Newcastle United date for Barnsley Women is huge for amateur club and women's football

On the back of the Lionesses stunning triumph in the European Championships in the summer, Barnsley played Leeds United in the opening game of the Division One North campaign in front of a crowd of 350.

On Sunday, Barnsley’s collection of young local players not yet good enough for the higher leagues and experienced campaigners who have been playing for years for little reward other than personal satisfaction, will stride out in front of a crowd in excess of 23,000 at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park for an FA Cup second-round tie.

“The girls were spot on that day against Leeds when we had our biggest crowd,” says Barnsley’s manager, Lois Daniels.

"St James’ Park, though, is going to be a different kettle of fish but what we’ve said is go out there and enjoy it. What a statement it is for women’s football, and credit to Newcastle for flying the flag for our game. Even up in the top tier they don’t get those crowds, so I think our girls will thrive on the occasion.

"They’ve sold 23,000 tickets already – it could go beyond 30,000.

"It should be a really good occasion, a good day and hopefully a good game.”

Barnsley actually had the exact same opportunity to play at St James’ Park last year but the date clashed with a County Cup fixture that couldn’t be moved.

“They had that setback last year, they responded to it very professionally," says Daniels. “We’d already booked hotels and everything.

"There’s nobody more deserving than this group.

"We’re staying over on the Saturday night which we don’t usually do. We’re lucky we’ve got a sports psychologist as part of our team, Dave Kelly is our head of strength and conditioning, he knows what to do with player activation on the day before and the morning of the game.

"All these little things that make us that little bit more professional, the girls thrive off it. As soon as we get into St James’ Park the game plan could go out the window, it’s like preparing for a cup final. We’ve tried to eliminate the chances of the girls thinking about the occasion, and I think we’re in a good head space of where we’re at and where we need to be.”

Barnsley, who are not affiliated to the men’s team over at Oakwell, ply their trade in the fourth tier of women’s football. They are fourth in the division; Newcastle United are second, with Leeds United sandwiched in between.

Barnsley’s players train Tuesday and Thursday nights and play on a Sunday. They have a first-team squad of 20, a reserves and a development team.

They used the Lionesses success as a catalyst to promote their first game of the season against Leeds and reaped the rewards with that gate of 350, but retaining them has not been easy when it’s just Daniels and chief executive Steve Maddock doing the promotional work.

"What we try and do is try and play attractive football, and we also let supporters come on the bus with us to away games,” says Daniels. “The club has such a nice community feel to it. We’re still in the early stages of building a supporter base.”

Daniels is from Manchester, works for City, and travels across the Pennines three times a week to manage Barnsley, who offered her a job after she impressed working with Sheffield United’s development team.

Only aged 26, the hands-on role at Barnsley is proving instrumental as she evolves from coach to manager.

"I was always the captain of any team I played in, and from a young age I wanted to coach,” says Daniels.

"I couldn’t turn down the opportunity at Sheffield United, and then here at Barnsley. It’s done me the world of good, it’s allowed me to manage these characters – some of whom are older than me - and gain their respect.

“My passion now is with the management side, I thought it would just be the coaching I loved.

“You do jobs like this because you’re passionate about it. I know how much passion Steve Maddock has got for it, how much I’ve got for it, how much the players have got for it, that’s why we’re doing our best.”