Megan Wearing Leading Ipswich Town’s Promotion Push From The Back Line

On Sunday, the destiny of the FA Women’s National League Southern Division may be decided if unbeaten Ipswich Town win away to their closest title rivals Hashtag United.

Hashtag United currently lead the division by three points and sit in the automatic promotion place into the second tier of the women’s game in England, the FA Women’s Championship. However, Ipswich Town are unbeaten in 14 league games this season having defeated Hashtag United 2-0 earlier in the season. A second win on Sunday would put the Suffolk side top with three games in hand over their opponents.

A big part of Ipswich Town’s promotion push has been the solidity of their central defensive partnership of captain Maria Boswell and Megan Wearing. From their 14 league games this season, the team have kept an incredible nine clean sheets, conceding just seven goals, which has helped them establish a 21-goal advantage over Hashtag in goal difference.

The 19-year-old Wearing talked to me about her developing partnership with the 22-year-old Boswell. “She’s skipper, so she likes to chat on the pitch, but as a back-line – when you can see a lot of what’s going on in front of you – between me and Bos, there’s always a lot of communication, whether it’s with each other, our full backs or the pivots in front of us.”

“It’s not necessarily that you do all the speaking or me. I think it’s very much a partnership where we work together. because at the end of the day, the more information you can give one another, the more clear you are on the pitch and the better the results as a defensive unit are going to be.”

Wearing credits head coach Joe Sheehan for the team’s defensive strategy explaining exactly what it takes on the training field. “A lot of hard work, a lot of unit work during the week. Joe’s sort of adopted us as his unit. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. A lot of communication, a lot of discussion off pitch. A lot of reviewing analysis, As a back-line, there’s a real desire not to concede.”

Ipswich Town’s only defeat since October has been in the Women’s FA Cup, going down 3-0 to high-flying Women’s Super League giants Manchester City. It was an experience Wearing gained a lot from. “That game was a huge challenge for all of us. I think a lot us took many lessons away from that game that we’ve been able to then add to the games we’ve had post-City.”

“We might be in a similar situation, there might be periods in the game where we are having to defend a lot which is what we did at City and we can lean upon the mindset we had in the City scenario and bring that into Hashtag. Yeah, I think there’s a huge amount of that, which can be crossed over.”

After that Manchester City game, Wearing spoke about indulging in the ‘dark arts’ of defending and she told me they may be utilized if Ipswich are hanging onto a lead on Sunday. “You never know, I think it’s part of football. I’m sure their center halves might give it a bit. You play the game as closely to the rules as you can and I’ll just defend to the best of my ability come Sunday.”

Hashtag United moved the venue of the game at short notice earlier this week from their usual home ground in Aveley to the Steve Taxis Stadium on Canvey Island due to a stadium clash. Wearing hopes that the late switch will work to Ipswich Town’s advantage. “It will probably be a bit of a mixed bag for both of us, you could say that might take away their home advantage.”

“No doubt their fans will come across, our fans will travel. I think the fans will make a noise like they always do. It will encourage them, it will encourage us when momentum swings. It will be a good game, it’s just a good testament to female football and the crowd that we can attract.”

Last year, Ipswich Town’s Natasha Thomas became the first woman representing the club to play for a senior international side when she came on for Jamaica in a friendly away to France. Thomas thus became the first woman etched on the club’s prestigious international hall of fame board saying she hoped she would be the first of many. Wearing’s name may be one that is added to that list before too long.

The Scottish defender’s form has earned her ten caps for the country’s u19 side, captaining the team in 2023 and playing in a mini-tournament in Slovenia last October. She told me “my experience with the u19s, it’s the first age group that I’ve been involved in. It was really special. I got injured so I missed out a little bit. Once I was back, I got called up again. To be a part of representing your country is something a lot of us girls have dreamed of.”

“To get that opportunity, even just out there, singing the national anthem. It’s a very special feeling as a player, knowing that my mum’s sat at home and she’s probably extremely proud. It’s a special achievement and I learned things abroad that I’ve been able to bring back and apply here which has helped us in-game and helped my own growth and development. I enjoyed every second of it.”

Still a teenager, Wearing recognizes that the commitment of the club to developing young talent makes it the perfect place for her to forge her career. “I think it’s something that a lot of people will dream about being a part of. I think this culture that we’ve got at this club is difficult to find elsewhere. A lot of us have grown up together from when we were just little kids. The fact that a lot of us are achieving our dreams together is really special.”