Melanie "Mel" Garside-Wight (born 11 August 1979) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er, and former

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...

player. A forward or winger comfortable on either flank, Garside-Wight began her career with local club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

and later joined

Doncaster Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

. She was known as Melanie Garside until she

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

Gillian Wight in May 2010 and added her surname to her own.

Club career

Garside-Wight came to prominence with Bradford City Women, playing in the

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991 until 2010, the National Division functioned as the top league in English women's football. Durin ...

and achieving

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

recognition. In November 1998 she suffered a broken leg in a freak accident while training in Peel Park. In 1999–00, with City having been relegated in her absence, Garside-Wight joined

. She scored the winner in that season's

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...

semi–final victory over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

as Doncaster reached a record 12th final. She also started The Belles' controversial 2–1 defeat to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in the final at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. Two years later Garside-Wight was an unused substitute as Doncaster Belles lost another FA Women's Cup final, this time to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

. She transferred to Northern Division club Sheffield Wednesday that summer. In 2003–04 Garside-Wight was Manchester City's top goalscorer, before she joined Stockport County ahead of 2004–05. Garside-Wight subsequently returned to Bradford City and became the club's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and all–time record goalscorer. In 2010–11 she was converted to a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

International career

As a teenager Garside-Wight played three times for

in 1997–98. Her debut came in February 1998, playing 90 minutes of a 3–2 friendly defeat to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

. The following month she appeared as a substitute for

Mo Marley Maureen "Mo" Marley MBE (née Mallon; born 31 January 1967) is an English football manager and former player. She most recently managed the England women's national under-21 football team. As a player, Marley was a centre back, who captained b ...

in a 1–0 World Cup qualifying loss to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

The New Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

. Garside-Wight's third and final cap came in a 2–1 home friendly defeat to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in April 1998. She and fellow striker

Joanne Broadhurst Joanne Broadhurst (born 27 November 1967) is an English football coach and former player. As an attacking midfielder or forward she represented England at full international level. Broadhurst also played for English clubs Doncaster Belles, Arsena ...

were substituted at half-time after failing to make an impact. After

Hope Powell Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Britain ...

was appointed England manager in July 1998, Garside-Wight remained on the fringes of the national team, until suffering serious injury later that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garside-Wight, Melanie 1979 births Living people Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players English women's footballers England women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Lesbian sportswomen LGBT association football players English LGBT sportspeople Women's association football goalkeepers Women's association football forwards Manchester City W.F.C. players Bradford City W.F.C. players Stockport County L.F.C. players