don’t get so caught up in that that you forget to enjoy the journey whilst you’re there.
KO: Just work hard really, take people’s advice and stick at it. If you really want to make it then you do have to sacrifice some things, and do what you’re told to do. Sometimes things won’t go your way, there might be a point you’re not where you want to be in your career but stick at it, don’t throw the towel in and you’ll get there if you work hard enough.
The Ladies’ first-team are in action again this weekend at Stockport Sports Village, as they host Bradford City on Sunday in a 2pm kick-off. Looking for your County fix this weekend? Head on down and help support them – with entry free to all Stockport County season ticket holders.
