Sunday 4th May, saw Everton women complete the season double over their rivals, storming to victory with a 2-0 win at Anfield. Another victory for Everton women in the Merseyside derby. 5 games at Anfield, 5 wins at Anfield, and 5 clean sheets at Anfield, it is fair to say the Blues have the city well and truly in their hands.
Katja Snoeijs opened the scoring, as she did in the reverse fixture in November, followed by a cool, calm, and collected finish from Karen Holmgaard in the second half. It is impossible to mention the derby without the stand-out player (yet again!) and player of the match, Courtney Brosnan. Fan favourite and Ireland’s No.1 pulled off another masterclass, denying Liverpool strikers like Olivia Smith from hitting that derby day high. Her masterclasses are becoming more and more of a weekly occurrence.
For those who do not yet follow the women’s team (it’s never too late to start) here’s all you need to know about one of the smaller yet mightiest clubs in the Women’s Super League.
Everton Women, the pride of Merseyside. A historical club, currently residing at Walton Hall Park, the Blues have been known to foster young talent by the names of Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Nikita Parris, and Aggie Bever-Jones to name a few. Currently, sitting mid-table in the Women’s Super League (WSL), players such as Aurora Galli, Hayley Ladd, and Inma Gabarro, as well as all time greats like Melissa Lawley, are calling this club home.
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Since The Friedkin Group took over officially in December 2024, they have stressed the importance of expanding the women’s team and their first move in ensuring stability and growth came with contract extensions. Head coach Brian Sorensen, and assistant manager Stephen Neligan, were given new contracts to keep them at the club until at least 2027. We’ve been plagued with injuries, not least ACLs in recent years, and keeping Brian at the club as players return from injury is allowing him to strengthen the squad from its roots.
On the subject of contracts, there is a long list of expiring contracts in the squad come June, most notably; Lucy Hope, Aurora Galli, Karoline Olesen, Justine Vanhaevermaet. Furthermore, Emma Watson and Martina Fernandez will return to their respective parent clubs, after successful loan spells with the Blues this season. Everton, and manager Sorensen, have a reputation for allowing young talent to get gametime and integrate into the first team, something other WSL managers are more apprehensive to do. It seems to be working for us! Emma has shone with creativity when subbed on, while Martina has regularly been given player of the match from the supporter’s club for her faultless performances in defence. We’ve been lucky to have you girls!
Clare Wheeler (interim on-pitch Captain) and Kenzie Weir have, this week, signed contracts keeping them at the club for at least the next two seasons. Things continue to be looking up for the Toffee’s.
We’ve had another season plagued by injuries with Aurora Galli and new-girl Inma Gabarro succumbing to ACLs in the first and second games, Megan Finnigan followed come the second half on the season. While players such as Kenzie Weir, Louana Ribadeira, Heather Payne, and Karen Holmgaard faced long side-line waits while they nursed ongoing injuries. Saying this, the rest of the team has stepped up significantly ensuring survival in the league and even beating Manchester City at home back in December.
For me, the awards for star players goes to:
Martina Fernandez – WOW! You can see why she is at Barcelona; the girl has talent. At only 20 years old, she is regularly playing a full 90 for us in the WSL, and I can see her only going onto bigger and better things… Remember the name!
Honoka Hiyashi – Our Stargirl, with every week that passes, Hono grows more and more into her own and is regularly scoring and assisting, providing us with crucial results.
Sara Holmgaard – One half of the Danish dynamite twins, Sara plays on the left, while Karen plays on the right and their twin telepathy has led to some amazing play and goals from the pair. Sara is easily a fan favourite and such a skilful player.
Kelly Gago – Allez Le Bleus! It seems like Kelly loves Everton, and we certainly love Kelly. Joining from the French league in the winter transfer window, we’ve been craving a player like Kelly and since her arrival we’ve clinched some amazing results because of her creativity on the pitch.
That’s another season nearly over for the girls in Blue and what an honour it’s been to watch the team grow in strength and confidence. Here’s to another season of brilliance from Brian Sorensen’s team, I can’t wait to see how exciting the progress over the summer is going to be. Everton women, the pride of Merseyside.
Lauren Briscoe
