Our Patch JUNE 2016
174 King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 0RA
Tel. 020 8741 7171 • Fax 020 8741 7743
DX 32750 Hammersmith 2 • Email [email protected]
Open 9.00am to 5.00pm
sport, and I’ve only ever really loved
football,” said the centre back. “I felt
inspired by England’s World Cup, and
it’s been fantastic to play again.
“My teammates are now good
friends. Our social activities include
days out to watch professional teams,
playing table football and exploring
other parts of London.”
Team mate Kelly Bowen, 27, from
New Zealand is in technology PR. “I
started playing at a very young age as
my dad used to play professionally.
“He inspired me and my siblings to
take it up. I have been in London for
three years and was happy to discover
Hammersmith women’s football.
“My little sister, who plays for New
Zealand women, inspired me, and it
was wonderful to find such a great
bunch of girls, led by a coach who’s
committed to us doing well.”
John Horton, of Horton and Garton,
said he was delighted to sponsor the
team. “Michael invited me along, and I
Don’t leave a mess
for the ones you love.
Genteel? Anything but. It
was brutal, with crunching
tackles, yet it was played in
a sporting spirit. It's great
to be able to support it
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Lumiere Chieh shows off
her skills. If you want to
see what Hammersmith
Ladies are about, just
turn up to Tuesday training
PICTURES BY JUSTIN THOMAS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19>
Spurs and Crystal Palace. We’re keen
to get more people involved; playing,
coaching, helping, sponsoring…”
The names to watch? Jaisymar
Rivas, a street food entrepreneur, was
consistently on target in the club’s
blistering end-of-season seven-win trot.
The Venezuelan finished on 14 goals
in 25 games.
West London’s glorious melting pot
is reflected in multiple nationalities,
with players from Spain, New Zealand,
Hungary, Iceland, USA and Canada.
Another rising star is Lumière Chieh,
29. “Outside football I work for a
publisher, and I’m a school governor,
do yoga and play music at open mic
nights around London,” she said.
She has grown up in the borough,
playing football at Good Shepherd
primary school in Shepherds Bush,
and enjoying summer camps run by
QPR and Fulham.
She began playing at secondary
school, and took up the game again
after the Women’s World Cup.
“I wanted to get back into active
took my two boys,” he said. “It wasn’t
like the blokes’ lump-it-upfield type of
game; it was full of intricate passing.”
If the tag ‘ladies’ makes it sound a bit
genteel, the reality is anything but. “It
was brutal,” said John, “with crunching
tackles, yet it was played in a sporting
spirit. This is a growing sport and it’s
great to be able to support it.”
Backed by FA qualified coaches,
the team’s minimum age is 16, while
the oldest player is mid 30s. But rule
nothing out! Another team in the
league fields a 64-year-old woman!
“And she was quite good,” said Michael
in an admiring tone.
Of Hammersmith Ladies, Michael
concluded: “They’re a great squad. They
all turn up and travel to away games.”
The big challenge remains retaining
girls who play at school through the
inevitable distractions of late teenage
and early 20s years.
Hammersmith Ladies start training again
at the end of June. Find out more by
bowling up to a Ravenscourt Park session
or email: [email protected]