BEES OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 2019/20 PROGRAMME MATCHDAY OFFICIAL v LEWES FC 29 • 09 •2019 K.O. 2:00PM LONDON At the Heart of Our Community, with Community at Our Heart At Canons High School we are thrilled to be official supporters of the London Bees for the 2019/2020 Season of the FA Women's Championship. We believe in the importance of developing great partnerships that provide potentially life-changing opportunities for our students, confident that by engaging these young people partners will benefit too. If you are interested in seeing how over a thousand incredibly talented children and young adults can work with your organisation and, in doing so, develop new skills for lifelong learning then contact us on [email protected] today. Shaldon Road, Edgware, HA8 6AN Tel: 020 8951 5780 www.canons.harrow.sch.uk OFFICIAL BENCHWEAR AND MATCH BALL SPONSOR WWW.JAKOLIVINGSPORTS.CO.UK TEL: 0203 370 1234 LeeTHE BurchMANAGER WELCOME EVERYONE TO TODAY’S FA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE GAME AT THE HIVE V LEWES WOMEN. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all of the Lewes players, staff and fans. Overall it’s been a pleasing start to the season and as we really start to get games under or belt and players back fit and ready to play I’m more and more excited about what this group can do. Two slow starts but strong finishes have been the story of the last two games since our victory v Coventry at the Hive. I was really pleased with the reaction at Leicester after two good goals caught us and we thought we had won it at the end when Lauren Pickett made it 3-2. Unfortunately a decision from the Officials didn’t go our way and we came away with a credible away draw v a tough and physical Leicester side. Bristol showed their professional qualities at times and I felt we maybe showed them to much respect in the first 20 minutes and by that time the game was an even bigger challenge. It was a shame we didn’t score after having some good moments and felt the third really flattened them. Today’s opponents Lewes have had a good start to the season and I’m expecting both teams to look to move the ball around at a quick tempo and create a good game. They have some key threats and we will need to be at our best to get a result today. Thank you for your support as always and we hope that crowds grown and everyone will look to return for our future fixtures. Lee ENGLAND WEMBLEY GERMANYSTADIUM CONNECTED BY EE SATURDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2019 — 5.30PM TICKETS £15 ADULTS / £1 KIDS v THEFA.COM/TICKETS DON’T MISS A GAME THIS SEASON BUY TICKETS: VENUETOOLBOX.COM/BARNETFC MegCAPTAIN Alex I’D LIKE TO WELCOME LEWES TO THE HIVE THIS AFTERNOON IN WHAT SHOULD BE AN EXCITING GAME. We know Lewes like to play football and get the ball down similar to us so it should be a great game for both supporters. They have had a great start to the season so we know we will be in for a tough game today. Since our last game we have played three matches and they have all been very different. Coventry was a great win against a team that will only get better. To score two very different goals is pleasing and shows the ability we have in the team. Leicester was a game of mixed emotions because we were very disappointed to concede two goals very early on especially as that was a big target for us. However to come back and score three goals shows great team spirit and character and I am very proud of the team. We were unlucky to concede a third goal but after the start of the game we were happy to walk away with a point. Our last game against Bristol was a chance to show the top league what we are about. We were disappointed to lose 3-0 because I don’t feel that’s a fair result considering we held our own and even matched them in many other areas but they were clinical. The mood in the camp looking ahead to today’s game is very exciting. The games we have played and presented us with many challenges and I believe we have only grown from these. We have great team spirit and started to really click together now. The standards and goals set in training have been high and I’d love to see us go out there today and show you all how much we have improved. I’d like to say hello to our loyal fans today and welcome back to the hive. We really appreciate your support and we will try our best to continue our great start to the season today. Alex CLUB GROUND THE DRIPPING PAN Nickname CAPACITY 3,000 CHAIRMAN STUART FULLER Founded MANAGER FRAN ALONSO LEWES FC HISTORY Lewes Football Club was formed following a meeting at The Royal Oak pub on 23 September 1885. For the first eight years, the players wore light green shirts to reflect the scenery of the surrounding South Downs, but black and red finally FC became the club colours in 1893. The pinnacle of the Men’s team’s achievement was to gain promotion to the top of the non-League pyramid in 2007/8. At the same time, a brand-new Women’s team was started by Jacquie Agnew and underwent a dramatic rise form park football to the Women’s Combination. Following the 2008 financial crisis which impacted the club, a group of six supporters worked hard to take the club into community ownership. On July 8 2010, Lewes FC was officially transferred out of private ownership into a mass- ownership Community Benefit Society called Lewes Community Football Club. The new club swiftly adopted improved working practices and procedures and then opened up the wider ownership to all the club’s supporters in 2011/12. At this time, the Women’s team enjoyed a meteoric climb up to the FA Women’s Premier League (South), gaining promotion from the Combination League by winning every match but one, which they drew. LEWES In 2017, we launched the ground-breaking EqualityFC campaign that saw Lewes FC become the first (and currently only) club side in the world to have equal playing budgets for women and men. A rapid rise in attendances at women’s games also helped Lewes FC Women to gain admission into the second tier of the League structure and play in the FA Women’s Championship. Our attendances have quadrupled since 2017, even though ticket prices have increased by 160%. Today we have around 1500 equal “owners” across 26 countries each of whom believe in the club’s principles and values, and elect in all Board positions. We believe the future is bright, the future is black & red. THESE WILDCATS JUST LOVE TO PLAY SSE Wildcats provide girls aged 5-11 the opportunity to have fun, make friends and play football. With over 1,000 centres nationwide, find a centre near you and join the fun! Find your nearest centre at TheFA.com/SSEWildcats PHYSIO THE STADIUM The Dripping Pan has been home to Lewes FC since their foundation in 1885. It has been used as a recreation space, including as cricket oval and athletics track as far back as records exist. Local legend (and the ground’s name) suggests that it was part of a salt making industry run by monks from the adjacent priory, the ruins of which can still be seen from the ground. It has also been argued that the ground was simply the excavation pit for a PAN temporary fortress that overlooks the ground today, constructed before Lewes Castle which is on higher ground. Although the earliest known use was for cricket on 5 August 1730 Lewes F.C. have played at the Dripping Pan every year since 1885, apart from a couple of seasons prior to the First World War when the club was banished to the adjoining Convent Field. The Dripping Pan has seen major redevelopment over recent years in order for it to achieve the necessary ground grading to allow it to be used as a football venue in the Conference National and the FA Women’s Championship. Developing the ground has had its obstacles as the perimeter walls of the Dripping Pan are listed structures. Our main stand has 171 solar panels on its roof. We think we were the first club in the world to install a solar power station in its stadium. In doing so the club became carbon neutral, in 2014. The ground is home to a newly refurbished bar which is host to local and guest ales, vegan & gluten-free beer, prosecco on tap and the club’s silverwear and a selection of the Club’s famous match-day posters. THE DRIPPING Has been an integral part of the Lewes setup since she joined from Brighton & Hove Albion for the 2017/2018 season. The Lewes #1 produced several stand out performances BAKER last season, but was stopped midway through the season due to injury. She will be looking to produce those top quality performances again this season and has just LEWES FC TEAM been handed the captain’s armband. FAYE FAYE Arrives in Lewes fresh from a season in France at Le Is another new joiner in Fran Alonso’s squad for the Havre (HAC).