Knaresborough Town Women get off to a flyer, but there is still more to come, insists Ged Maloney

Knaresborough Town Women thrashed Bradford City Under-21s at Manse Lane on Sunday afternoon. Pictures: Caught Light Photography

Boro have won all of their opening three West Riding County League Division Four fixtures and currently sit top of the table with a goal-difference of 19.

They kicked-off 2022/23 with a 7-0 mauling of Field, then thrashed Lower Hopton 8-1 before romping to an 8-3 success over Bradford City Under-21s on Sunday.

Unsurprisingly, Ged Maloney - Knaresborough Town's head of women's and girls football - is thrilled with how things are progressing.

Fatimah Lapin scored four times in Knaresborough Town Women's 8-3 home success over Bradford City Ladies.

"The first three games have gone exceptionally well," he reflected.

"Our preparations were a bit last-minute, so we didn't have much of a pre-season and we knew that we were facing three of the strongest sides in the division in the first few weeks. But the girls have been exceptional and the blend of youth and experience we have in the squad is working for us.

"We are really happy with how things are progressing, but my personal aim is to keep trying to grow the club and the women's game in this area.

"We already have a pathway from junior football through our relationship with Knaresborough Celtic and the next step will be to launch a player development centre and an academy for the really talented girls.

"Promotion is absolutely the aim this season and then we'll look at setting up a reserve team. It's all looking pretty exciting from my point of view."

While Maloney is overseeing the overall operation working alongside Nigel Corner, Nic Streatfield and Mark Doherty, head coach Mike Bligh has been charged with looking after matters on the field, assisted by Alan Parkes, Austen Taylor and Kirk Fletcher.

"It has been a lot of work getting the club up and running, but it has made things so much easier having a big group of people helping out,” added Maloney, who was instrumental in getting Harrogate Town’s ladies team off the ground in 2016.

"At Harrogate Town, a lot of these different responsibilities were mine alone. Having all these capable individuals doing their bit means things are working really well off the field, while having four coaches is fantastic for the players.”