LIVERPOOL’S GAIN IS BANGOR’S LOSS IN SEASON OF HUGE CONTRASTS
An exodus of players from Bangor City to Liverpool was key to the outcome of a 2003-04 Northern Division season that saw the Reds take the title with an unbeaten record and, at the other end of the table, the Citizens finish bottom and relegated without winning a single match.
That was quite a contrast to the previous season, in which buoyant Bangor had enjoyed a comfortable fourth place finish while Liverpool – relegated from the top flight in 2001 – ended up two places and eight points below the Welsh side.
Just what a difference that switch of players to the Merseyside club meant was clear from the early stages of the 2003-04 campaign. Liverpool looked certain winners of the Division after winning eight and drawing the other two of their first 10 games. They confirmed their promotion after they came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-2, early in February. Meanwhile, Bangor seemed absolutely doomed as they lost every one of their first eight outings.
Arguably the most important of Liverpool’s imports from the north Wales coast was striker Cheryl Foster, who had been Bangor’s leading scorer in each of the previous four seasons and repeated the feat for the Reds, top-scoring with 16 goals in her new team’s dash to promotion.
Three of those goals for Wales international Foster came against Bangor as Liverpool completed a double with 3-0 and 4-0 victories, each of them hastening the Citizens towards the drop.
Sadly, after five seasons as an FA Women’s National League club – and twice winners of the Welsh Cup during that spell – their fate was finally sealed in a 7-2 home loss to Sunderland, in which Melanie Reay bagged a hat-trick, and Bangor not only fell out of the league but were never to return.
Liverpool were in the midst of a yo-yoing first decade of the 21st century. They were relegated from the top flight three times but were also Northern Division champions on three occasions including 2009-10, the last season before the start of the Women’s Super League.
Sunderland’s challenge was hampered by a poor opening to their campaign, whilst Stockport County made an excellent start to life in the Premier League. Their form validated manager Andy Lee’s confident pre-season assertion that, “We are capable of finishing in the top-half of the table,” as they joined fellow newcomers Oldham Curzon – who were powered by goals from the division’s top scorer, Kelly Dean – in pushing the Reds and Black Cats at the top.
FINAL TABLE
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 12 | 50 | +39 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 56 | 31 | 37 | +25 |
| 3 | Stockport County | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 41 | 22 | 34 | +22 |
| 4 | Oldham Curzon | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 39 | 21 | 34 | +18 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 20 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 22 | 27 | +5 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 28 | 26 | -3 |
| 7 | Manchester City | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 24 | -10 |
| 8 | Lincoln City | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 38 | 23 | -4 |
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 45 | 22 | -15 |
| 10 | Chesterfield | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 50 | 18 | -27 |
| 11 | Bangor City | 20 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 59 | 3 | -47 |
FA WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTHERN DIVISION RESULTS 2003-04
17/8/2003
Bangor City 3-4 Manchester City
Lincoln City 4-0 Chesterfield
Liverpool 5-1 Sunderland
Middlesbrough 0-1 Stockport County
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Oldham Curzon
24/8/2003
Chesterfield 0-2 Liverpool
Middlesbrough 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Oldham Curzon 0-0 Lincoln City
Stockport County 4-0 Bangor City
Sunderland 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
31/8/2003
Liverpool 1-1 Lincoln City
Oldham Curzon 2-3 Manchester City
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stockport County 5-1 Sunderland
7/9/2003
Bangor City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Lincoln City 0-1 Middlesbrough
Manchester City 0-2 Stockport County
Sunderland 1-1 Oldham Curzon
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Liverpool
17/9/2003
Bangor City 0-3 Liverpool
Manchester City 2-1 Oldham Curzon
Middlesbrough 1-0 Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday 1- 1 Chesterfield
18/9/2003
Stockport County 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
21/9/2003
Chesterfield 2-2 Middlesbrough
Liverpool 2-1 Stockport County
Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-1 Manchester City
28/9/2003
Manchester City 4-4 Chesterfield
Middlesbrough 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stockport County 1-1 Oldham Curzon
1/10/2003
Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Lincoln City
5/10/2003
Sunderland 4-0 Bangor City
Chesterfield 1-4 Manchester City
Liverpool 1-0 Middlesbrough
Oldham Curzon 8-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Lincoln City 4-4 Stockport County
12/10/2003
Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool
Stockport County 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
15/10/2003
Chesterfield 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Liverpool 4-0 Bangor City
Sunderland 7-0 Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Stockport County
19/10/2003
Manchester City 0-2 Lincoln City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-5 Liverpool
Stockport County 1-0 Chesterfield
26/10/2003
Bangor City 1-4 Oldham Curzon
Chesterfield 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Lincoln City 2-4 Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Stockport County
2/11/2003
Middlesbrough 0-1 Manchester City
Oldham Curzon 2-1 Chesterfield
Stockport County 1-1 Liverpool
Lincoln City 3-1 Bangor City
9/11/2003
Manchester City 4-3 Sheffield Wednesday
Middlesbrough 1-1 Bangor City
Oldham Curzon 1-2 Liverpool
Sunderland 4-4 Chesterfield
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Lincoln City
16/11/2003
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Middlesbrough
Lincoln City 0-2 Oldham Curzon
Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City
Wolverhampton 1-2 Sunderland
23/11/2003
Chesterfield 2-0 Lincoln City
Oldham Curzon 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stockport County 1-1 Middlesbrough
Sunderland 1-1 Liverpool
30/11/2003
Lincoln City 1-1 Liverpool
Sunderland 1-0 Stockport County
Manchester City 1-2 Middlesbrough
Oldham Curzon 0-0 Chesterfield
Wolverhampton 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
14/12/2003
Liverpool 5-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Middlesbrough 5-3 Lincoln City
Oldham Curzon 2-2 Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Bangor City
11/1/2004
Bangor City 0-1 Middlesbrough
Liverpool 2-1 Oldham Curzon
25/1/2004
Oldham Curzon 1-0 Stockport County
Sunderland 3-2 Manchester City
8/2/2004
Chesterfield 1-0 Stockport County
Lincoln City 4-0 Manchester City
Liverpool 4-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Oldham Curzon 1-1 Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Bangor City
22/02/2004
Liverpool 7-0 Chesterfield
Middlesbrough 1-2 Oldham Curzon
Stockport County 3-2 Manchester City
Sunderland 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday
29/2/2004
Lincoln City 4-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Chesterfield
7/3/2004
Bangor City 0-1 Chesterfield
Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 Manchester City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Middlesbrough
14/3/2004
Sheffield Wednesday 2-3 Oldham Curzon
21/3/2004
Middlesbrough 6-0 Chesterfield
24/3/2004
Oldham Curzon 4-0 Bangor City
28/3/2004
Lincoln City 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbrough
Manchester City 1-1 Sunderland
4/4/2004
Bangor City 2-7 Sunderland
Stockport County 7-1 Lincoln City
11/4/2004
Bangor City 0-3 Lincoln City
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Sunderland [
14/4/2004
Manchester City 5-0 Bangor City
18/4/2004
Sunderland 4-1 Lincoln City
25/4/2004
Bangor City 0-3 Stockport County
Chesterfield 0-8 Sunderland
Manchester City 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
2/5/2004
Bangor City 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
3/5/2004
Chesterfield 3-1 Bangor City
