'one Big Push' - Wsl Promotion Decider Awaits Fallen Giants

Birmingham City are 1 of 4 Women's Championship clubs taking portion successful a proceedings to let fans to portion intoxicant successful nan stands. Barry Ross, chair of nan club's supporters' group, admits he is grateful for this arsenic he prepares for Sunday's victor takes each last lucifer of nan convention season.

"I usually get nan autobus in, meet up pinch group extracurricular nan ground, past get successful and chill, watching nan players lukewarm up," he tells BBC Sport of his pre-match ritual. "The nine are trialling allowing brew successful nan stands - I will request it."

On Sunday, Birmingham City big London City Lionesses – and it is simply a consecutive shootout for promotion to nan Women's Super League.

Birmingham are 2 points down leaders London City, pinch only nan champions being promoted to nan WSL. If nan Blues win, they spell up. If not, nan Lionesses are successful nan apical formation for nan first time.

"Everybody's excited, this is nan position we wanted to beryllium in," skipper Christine Harrison-Murray told BBC Sport. "One past crippled and a large push.

"Going down to nan past time for illustration this, I've not had it before, truthful it is really exciting."

The gathering betwixt nan 2 champion sides successful nan 2nd tier this play pitches nan eager caller humor of London City Lionesses against Birmingham City, a fallen giantess yet backmost connected nan up pursuing relegation from nan apical formation successful 2022.

Birmingham were a laminitis personnel of nan WSL successful 2010 and an ever-present for nan first 12 seasons. They vanished 2nd successful 2011, qualifying for nan Champions League, and won nan FA Cup nan twelvemonth after.

But arsenic different clubs received greater backing and interest, nan money for Birmingham dried up. Despite a imperishable move to play each location games astatine St. Andrews successful 2021, they fell done nan WSL trap-door and person not yet returned.

Birmingham narrowly missed retired connected an contiguous return successful 2023 but vanished 5th past season, pinch Ross admitting they person struggled to accommodate astatine times to their position arsenic a large food successful nan smaller Championship pond.

"We're a bigger scalp," he says. "And pinch location being truthful fewer teams you can't suffer galore games, location is small room for error.

"It's nerve-wracking - immoderate games we person tally distant pinch it, but others we person been superior and haven't taken chances.

"I'm a tense watcher anyway, but I was little tense successful nan WSL than nan Championship because we should beryllium doing well."

A turning constituent towards nan occurrence of this play has been, for illustration rivals London City, caller American ownership and superior investment.

While Michele Kang's activity of Lionesses has caught nan eye, Birmingham proprietor Tom Wagner attracts less headlines but is proving likewise effective and shows really acold they person travel since nan squad sent a missive to nan committee complaining astir conditions for nan team successful 2021.

Investment successful nan women's training accommodation and an expanded playing squad has allowed Birmingham to compete. Like nan men's team, who took League One by large wind this campaign, relegation whitethorn person been a blessing successful disguise.

"Having a fuller squad is massive," says Harrison-Murray, 1 of respective survivors of nan relegation play still playing for Birmingham.

"It intends aft nan world break erstwhile players are tired, we still person caller legs.

"Just having that afloat circle support of nan women's broadside is massive, to thief america make that adjacent measurement into nan WSL and enactment there."

"Without immoderate protector of a uncertainty we are successful a healthier authorities now," adds Ross.

"Crowds are acold bigger now than successful nan WSL. There is simply a full caller emotion astir nan nine - playing astatine St Andrews helps, there's a instrumentality parkland extracurricular connected matchdays, tons of things aimed astatine families and kids, tons of food, for illustration a family nosy day."

On nan pitch, Birmingham person been boosted by nan guidance of Amy Merricks, 1 of nan astir highly-rated up-and-coming coaches successful nan English game.

Following 2 interim spells starring WSL broadside Brighton and a stint pinch England under-19s, Merricks – past aged conscionable 30 – was named Birmingham leader successful April 2024, succeeding erstwhile men's squad subordinate Darren Carter.

She has wasted nary clip winning complete players and fans, pinch Harrison-Murray regarding her arsenic a domiciled exemplary for her and immoderate different English women aiming astatine a early coaching career.

"Amy has been huge," she says. "Trying to instrumentality a measurement of playing and a philosophy, she is besides very hands on. That level of prep, it has been immense having her in, and what she wants to achieve.

"Amy has spent a agelong clip coaching, a agelong clip astatine Brighton, she is young but has her pro licence. She is personification I want to study from, perchance emulate successful future.

"I would emotion to enactment successful nan crippled erstwhile I retire, and she is personification I person learned a batch from successful nan abstraction of a year."

If she leads Birmingham to nan apical flight, Merricks will beryllium 1 of only 2 full-time English female coaches successful nan WSL, alongside Rehanne Skinner of West Ham.

She forms portion of an all-female, all-English guidance portion pinch erstwhile England leader Hope Powell arsenic method director, and Ross feels they are present to enactment moreover if Sunday does not spell their way.

"The owners want america successful nan WSL, they would backmost nan head moreover much truthful successful nan summer," he says.

"Amy Merricks seems very tactically astute, nan players look to play for her. They've bought into her thoughts. It's really good, and it's bully to person English group and a female successful those positions."

Whatever happens, it should make for a fascinating last day. Hold connected to your pints.