The two Manchester clubs are on the rise while Arsenal have made signings in an attempt to stop the rotWest Ham battled well to claim a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday night after Hawa Cissoko put her team in the worst possible position. The Hammers were 1-0 down after 54 minutes and Cissoko, who was responsible for the tackle that led to Spurs’ penalty, was sent off two minutes later for a second yellow card. But West Ham managed to claw back a point in the dying moments through a Kate Longhurst header in the 92nd minute. The comeback highlights the team’s progression as last season they could well have sunk being a goal and a player down. But...
Fifty years since the first Women’s FA Cup final, Emma Hayes’s Chelsea showed the domestic game is in rude healthA satisfying sense of symmetry surrounded a Women’s FA Cup final which, in some ways, seemed almost as much about the past as a reassuringly vibrant present.One hundred years to the day since the Football Association banned women from playing football on grounds belonging to affiliated men’s clubs on the basis that the game was “quite unsuitable for females”, Chelsea – and Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr in particular – thoroughly undid Arsenal in a final postponed from last season. Continue reading...
Swedish coach’s side edged Chelsea in WSL encounter and leans into superstitions to try to land trophy on SundayJonas Eidevall has just given away his biggest superstition two days from his first FA Cup final, at Wembley against Emma Hayes’s Chelsea. “If Emma sees this she will probably buy a thousand black cats with the money Chelsea have and send them all over our ground,” Arsenal’s manager says. “I’m going to be invaded by black cats.”It is said with a big laugh but Eidevall has not finished. “I don’t let any black cats cross my way, ever – I don’t harm any black cats either, it’s important to say. But I have sometimes driven around, rerouting for a couple of...
Things looking up for Manchester City, United need signings, Reading on the rise and Carter has a big job at Birmingham Manchester City’s dominant 5-0 defeat of Aston Villa was their third win in eight league games. After suffering a tough 4-0 loss to Chelsea at the Academy Stadium and then a League Cup defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night, the second-half goal-fest against Villa could be the start of a turnaround in the club’s fortunes. However, the biggest wins for Gareth Taylor’s under-pressure side this weekend came elsewhere. The defeats suffered by Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester United mean last season’s runners-up sit just five points off third and only two behind their derby rivals. Suddenly Champions League football...
Manchester City have struggled with injuries while Everton have faltered, leaving unbeaten Arsenal looking the most likely threat to champions ChelseaAs the Women’s Super League season pauses for the international break, unbeaten Arsenal top the table after five games and are on a mission to reclaim the title from the back-to-back winners, Chelsea. Meanwhile, there has been the first managerial casualty, with Everton’s Willie Kirk out after a slow start to a campaign when his team was expected to be serious challengers.The Gunners’ strong summer spend on and off the pitch, with Gary Lewin’s arrival as head of medicine and sports science among the backroom recruits that have perhaps been as important as players such as Mana Iwabuchi and Tobin...