#FAWSL: Chelsea Women retain title, Robins relegated
#FAWSL: Chelsea Women retain title, Robins relegated Chelsea s Fran Kirby celebrates scoring the second goal with Sam Kerr. (Photo: John Walton via Imag0)
Chelsea defeated Reading to retain the Barclays FA Women’s Super League title, while Bristol City were relegated following a loss at Brighton.
Final day results:
Chelsea 5-0 Reading
Chelsea champions again
Chelsea ran out 5-0 winners over Reading to make it back-to-back WSL titles.
The hosts could not have asked for a better start, as Melanie Leupolz scored with a first-time strike via a Jess Carter corner kick, just over a minute into the match.
What made it even more special is that this was the most difficult WSL title to win yet. Hayes described it as no doubt my favourite after the game, explaining: Teams have invested, some heavily. It s not like the competition was, Oh Chelsea have spent all the money and the rest haven t . No. It doesn t work like that. I think there were four teams, to be fair, that could have been in with a shout at the title at one point or another. This is the hardest one. The fact that it s gone to the last day demonstrates that.
Manchester City did their best this year - signing World Cup and Champions League winners - but ultimately fell short on the final day. Arsenal and Manchester United dropped off some weeks ago. In the end, Chelsea prevailed, and have now won the WSL a record four times.
#FAWSL: Final day dramas await
#FAWSL: Final day dramas await Title rivals, Manchester City and Chelsea. (Photo: Andrew Yates / Sportimage / Imago)
Barclays FA Women’s Super League title and relegation issues to be decided on final day of the campaign.
Sunday 9 May, all 2.30pm kick off
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Birmingham City v Tottenham Hotspur – live on The FA Player
Brighton & Hove Albion v Bristol City – live on The FA Player
Chelsea v Reading
Manchester United v Everton
West Ham United v Manchester City – live on The FA Player
Chelsea will make it back-to-back titles if they defeat Reading, while Manchester City’s hopes centre around a shock win – or a draw – by the Royals, with the latter outcome also requiring a minimum improvement of three if their goal-difference when visiting West Ham.
Julie Chipchase had a long history of working within the FA
There are not many whose reputation would be marked with words such as ‘pioneer’, ‘mentor’, ‘friend’, ‘inspiration’ and ‘coach’, but those are the words being used to describe Doncaster Belles legend, Julie Chipchase, who sadly lost her battle with cancer this week.
We were saddened to learn of Julie s passing – better known as ‘Chippy’ to those that knew her – having spent 15 years working for the organisation in various roles.
Her CV is a long list of achievements and accolades, having made her name with the legendary Doncaster Belles, winning the FA Cup as a player, and managing the side in the competition’s final in 2000 against Croydon.
The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, May 6
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Ramble of the Day
Gareth Bale’s hair is constantly evolving, meaning the Gareth Bale hair discourse never really ends. I have, in private, had one question about his current style all season there’s no way that can be done by a professional, right?
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
I don’t feel the need to criticize the style itself it isn’t to my tastes, but I don’t really have passionate feelings on it. My issue is with the execution, because the line that separates the shaved hair and the regularly growing hair looks sloppy to me. I imagine it might be a difficult task to create a clean separation, since hair growing patters are pretty weird. It looks like an almost successful at-home job, but I would expect a cleaner line if I went to a professional.