Vicky Ashton-Jones - The Suspension Of Women's Football - Written By Lewis Browning

In the last couple of weeks, the sporting world has collapsed. The COVID-19 illness has swept across the globe and caused the suspension of almost the entirety of sport worldwide, including all football in England.


The decision to suspend the English game in particular has raised a number of questions. How will the seasons end? When will they end? Will they be behind closed doors? Will they even end?


We caught up with the Gills’ ladies’ captain Vicky Ashton-Jones on Monday to discuss her thoughts on delaying the campaign and how the authorities could see the season out.


“It’s naturally disappointing” said Ashton-Jones, when asked for her immediate reaction to the postponement.


“We’ve been working really hard in training to have a successful second half of the season and to pick up some deserved points, but this situation is out of everyone’s hands.


“Ultimately, people’s health is more important than football.”


The Gills currently sit ninth out of 12 in the Women’s National League Southern Premier Division after 11 games. Following a number of previous postponements, however, they do have games in hand on some of those above.


“It’s been a tough season for us” said Ashton-Jones, who saw Jamie Raynor resign from his position as manager of the team late last week.


“We’ve had some mixed results – some of which where I’d say we deserved to get something out of the game when we haven’t.


“The score line hasn’t always been a true reflection on the team’s performance. That’s something we need to improve on, but I felt like we were close to that in our recent fixture against Yeovil – we deserved to get something from that game (the Gills lost 2-1 on the day).”


In terms of an end to the season, everything is up in the air as the COVID-19 illness, caused by the coronavirus, continues to dominate.


Ashton-Jones thinks the season has to be finished, however.


“I think everyone wants a conclusion to the season – all the teams will want to finish what they have started this year” mentioned the skipper.


“For me, if they decide to complete the season in the professional leagues, then we should be doing the same. I don’t think anyone can be certain of how football’s going to look in the coming months, so it’s a case of waiting to see what happens.”


If the season is to resume, Gillingham will have 11 games left to play. Their final game of the campaign was due to be away at Keynsham Town on May 10, but that is looking more and more unlikely as each day passes.