The first female manager in men’s English professional football oversaw a 1-1 draw in a friendly at non-league Melksham

“Go Hannah Go!” reads the giant cardboard sign that greets Hannah Dingley as she heads down the tunnel a touch embarrassed an hour before kick-off at the Oakfield Stadium, home to eighth-tier Melksham Town. It is an unlikely spot for a slice of footballing history to be made but it is here, at the end of a new-build housing estate in this Wiltshire town familiar with life as a thoroughfare, where Dingley became the first female to lead a men’s team in the professional English game. On the night Forest Green Rovers drew 1-1 but it is an evening when the score feels rather secondary.

A beefy but warm security guard, who got the call at 2.30pm, stands at the gate of the turnstiles. “It’s all gone a bit Pete Tong,” he says. Such is the interest, there is personal security for Dingley too. It is 5.30pm and Alfie Sparks, Forest Green’s first-team analyst, is setting up his camera from a vantage point on halfway. Dan Connor, the goalkeeping coach, arrives and soon afterwards Dingley enters, hopping out of a hatchback before accepting the offer of a cup of tea from the Melksham chairman, Darren Perrin, who was up until the early hours fielding media requests from international media. “Tonight was a quiet one until a few things happened yesterday,” Perrin says.

Continue reading…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Sunday Times editor admits report on media coverage of Islam has ‘valid criticisms’

Emma Tucker welcomes report from Muslim Council of Britain and says paper…

China blasts UK for granting asylum to Hong Kong activist Nathan Law

UK grants protection to pro-democracy figure who is regarded by Beijing as…

The Velvet Underground’s greatest songs – ranked!

As Todd Haynes unveils his documentary about them, we rate the best…