Southern Champs Chase Northern Title (Annabel Johnson interview)

Coventry City’s player of the year Annabel Johnson assesses her club’s bid to add the FA Women’s Premier League Northern title to the Southern championship they won the previous season. The Northern Division is tough with plenty of strong competition, she says, and the squad have had to battle for their results. The switch has made a practical difference: living in Loughborough, she notes that last season’s biggest challenge was the sheer time spent on the bus to away games, and closer fixtures now leave no excuses. An opening-day defeat to reigning champions Sheffield FC, which she missed while coaching in America, motivated the team to refocus. She credits five straight clean sheets to defensive organisation and a whole squad that tracks back.