THE WEEKLY MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO WOMEN’S AND GIRLS FOOTBALL TRANSFERS GALORE IN SUPER LEAGUE! * QUARTER FINAL HEADS FOR ST ANDREW’S * Birmingham City midfielder receives England call up * Scotland edged out by Canada in third place match * Cardiff Met open up eight point lead after local derby win * F.A.Women’s Cup - Road to the Final Featuring ALL the Women’s Leagues across the country… ACTION Shots . (above) Southampton Saints’ Bex Davis holds off a challenge from Michelle Niven of University of Portsmouth (www.jamesprickett.co.uk). (below) Amy Thrupp on the attack for PILCS, under pressure from Michelle Charest of Aberystwyth Town (www.atfc.org.uk). [email protected] Birmingham City can confirm that their UEFA Women's Champions League quarter final first leg against Arsenal will be held at St. Andrew's on Monday 24 March (7pm kick off). The eagerly-anticipated all-WSL tie will be staged at Birmingham City's famous home following the success of the Round of 16 victory over FK Zorkiy Krasnogorsk in November. This is already the furthest Blues have progressed in Europe's elite competition after the 7-2 aggregate win over Russian opposition had followed a 4-0 two-legged success over PK-35 Vantaa of Finland. Admission details for the big match will be confirmed in due course. Meanwhile Birmingham have bolstered their squad further with the acquisition of former Liverpool hot shot Hannah Keryakoplis and midfielder Remi Allen. 19-year-old Hannah played for Liverpool for three consecutive FA Women's Super League seasons and finished as the Reds' top scorer in 2012. After finding playing opportunities limited, she moved to Stoke City, of the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division, in August 2013. Having represented Wales at Under-17 and Under-19 level, the Penyffordd-born striker made her senior debut aged just 17 in 2011 and currently has 20 caps and three goals to her name. Keryakoplis is also the current Young Player of the Year for Wales and led their forward line during the recent UEFA Under-19 Championship Finals in her home country. Remi has represented England from Under-15 level through to Under-23s with the highlight of that international experience being the Three Lions' lifting the 2009 UEFA Under-19 Championship; a team that also included new Blues team mates Rebecca Spencer, Jade Moore, Izzy Christiansen, Chelsea Weston and Kerys Harrop. Blues Ladies boss David Parker said of his new captures: "Hannah is a player I have admired for some time now. When watching her play for Liverpool and Wales in the 2012 season she stood out for me as a player to watch in the coming years. "She's a young tenacious player who has all the attributes to be a modern centre forward and is another player who fits in well with our philosophy at the football club. "She will add a different dimension to our strike force next year and it's a great pleasure to see such an enthusiastic player that has chosen to join us for all the right reasons and to progress her footballing development. I'm delighted we have been able to secure a deal for Remi in what is a great coup for the club. "Remi is a combative central midfielder who has been a shining light in Lincoln's side for the past three seasons and will add another dimension to the side next season. "Often overlooked is her technical and goalscoring ability which gets less plaudits because of her aggressive style of play. What is also key when recruiting any player is their character and how they will fit into the group and with Remi it’s a perfect fit for this football club both on and off the pitch." [email protected] Northern Division Jamillah Palmer marked her Stoke City debut by scoring twice as they came from behind to beat Newcastle Utd 4-2 and move up into second place in the Northern Division. Lizzy Fraser lobbed Newcastle in front with Natasha Lilly equalising, but an own goal by Anne-Marie Atherton put United back in the lead again. Laura Garside levelled matters once again before Palmer, recently signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers, secured victory for Stoke with two second half goals which sees them cut the gap on leaders Sheffield FC to four points. Sporting Club Albion meanwhile leapt into the top half of the table on the back of a 4-1 win away to Leeds Utd. Jamie-Leigh Fowler opened the scoring for Albion after seven minutes but Leeds battled