TWINS from Middlewich have overcome challenges on and off the football pitch.

Sisters Damaris and Lily Blain, 17, are part of the 433 Football Academy’s first intake of female players.

However, the pursuit of their footballing dreams hasn’t come without hurdles.

On December 6, 2023, Damaris suffered an unexpected stroke.

Mum, Sarah Bond, said: “There was no warning to having a stroke.

“She got up one day and was very tired. On the way to college she said my face feels funny and then her whole face just drooped on one side.

“Football is her everything and to be suddenly told you can’t do it anymore was hard.

“She looked up the record for how quick someone has come back from having a stroke and she was determined she was going to beat it.

“The other day she played eight minutes. It’s only eight minutes but its eight minutes that a lot wouldn’t be playing.”

Damaris suffered a stroke last DecemberDamaris suffered a stroke last December (Image: Supplied)

Damaris and Lily have been playing football since they were six years old.

Now at the 433 Academy, they take part in daily training sessions while completing a level three qualification in Sporting Excellence.

Following her stroke, it was found that Damaris has a hole in her heart, which she is currently awaiting surgery for.

Meanwhile, Lily has been starring in goal for the new Middlewich Town FC women’s team.

“I’m incredibly proud and it’s a lovely team, a family team,” said Sarah, 44.

“Middlewich Town have done so much to welcome them as a team.

“They get equal rights to the men’s team - they use the stadium and get names on their shirts.

“It’s just little things like that, but it all about getting more girls into the sport.”

Lily is goalkeeper for the new Middlewich Town Women's teamLily is goalkeeper for the new Middlewich Town Women's team (Image: Supplied)

Sarah, a deputy headteacher at Want2Achieve in Stoke-on-Trent, is proud to see how the women’s game has progressed in recent years.

“It’s been great to see how women’s football has taken off in this country in the past few years,” she said.

“The opportunities are getting there and there’s definitely far more than when I was playing.”