Ipswich Town Women’s captain Maria Boswell says leading the side out for their first-ever WSL 2 fixture against Southampton this weekend is something she has dreamed of for a long time.

The Blues travel south to St Mary’s on Saturday for what will be their maiden appearance in the second tier of women’s football following a long-awaited promotion from the Women’s National League last season. The game, which kicks-off at 2pm, is being shown live on the WSL 2 YouTube channel

Joe Sheehan’s side are set to be backed by a strong away support, and defender Boswell, who has skippered the side since December 2023, was beaming with pride at the opportunity to wear the armband in the newly-rebranded WSL 2 this weekend.

“It’s a big moment for me,” she said. “I’ve said it quite a few times in interviews, it is something that I’ve been thinking and dreaming about and trying to manifest for quite a long time.

"I’ve probably spent the off-season and pre-season thinking about what that moment is going to feel like. Now I’m ready, really raring to go and excited for it.

“It’s something as a team we’ve been working towards for a very long time. In some ways it feels like a long time coming, something that a lot of us have been thinking and dreaming about for a long time.

“To finally be able to step out onto that pitch in a WSL 2 league fixture, it’s going to be a very proud moment for all of us.

“We’ve had a very good pre-season, we’ve had six weeks to really get into that mentality of what this new league is going to bring.

“It’s been somewhat of a long time coming, so we’ve spent the last four years preparing for this moment in some ways. We’re all just really excited and really ready to go.

“We’ve had some really good fixtures in pre-season that have prepared us, so we’re feeling really ready and really excited to go.”

Town and Southampton are no strangers to each other with the two sides having been involved in a number of high-profile meetings, including the Blues beating the Saints on penalties to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals three years ago.

In addition, ex-Southampton duo Paige Peake and Rianna Dean are among the players Joe Sheehan has added to his squad over the summer who boast significant second-tier experience, which Boswell admits is vital.

She said: “Nearly all the players we’ve brought in have got experience at that level and that experience has been invaluable to us.

“They’ve drip-fed us little bits of information throughout pre-season that just gives us a little idea of what we’re going to be coming up against so that’s been really helpful. Hopefully that will help us out on Saturday.

“Playing a team that you’ve just come from adds that little bit of motivation, I suppose. They’ve both been really dialled in all week, drip-feeding us little bits that they can. I’m sure it’s changed a lot since even they were there last season, they’ve just been trying to help us out and get us prepared.

“I think they’re really excited for it, but they also have mentioned that it is just another game, don’t want to put too much emotion into things otherwise that could get ahead of you. I think they’re just excited for it like we all are.”

Boswell says her teammates play just as important a role as she does as captain in helping all new arrivals settle into the club and their new surroundings.

The 22-year-old said: “I’ve always said that we’re a very welcoming team and a very welcoming bunch. Whenever a player comes in for their first session, we always make sure to take it upon each of us to welcome them, say hello and make sure they feel settled.

“At the start of every new season, as captain I like to have a players’ meeting with no coaches, just to set out as players what we want to achieve and expect of each other.

“I did that last season and I did that this season. I think it’s good to have a player focus and sometimes have a chat amongst us lot away from the coaches. That was my welcome to the girls.”

Following their success last season, the Blues’ celebrations over the summer were something to live long in the memory, particularly for players such as Boswell who have experienced two promotions after reaching the third tier in 2021.

Town finished their Women’s National League Southern Premier Division campaign with 17 wins from 22 matches, beating nearest challengers Hashtag United to the title by six points to finally achieve promotion at the fourth time of asking.

“Definitely a highlight,” Boswell reflected. “It’s a day that I actually think back to quite a lot, even now months down the line. It’s days like that that motivate your career, it drives you every day to have more moments like that.

“We didn’t even take our champions tops off for quite a few days, which sounds awful but it’s true. I ended up on the golf course in my champions top.

“It went on for quite a few weeks, then we had our girls’ holiday away, eight of us from the team so some more celebrations. Then it was about switching your focus back to pre-season when we were finally back in and focusing on the season ahead.”

Boswell was pleased to be able to play a part in helping the Blues get over the line, recovering from injury to feature in the final two matches of the season against Milton Keynes Dons and Cheltenham Town.

Recalling the moment she feared she would miss the rest of the season during the defeat at Hashtag in March, the Town skipper said: “I actually stepped onto the pitch for the little walk-out, I remember filming the pitch and sending it to my dad like ‘look at this, someone’s going to get injured on this’ and it ended up being me.

“As soon as I went down, I thought it was bad. The first thing that popped into my head was I was probably going to miss the rest of the season, in such an important season where I did really feel like we were going to go on and get promoted. It was gutting, it was the only thing that was on my mind.

“Then I got the scan results back and it ended up being just severe bone bruising and a compression fracture, which sounds quite bad but it ended up being a six to eight-week injury. I did absolutely everything I could to make sure it was a six-week injury because that would allow me to get back for the last two games.

“That’s what really spurred me on and motivated me in every training session where the girls are out and I’m in the gym. Having that clear aim in mind and being clear with the medical staff of this is what I’m aiming for, we managed to do it with the help of all the medical staff.”

Photo: TWTD

Swailsey added 12:18 - Sep 5 Good luck!
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Broadbent23 added 12:33 - Sep 5 We might be underdogs, just like the men after promotion. Just go out and play; remember the Town slogan "Running to Adversity".
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Foreverdon_Blue added 15:14 - Sep 5 Good luck girls! WSL here we come!
1

Lukeybluey added 19:20 - Sep 5 Smash it!
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