October 2026. Sheffield.
I spent Sunday morning giving RM Towers a thorough Autumn clean before heading back to Kent, by which I mean a clean that would meet most bloke’s lesser standards of housekeeping.
By noon I was bored, and idly glancing at the Women’s FA Cup fixtures (spoilers alert).
Ooh, Barnsley Women, wonder which tiny ex-mining town they play at ?
Oddly, it’s Sheffield, at the snappily named Olympic Legacy Park (aka Steel City Stadium) which groundhoppers Duncan and Dr John ticked a couple of years back on a bitterly cold night.
Which is only 24 minutes on the tram and a couple of hobbles away in Attercliffe, next to some shiny University buildings.
Attercliffe is virtually a beer desert, bar the exceptional St Mars of the (actual) Desert; just look at that row of (grey marker) closed pubs and clubs.
The only sign of life half an hour before the big kick-off is coming from inside the old library,
where the Vancouver Breakfast with jazz is sold out. But they may have beer.
Elswhere, the highlights are ruins.
What a great Spoons/Holt/Thornbridge pub that Adelphi would make. Perhaps.
I pay my fiver to get in the Steel City Stadium, and then notice how many people are climbing the grassy knoll opposite to view for free.
But they miss out on the comfy seat, the Black Sheep keg at the bar, the reading of the teams (mainly Millies, Georgias and Olivias) and the woke points from supporting women’s football. They sell a fair bit of beer to a crowd of, I guess, a hundred. But then Barnsley women drink pints.
I’ve really enjoyed all the ladies matches I’ve been to, competitive and increasingly skilful, although I do wish they’d speed up those pre-match huddles and kick off on time.
Without any obvious reason, a hard fought Cup tie edged 2-1 by Unity finishes just after 4pm with some 10 minutes of added time.
And yes, that’s Mancunian, not Manchester, Unity women’s team. And how lovely it’s been to see United and City fans coming together in unity after City’s little financial misunderstanding.
