Saturday’s latest victory saw Berkhamsted maintain their push for the play-offs in the Pitching In Southern League Premier South.
Sitting eighth, they are just three points off a place in the top five and on a run of one defeat from their last five outings.
It’s been a real team effort with everyone playing their part following promotion, via the play-offs, at the end of last season.
“Real progress has been made across the whole club this season,” Amy Dunton-Payne, the club’s first-ever female Director and Ladies team manager, told her club’s media. “It’s fantastic to see and is a result of a tremendous amount of hard work and determination by so many people.
“It has been really eye opening to see everything that happens behind-the-scenes to keep a club running. Being able to contribute within the club structure has been a really rewarding experience and to see how far we have come in such a short space of time, really does make it worthwhile and I am excited to see where this journey can take us.”
Football has been a big part of Amy’s life for as long as she can remember.
“My love of football started incredibly young,” she continued. “I had a Watford season ticket from the age of three and grew up in a football-mad household. My dad and my brothers were obsessed with the game, and the running joke whenever anyone came round to our house was that there would always be football on the TV in some format.
“Weekends always revolved around football. We would go and watch Watford, I would be playing somewhere, or we would be watching whatever match happened to be on television. It was just normal life growing up.”
Despite that passion, loving football as a girl was not always straightforward. At school she often found herself the only girl joining in games in the playground.
“I remember playing football at break time and being the only girl out there,” she recalled. “Eventually a couple more girls started joining in as we got older, but at first you definitely had to be quite determined if you wanted to be part of it.”
She returned to playing during secondary school, joining a team where she rediscovered her love of the game and built strong friendships through football.
By that point she had already realised that football would play a much bigger role in her future.
“From about the age of 13 I knew I wanted to be a football coach,” she stated. "That goal really shaped the decisions I made from that point on.
“I studied GCSE PE before going on to study sports coaching at college alongside playing, eventually progressing to university where she studied Football Studies.
“It was an incredible experience, although quite unique. I was the only female in my year to graduate from the course and only the 13th woman ever to graduate from that programme. The practical sessions could definitely be a challenge at times, but it was an experience that taught me a lot and helped prepare me for the game.”
Her move into management came through a mixture of opportunity and honesty about her own playing career.
“I will be honest. I probably was not the best player,” he admitted with a wry smile. "We used to joke about Dunton’s Dugout because I spent quite a bit of time on the bench.”
After taking a year out following the birth of her daughter she attempted to return to playing but never quite regained the same fitness levels. When a managerial opportunity presented itself, she was ready to take the next step.
“I had the qualifications and the background from studying football, so when the opportunity came up I took it with both hands.
“Three years ago Berkhamsted began exploring the creation of a women’s team, the club’s first ever ladies side, and getting involved was an easy decision.
“Being able to help build something from the ground up was really exciting and the progress that has been made in a relatively short space of time has been fantastic.
“I am only 28 so hopefully there is still a lot of time ahead to keep learning and improving.
“Balancing football alongside work and family life can sometimes be challenging, particularly as the mother of a young child, but I’m grateful for the support I have around me; I am very lucky to have a supportive husband who understands how much the game means to me.”
Amy is also realistic about the fact that sexism has not completely disappeared from football.
“Look, I am not immune to it,” she added. “I still get the odd sexist comment from strangers and old habits die hard. Sometimes as a woman in football you still feel like you should not make too much fuss or take up too much space.
“But at the end of the day I bring something to the table. I know football, I have studied the game and I have worked hard to be where I am.
“That is why I feel really lucky to be surrounded by such supportive people at Berkhamsted. The club values what people bring in terms of knowledge, effort and commitment, and that environment makes a huge difference.
“Do not let anyone make you feel like you do not belong. Whether you want to play, coach, manage or be involved in football in any capacity, there is a place for you in the game.”
The club face the first of two key home games this week on Tuesday evening when they host Hanwell Town before welcoming high-flying Gloucester City at the weekend.
“These are exciting times,” added Ryan Blake, who got his name on the scoresheet in Saturday’s 2-0 away win at Evesham United. “It’s what you want and what you work for all season to still be competing for something at this stage of the year.
“Hopefully we can continue this good form into what is a massive week ahead for us and finish the season strongly.
“I think the team’s overall performance on Saturday was great. As a squad we all worked hard, controlled most of the game, and it was a good three points for us from a successful away day.
“Personally, I feel that was one of my better performances since returning, and I’m happy I could contribute to the victory and another three points to our tally.
“There are some very strong teams in this league, so it’s definitely very competitive. But as a club stepping back into the league, I think we’ve really stepped up to the level and we’re enjoying the challenge.
“There have been a lot of positive changes around the place and they have all contributed to pushing us on. As a group we’ve grown stronger and stronger and we’ll be looking for this to continue during the weeks ahead.
“Looking ahead to the rest of the season, personally, I just want to keep contributing to the team, whether that’s with goals and assists or by using my experience to help the team keep moving in the right direction.
“As a team, we’re focused on finishing as high as possible and we’ll see where that takes us. With two successive home games this week, it could be a key time for us.”
With thanks to Casey Evans for the additional reporting.
IMAGE: Berkhamstead FC
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