Luton Town Ladies
Club History
2005/06
For our ninth season the first team had reached the dizzy heights of The South West Combination, the 3rd level in the women's national football pyramid. As the season kicked off nobody was under any illusions that this was going to be a tough test for what was still a very young squad. The season started off a with series of narrow single goal defeats, which pretty much set the tone through the autumn. By Christmas The Town were entrenched in the relegation positions. There seemed to be a glimmer of hope just after Christmas when high flying Newquay were beaten 5-4 in a real thriller of a game and Q.P.R. were held to a 1-1 draw. But it was a false dawn, and after a 4-0 defeat against fellow relegation candidates Oxford City in late March things looked very grim indeed. Champions elect Keynsham Town were then very fortunate to leave Stockwood with all three points following a 1-0 result. There were six games left in the season and it was going to take a monumental effort to avoid the drop. But what followed was a remarkable turn around which really made a complete mockery of what had happened earlier in the season. Newton Abbot and Forest Green Rovers were then blown away with consecutive 4-1 wins at Stockwood. Four games left, but all four were away. That started with a 2-0 win at Newton Abbot, then a 1-1 draw at fellow relegation candidates Clevedon Town when The Belles scored a last minute equaliser. The unbeaten run was then extended to five matches following a 2-2 draw at Forest Green Rovers. That result ensured safety for The Belles. But there was still one more game to play. That was at QPR, and the match was played at Loftus Road. It turned out to be a great way to finish the season as The Town ran out winners, 4-2. A final place of halfway up the table would have probably been looked on as good before the season started, so all in all a good first season in The SW Combination. The WFA Cup saw a first round exit at the hands of Enfield Town, and in The County Cup it was a semi final defeat at the hands of Langford
Celebrations following a goal in the game at QPR
A happy looking team after ending the season unbeaten in six games
For the second season running the reserves gained promotion. Following their promotion the previous they quickly aquitted themselves to the higher level and suffered just one defeat up to the Christmas break. After that promotion always looked assured but in the end they had to settle for runners up this time. Only after promotion was assured did they have a bad lapse in form losing their last three games. Its division 1 in The Greater London League next season for the reserves, amazingly they are just two levels below the first team.
Kelly Lockey scores for the reserves in an early season win v Watford
For the first time we fielded a third team. They just missed out on promotion. Needing to win their final game of the season to clinch the championship, they could only draw. Consequently instead of being champions they only finished third. However they should have been champions as a bizarre incident following a game played in January cost them two points. We will not go into what happened here, but suffice to say there may well have been some dishonesty on somebody's part
 

The youth section saw success and dissapointment for our teams. Dissapointment could easily sum up the Under 15s season. Quite simply they did "the treble" They lost The County Cup Final to Bedford in a penalty shoot out. They also lost out in the League Cup Final with a 3-0 defeat by Cambridge City. In the league a tremendous run in the second half of the season saw The Town be in a position to take the league title if they won their last game. Unfortunately they could only draw 3-3 with Garston.
Under 15 Squad 2005/06
For the second consecutive secutive season the Under14s (Sunday) squad swept all before them in winning the League Championship. They won their first twelve games before bogey team Harvesters, just as they did last season ended that run. But eventually The Town won the title by a clear eight points. There was a rather sad occasion when in January midfield play maker Livi Robinson emigrated with her family to start a new life in Adelaide Australia. But at least she signed off with a win as The Town won 2-1 at Enfield in her final game, which more or less set The Town up for the title. But Enfield stopped The Town from repeating their double from the previous season by winning the League Cup Final 3-0
Under 14 (Sunday) With The Championship Shield
The Under 14 (Saturday) squad repeated what the Sunday side achieved. Won the championship but lost out in the League Cup Final. That final defeat was the only defeat of the season as they won the championship without losing a single league game
The Under 14 (Saturday) Celebrate Another Goal
Following their promotion the previous season the Under 13 (Sunday) had to rebuild half of their team during the pre-season. Despite that they started their season extremely positively. But then some harsh reality set in and they went nearly two months without recording a win. However they picked things up after the Christmas break and finished the season in a respectable fourth position having bridged the gulf between division 2 and division 1 with some credit. They also reached the semi final of the League Cup before losing out to the eventual winners Q.P.R.
A Goal For The Under 13s In The 2-2 Draw At Spurs
The Under 13 (Saturday) got off to a slow start, losing some early season games. But once they got their act together they put together a very consistant run of of good results, and they were scoring goals for fun. Unfortunately the slow start to the season put them out of contention as far as the league title was concerned. However the League Cup became the main target, and after a heart stopping extra time win over St Martins, The Town reached the final where they faced League Champions Flitwick Eagles. Again it was another tense affair, with neither team able to find the net, either in normal time or extra time. So it came down to the dreaded penalty shoot out. It went down to sudden death before The Town held their nerve to come out as winners
The Under 13 (Saturday) Look Happy After The League Cup Final
The Under 12s season went right down to the wire. It could not have been any closer. On the final day of the season they faced Tottenham Hotspur, and a win for either side would give them the championship. But the game ended in a 2-2 draw which allowed Q.P.R. to move in and steal the title. But there would be ample consolation in the League Cup final when The Town faced the champions Q.P.R.. And once again it could not have been any closer. It took a late winner to give The Town a 1-0 win.
Action as the Under12s Take On Q.P.R.
The Under 11s play in what is a very tough division, but a mid table finish can be looked upon as a springboard to make progress as they move from the 7 a side game to the full 11 a side version. But they did have some excitement in the later part of the season as they progressed through the final of the League Plate. Unfortunately they were not successful on the day, ut at least some foundations have been layed for the future
Action From The Under 11s As They Take On Garston
In their first season the Under 10s have shown that the very foundation of the club looks very healthy indeed. This team has the making of being a force to be reckoned with as they come up through the age groups. Unfortunately they came up short in 2005/06 finishing runners up in both league and cup to a very good Tottenham Hotspur side. But this Under 10 team can and will only get better. They spent the Summer of 2006 playing in several tournaments, winning them all.
The Under 10s Pictured After The League Cup Final
In what was a one off tournament we fielded an Under 9 team for the first time. But at the time of writing this history page it now looks very likely that an Under 9 team is going to be an on going thing. Back to the tournamet which was held in March our Under 9s came out as winners of the tournament with an unbeaten record.
Under 9 Tournament Winners
So Where Do We GoNext

Well we have reached our tenth anniversary season, and that in itself is something to celebrate. Lets hope we can celebrate this landmark at the very least for laying down the foundations for the next ten years. Standards are raising all the time throughout womens and girls football, and as that happens we as a club will certainly be having to "raise the bar". The only way that is going happen is for us to keep producing the quality of players and teams that we have been very fortunate to do over the past ten years. The first team are hopefully going to establish themselves at the level they have reached which is vital to our future, and if they can progress further then that would be fantastic. If we can continue to produce our own home grown players with the same sort of quality that we are currently doing then the future looks bright indeed. So to any young aspiring young girl who wants to play a high level of womens football once they are old enough, Luton Town Ladies can offer just that opportunity. There is now at this time no other senior womens club in Bedfordshire that is playing at a higher level than our first team, and only one other that can offer football to females from the age of 9 right through to adulthood in Bedfordshire.