Everton Women’s Scott Phelan hopes Sunday’s Merseyside derby with Liverpool will honor former Reds coach Matt Beard, who died last year aged 47. Phelan said Beard helped raise standards in women’s football and made a lasting impact on players across the city.
The first Merseyside derby of the WSL season is scheduled for Anfield on Sunday, 27 September, at 2pm BST. Both teams are coming off Subway Players Cup wins; Everton sit two places and two points above Liverpool.
Beard began coaching at Millwall Lionesses in 2008 and later led Liverpool Women, where he was named FA Women’s Super League Manager of the Year in 2013 and 2014. After returning to the club in 2021, he won the FA Women’s Championship that season.