hard to get back on level terms via a powerful strike from Abbie Lee. After the break, Robyn James put Albion in control by netting twice and the prolific striker completed her hat-trick from the penalty spot. These were the only two matches throughout the Premier League to survive the weather over the weekend, all of the others having been postponed. There had been better news for Leeds in the week before Christmas as they picked up an important 3-0 local derby victory over Bradford City, which had taken them out of the bottom two. Carey Huegett scored twice inside the opening half hour, to take her league tally for the season to nine, with an own goal sewing up the points during the second half. Southern Division Only one match has been played in the division during the past three weeks but it produced a hugely significant result at the foot of the table. The two bottom placed teams, Keynsham Town and Chesham Utd, met each other in an important clash and it was Keynsham who leapfrogged the Clarets with a 5-2 win. Gemma Fraser latched onto a bad back pass to give Chesham a second minute lead and after Katarzyna Rusek equalised for the home side, Fraser restored Chesham's advantage but Leanne Lapham levelled the scores once again on the stroke of half time. After the break, Rusek and Lapham each netted their second goals to put the match into Keynsham's hands and they wrapped up the win through substitute Hari Sabic late on. Charlton Athletic are delighted to confirm the re- signing of midfielder Grace Coombs, who returns from a spell at the University of Massachusetts. Grace rejoined the club before the Christmas break and will be available for the second half of the season, starting on 5th January away to West Ham United. The versatile 23-year-old, who can also play at centre back, is looking forward to getting back out on the field and playing with old friends. On her return to Sparrow's Lane, she said: "It was always going to happen, really. I wasn't ever looking anywhere else. My best friends play for this team, so it just made sense [to come back]. "It will be different at first but I am sure I will adjust. I still know the majority of the team so hopefully I know how they play so I can fit in quickly. [email protected] "There are quite a few key players injured at the moment but I just want to come in and do what I can. The last time I was in the team we won the league so I am hoping that will mean something." After coming through Charlton's centre of excellence, Grace had a season with West Ham before making the move back to the Addicks, where she played 74 first team games in all competitions, scoring six goals. Having been part of the Charlton team that won the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division title in 2010-11, she made the move to America. Grace was an ever present in her final two years with the UMass Minutewomen, co-captaining the side for her senior year in 2013. She racked up three goals and seven assists in 58 appearances in her three years, as she combined playing football with studying. On her time stateside, she added: "I learnt a lot, it was hard but I think it was well worth doing and I would recommend it to people in the future, definitely. "I think it improved everything, even me as a person. It taught me a lot and made me know I could do things I didn't think I could do. It's a different way of life over there. "In pre-season for about two weeks we would train twice a day and then it goes down to once a day and then during the year we would have Monday off, train Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, game Friday and train Saturday and Sunday." NORTHERN DIVISION P W D L F A Pts GD LEADING SCORERS SHEFFIELD F.C. 10 9 0 1 44 9 27 35 Krystle JOHNSTON Sheffield F.C. 12 STOKE CITY 12 7 2 3 31 25 23 Jodie6 MICHALSKA Sheffield F.C. 11 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 9 6 2 1 24 9 20 Amber15 HUGHES Nottingham Forest 10 PRESTON NORTH END 11 6 0 5 28 22 18 Melissa6 BALL Preston North End 9 SPORTING CLUB ALBION 12 4 3 5 24 20 15 Beth4 GARDNER Newcastle Utd 9 DERBY COUNTY 10 4 2 4 26 28 14 Carey-2 HUEGETT Leeds Utd 9 LEEDS UTD 13 4 1 8 26 39 13 -13Melissa JOHNSON Derby County 9 BRADFORD CITY 9 3 2 4 15 20 11 Suzanne-5 DAVIES Sheffield F.C. 8 Chantelle GALLAGHER Stoke City NEWCASTLE UTD 13 3 2 8 26 47 11 -21 8 Robyn JAMES Sporting Club Albion 8 BLACKBURN ROVERS 9 3 1 5 14 24 10 -10 WOLVERHAMPTON W.