Full name Tracey Davidson 1982–1994 Doncaster Belles Years Team | Playing position Place of birth Grantham, England Name Tracey Davidson | |
Date of birth (1961-01-06) 6 January 1961 (age 54) | ||
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.
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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 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, joined Belles team mates 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. 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.
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.
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 to make her only appearance of the campaign. Unimpressed, Davidson then quit international duty along with Liverpool teammate Janice Murray. Davidson remarked that: "The management leave a lot to be desired, and if you don't enjoy it, what's the point?" 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.