Reading FC Women’s FA Women’s Super League season has been a bit of a rollercoaster so far in 2022/23 but a solid November and December seems to have put any relegation fears to one side.
The Athletic’s Women’s Football Correspondent Florence Lloyd-Hughes seems to agree and has given Kelly Chambers side a ‘C+’ in her end of year FA WSL report card on the website (full article here but paywalled).
In the piece she writes: “Losing Deanne Rose to an Achilles injury was a huge loss at the start of the season as she was their main attacking outlet, but Chambers has done well to regroup and use her ever-reliable squad to cause problems where they can, such as stealing two quick goals against Chelsea in their final game of the year.”
She suggests the Royals look safe from the drop with Leicester City on zero points but will need to be wary of any resuscitation of the East Midlands side.
Ex-Royal Maz Pachecho in the England Lionesses mix
Meanwhile, in a separate piece here, Lloyd-Hughes has taken a line from a Sarina Wiegman interview that said “In some positions we have a lot of depth, in some not as much. It’s [the door is] always open.”
She follows that up with a list of potential call-ups in all positions and it is ex-Reading FC Women defender Maz Pachecho who fills the left-back slot.
Lloyd-Hughes writes of Pachecho – currently with Aston Villa in the FA WSL: “Famously one of the WSL’s best nutmeggers, Pachecho has been a mainstay in the England age group teams but is yet to get a call-up to the senior squad. Left-back is also a position where England don’t have great depth.”
Naturally there are a few current Royals we’d back for call-ups, with Emma Harries on her way back to full-fitness after her injury on international duty, full seniors honours is surely a case of when not if.
