Tracey Davidson (born 6 January 1961) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former international

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 ...

goalkeeper. She represented the England women's national football team at senior international level and spent more than a decade with

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 ...

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. She remained the South Yorkshire club's regular goalkeeper in the

1994 FA Women's Cup Final The 1994 FA Women's Cup Final was the 24th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. The showpiece event was played between Doncaster Belles and Knowsley United Women at Glanford Park in Scunthorp ...

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. 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 An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

, 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 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 ...

Marieanne Spacey Marieanne Spacey-Cale (née Spacey), (born 13 February 1966) is an English former international women's footballer. Having played 91 times for England, Spacey is considered one of the greatest English footballers of all time. She is currently He ...

scored the winning goal in the 81st minute. Liverpool also reached the 1996 final but 15-year–old schoolgirl

Rachel Brown Rachel Brown (born 2 July 1980) is an English former football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1995 to 1998 and Everton from 2003 until 2014. A product of the American college system, Brown spent five years playing varsity soccer for ...

had taken over in goal, following Davidson's sudden retirement in summer 1995.

International career

Manager

Martin Reagan Charles Martin Reagan (12 May 1924 – 26 December 2016) was an English professional footballer and coach / manager. During his playing career, Reagan played in the Football League for York City, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Shrewsbury Town, Portsmo ...

handed Davidson her senior

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 ...

debut on 29 March 1987, in a 1–0 victory in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

match played ahead of the

1987 European Competition for Women's Football The 1987 European Competition for Women's Football took place in Norway. It was won by the hosts in a final against defending champions Sweden. Once again, the competition began with four qualifying groups, but this time a host nation was selected ...

in Norway. She spent a period as understudy to regular number one

Theresa Wiseman Theresa "Terry" Wiseman (born 1956) is an English animator and former footballer. She played as a goalkeeper and represented England at senior international level. Wiseman won 60 caps for England. After a period as understudy to England's orig ...

before enjoying a spell as the first choice number one. When

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

(FA) took over running the national team in 1993, incoming manager

Ted Copeland Ted Copeland is an English former football coach. He managed the England women's side between 1993 and 1998, leading them to a quarter-final appearance in the 1995 World Cup. Copeland spent 12 years working as a lecturer in physical education a ...

selected

Lesley Higgs Lesley Higgs (née Shipp; born 25 October 1965) is an English former international women's football goalkeeper. She appeared for England in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals. Club career While playing for Arsenal, Higgs was Player of the Ma ...

for the 1995 UEFA Women's Championship qualifiers, with Davidson as back–up. In the final group match, a 10–0 win over

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, 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 Pauline Cope (born 16 February 1969), whose married name is Pauline Cope-Boanas, is an English former Women's football (soccer), football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. She won 60 Cap (sports), caps for the England women's natio ...

was called–up as a replacement and went on to become first choice for the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

and beyond.

References

1961 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. Women players Women's association football goalkeepers {{England-women-footy-bio-stub