How are Posh Women adapting to Tier 3?
After absolutely flying through Tier 4 last season, the big question for me was always going to be: are Posh Women good enough to compete at Tier 3?
There was no doubt they deserved their promotion. They worked incredibly hard for it and were brilliant last season, but Tier 3 is a different level, and the first games have certainly shown that.
The speed, the physicality, the technical ability and the pace at which teams move the ball are all noticeably higher; even the communication on the pitch feels like another step up. But after watching the first few games, I’m coming to the conclusion that yes, Posh absolutely belong here.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy though, far from it.
It’s going to be a fight
The results so far have been a bit of a mixed bag. A 5-0 defeat to Rugby Borough, followed by a brilliant 3-2 win over Liverpool Feds, then defeats to West Brom, Loughborough Lightning and Derby County.
On paper, it could look like a tough start, but watching the games tells a slightly different story.
The Rugby Borough game was a huge test, but they are a seriously good side. The Loughborough game was particularly frustrating because I genuinely felt like Posh deserved to come away with something. It was an exciting, end-to-end game, and to lose 3-2 was disappointing.
The results haven’t always gone their way, but I’m not watching this team thinking they don’t belong at this level. Quite the opposite.
The new faces have settled in
One of the things I’ve been really impressed with so far is how well the new signings have settled into the team. They’ve all looked like great additions and have brought something different to the squad. Ellie May has particularly caught my eye; although, with the number of goals she’s already scored this season, I’m hardly the only one noticing her!
Having joined Posh from West Brom, she’s looked completely at home in the team. She reads the game brilliantly and has been a real threat going forward. She’s an absolute baller and it’s been great watching her and the other new girls settle in so quickly.
A little bit of history
Last weekend brought another milestone for the Posh Women. A 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough gave them their first away league win in Tier 3, the highest level the women’s team have ever played at.
I wasn’t there to see it, thanks to a clash with my daughters dance competition, but I was following the updates closely and was absolutely buzzing when the result came through! I was also absolutely gutted to have missed Poppie Brown's winning goal, which looked like an absolute belter.
Of course, it’s important not to get carried away. Middlesbrough were also fighting at the bottom end of the table, and there is a long way to go this season, but that is not to take away from the significance of the result, and as I said above, it’s another little piece of history for this team.
So, do they belong here?
I think they do.
They’ve had some tough results, they’ve got plenty of hard work ahead of them and there will undoubtedly be more difficult days but watching them so far, I don’t see a team that has been promoted beyond where it belongs, I see a team learning to compete at a higher level.
The standard is higher, the opposition is stronger, the margins are small, but Posh are fighting, adapting, the new players are settling in, and the more established players are showing why they earned the right to be here in the first place.
They’ve already shown they can win at this level, now they’ve just got to keep doing it and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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