Tracey Davidson
Personal information
Full name Tracey Davidson
Date of birth (1961-01-06) 6 January 1961
Place of birth Grantham, England
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Notts County
1982–1994 Doncaster Belles
1994–1995 Liverpool Ladies
International career
1987–1994 England 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tracey Davidson (born 6 January 1961) is an English former international football goalkeeper. She represented the England women's national football team at senior international level and spent more than a decade with Doncaster Belles during their dominance of English women's football.

Club career

In 1983, Davidson played for Doncaster Belles in their first ever WFA Cup final, a 3–2 win over St Helens at Sincil Bank.[1] She remained the South Yorkshire club's regular goalkeeper in the 1994 FA Women's Cup Final win over Knowsley United, representing a period of unprecedented success which saw Doncaster Belles reach 11 out of 12 Cup finals, winning six of them.[2] Davidson, known as Davo to teammates, also collected doubles in 1992 and 1994.

In the summer of 1994, Davidson, who worked in Merseyside as an accountant, joined Belles teammates Janice Murray and Louise Ryde in signing for newly–formed Liverpool Ladies. In 1994–95 she played the Cup final again, as Liverpool lost 3–2 to Arsenal. Marieanne Spacey scored the winning goal in the 81st minute.[3] Liverpool also reached the 1996 final but 15-year–old schoolgirl Rachel Brown had taken over in goal, following Davidson's sudden retirement in summer 1995.[4]

International career

Manager Martin Reagan handed Davidson her senior England debut on 29 March 1987, in a 1–0 victory in the Republic of Ireland, a friendly match played ahead of the 1987 European Competition for Women's Football in Norway. She spent a period as understudy to regular number one Theresa Wiseman before enjoying a spell as the first choice number one.

When The Football Association (FA) took over running the national team in 1993, incoming manager Ted Copeland selected Lesley Higgs for the 1995 UEFA Women's Championship qualifiers, with Davidson as back–up. In the final group match, a 10–0 win over Slovenia at Griffin Park, Davidson came on as a second-half substitute for Higgs. Davidson enjoyed a five-year international career whilst seeing out her playing days at Liverpool. Pauline Cope was called–up as a replacement and went on to become first choice for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and beyond.

She was allotted 71 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "Triple celebration for Belles". Women's Soccer Scene. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Rudd, Alyson (25 April 1994). "Football: Belles bring class to bear: Doncaster dominate women's FA Cup final". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Spacey the difference for Arsenal". The Independent. London. 1 May 1995. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "England Women's Goalie Rachel Brown". BBC Liverpool. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "England squad named for World Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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