The team that have made themselves local celebrities in the town of Worksop, continued their rise through the ranks as SJR Worksop claimed this years League Plate with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Mansfield.
But how did they get there? SYWF spoke to SJR Worksop manager Lee Scott to get a round-by-round rundown of the team’s path to glory.
So what were the thoughts heading into the Cup, and how had the season gone to that point?
“The way the Plate works is that everyone is drawn against each other, and how you do in the first round determines whether you’re placed into the League Cup, or the League Plate.
“Unfortunately we were drawn to play on a week where we had a lot of players away against Leicester City. We struggled to fill the side going there and ultimately we ended up being put in the Plate, but that actually ended up being the better of the deal for us.
“As for the season to that point, last year we won the League below and got promoted, and so coming into a new League, winning our first couple of games, it was like ‘wow, okay’ and then reality set in a bit. I don’t think we were equipped enough for the division. We were lacking in a lot of areas and we found the level of football a bit beyond what we had within the squad at the time.
“We did a little bit of scouting, moved some players on, got some new ones in. One of the biggest signings was ex Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Emily Hallam. She had made a massive difference coming into the club.”
Round 2 – SJR Worksop 11-1 Belper Town
“The game came at a point where we had just started to turn a corner with our last couple of performances. We beat Basford which was the turning point of our season because that actually took us above them [Basford], which then built confidence within the club and the team.
“Saying that, we’d not kicked a ball for a couple of weeks going into the game so we felt a bit rusty. But we went on the pitch and it was just unbelievable. It felt like we’d gotten a breath of fresh air, we were pinging the ball around, moving it from side to side, passing moving, we just took them apart.
“I think it was 8-0 before halftime and in the second half, it was just a case of getting the job done. They shut up shop but we kept going.
“Laura Ferguson grabbed herself a hat-trick in only her second game for the club, Lauren Brogen stood out coming out from the back, so all the new faces we’d brought in were starting to click.
“The performance and scoreline itself were a huge boost for the rest of the season because it reminded us that, yes we do deserve to be at the level we are, and that yes there is a big gulf from us to the level below.”
Quarter-Final – SJR Worksop 2-0 Notts County Development
“It was in many ways, a very similar performance. You could see the difference in the levels and we started to again have that confidence of stroking the ball around the pitch.
“We were probably not as clinical as we had been in the previous round, but it was one of those where I said to them it was a professional performance.
“At that point we were pushing in three cups, all whilst trying to maintain league status, so we adopted a mentality of let’s just concentrate on winning each game at a time, no matter the competition because confidence breeds confidence.”
Semi-Final – SJR Worksop 4-0 Nottingham Trent
“The Trent game was a funny game. We’d already played against them twice prior so we knew them quite well. We beat them comfortably at their place but they adopted a different mindset in the return fixture at our place and beat us.
“They scored the first goal against us at our place early doors and they went on and beat us by four, while we scored early doors against them and beat them by five, so we knew the first goal was crucial.
“It was a very cagey first half, and even though we were the better side, we didn’t really create anything clear cut.
“But early in the second half, we were given an indirect free kick in the box when their keeper handled it, and even though it wasn’t really executed very well, it fell to Emily Murphy and she steered it into the goal.
“Getting the first one took us up a level and we got the second, third and fourth very quickly to kill off the game and onto the final!”
Final – Mansfield 2-3 SJR Worksop – 18/05/2025
What was the feeling within the team going into the final?
“Last game of the season, we beat Mansfield 1-0 at their place, and we’d also played them two games prior as well so it meant we were playing them three times in the space of four games, so we got quite familiar with them.
“After the league campaign, Mansfield still had games to play, they were still on a cup run so they were still playing competitive matches, right up until our cup final.
“On the other hand, we had about a month or so in between our final league fixture and the final so we knew they’d probably be fresher going into it.
“We’d organised a couple of friendlies, but we could only really get lower opposition so we weren’t really being tested like we probably needed to be or thought we needed to be but at least we got minutes in the legs.
“Going into the match, we knew it would be a similar story to the rest of the run, if we could match them up early doors and do our jobs, we felt that we could eventually prevail.
“I knew they had what it took to hurt us so it was always going to be a cagey game, and one determined by the fine margins. “
So how did the final itself go?
“Our performance was excellent.
“We took the lead early on, and deservedly so. We set off really well and went about the game like we wanted to score. Laura Ferguson was played through by Alice Hill, and she slotted it past the keeper and put us on our way.
“After that, in the first half they were laying siege to our goal, but didn’t really create anything clear cut, but enough for me and my assistants to go we need to get them in at half time and fix things.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get to half time as they managed to equalize after bit of a defensive mixup.
“So going in at half time we talked about it, changed a couple of personnel around in terms of positions, tweaked some roles within the formation and sent them back out because we knew we were still in the game.
“At the start of the second half, unfortunately we took a throw-in, gave the ball away and they got in behind and scored within five or six minutes of the restart.
“So we were now behind, but instead of slumping back, we kicked back into gear and surged towards their goal.
“Laura Ferguson received a long throw from Lauren Cundy, turned, drove into the box and smashed it into the net which pulled us level and then it was then very much our game.
“It felt like if we didn’t do anything silly, it was just a case of when we’d get it and I think they started to drop deeper in desperation.
“Amy O’Brien started making some good runs from left wing back, she got brought down and we had a penalty to retake the lead.”
How were the nerves?
“Well, we had a penalty in the first game of the season against Stamford which we missed but scored from the rebound so we made Rachel Bell the new designated penalty taker. But when she was stepping up to the ball I thought ‘Have I done the right thing?’ We hadn’t had a penalty since the first game of the season and she hadn’t even been at our penalty practise ahead of the final because she’s a Police Woman.
“She plays in defence but I’ve been told she was a striker, and she keeps telling me she wants to play up front, but I must admit the nerves were there.
“And then Mansfield were playing the games you know, getting round her, whispering things, kicking the ball off the spot, all delaying it and I thought ‘this is all getting worse’.
“The relief when she put it in the net was unreal. We were well on top at that stage and if we’d have missed it, the deflation would have sent us back and given them another lift as well.
“But fortunately she used all her experience, slammed it in the net and the rest is history as they say.”
How much confidence does it give you going into next year?
“I think we’ve got a nucleus of a side now that isn’t far off. The thing is, what’s happening now is the performances are alerting other people and other teams.
“I think I’ve got a summer of trying to make sure we keep the squad together and getting in some extra bodies to fight on three or four fronts. At times this season we were starting to really go thread bare with the squad because people were getting injuries or things had come up like work. We were going to games with one or two subs and it’s not enough at this level.
“So if we can keep the nucleus together and fetch in four or five players of this level of quality, then I really think we could push on.
“I’m not going to say we’ll win the league, I want to win the league, but I think next year is just probably trying to build on what we’ve done this year in terms of league status and try and push on to see if we can.”
If you want to find out more about the future plans at SJR Worksop, SYWF also spoke to the clubs President Andrew Guest as well as Captain Charlotte Finch.
You can find all our articles about SJR Worksop here.
