Champions to 43-0 whipping girls in just three years for Caerphilly Castle Ladies football team

In cricket or rugby the scoreline would hardly be a travesty. But for one football team in Wales, the ignominy of 43-0 routing is proving tough to take.

The Caerphilly Castle Ladies team has been forced to regroup after their latest defeat to Cardiff Metropolitan Ladies in the Welsh Premier League. The score – translating to a goal conceded almost every two minutes – comes on the back of a series of humiliating results including scorelines of 36-0, 28-0 and 26-0.

The latest defeat comes in wake of an abysmal season that has seen the team concede 219 goals and score just one in 10 games. And that one goal was hardly cause for encouragement: it was against Caernarfon Town, who went on to thrash the side 14-1.

The string of results marks a great fall for a team that lifted the Welsh League Cup only three years ago. This season has been one of arguments and infighting after a mass walkout of their first team to rivals Cwmbran FC.

Chairwoman Julie Boyce told the BBC: “Yes it’s tough, and if it went on indefinitely it would threaten the future of the club. But we’re about more than the first team. We’re taking a long-term view. We’re not going to rush girls through just to window dress this season – we’ll take our time because we know that in a few years we’ll be back bigger and stronger than ever.”

One consolation is they are yet to match the worst ever defeat by a British football team, thought to be Nova 2010’s 58-0 thrashing by Wheel Power FC in March last year.