NATIONWIDE WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal's Julie Fleeting.
Arsenal's Fleeting moment
By Tony Leighton. Friday, 19 March 2004.
Arsenal’s Scotland striker Julie Fleeting aims to maintain her tremendous scoring record as the Gunners step up their bid for the FA Nationwide Women’s Premier League title with a home match against Leeds United on Sunday.
Since joining Arsenal recently from Scottish side Ross County, former San Diego Sprit star Fleeting has played only four games but has bagged seven goals – including the winner at Leeds a fortnight ago.
Now the 23 year-old striker, who remarkably has scored 87 goals in 76 international appearances, wants to help the Gunners complete a quick League double – but she reckons it will not be easy against the fifth in the table team.
"Leeds are a tough team to play against," she said. "They’re well organised and hard to break down, but we eventually did it at their place and hopefully we can do it again on Sunday.
"We weren’t at our best in that game a couple of weeks ago, but we’ll be on a high going into this week’s game after coming through our FA Cup semi-final last Sunday and hopefully we can produce a good performance and the right result."
Fleeting scored the opening goal as Arsenal beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 to reach the FA Cup final, where they will meet a Charlton Athletic side who are also their main rivals for the League championship.
Leaders Charlton, who on Sunday entertain fourth in the table Doncaster Rovers Belles, are two points ahead of Fulham and 11 points clear of third-placed Arsenal – but the Gunners have three games in hand on both the teams above them and have to play each of them in return fixtures during the run-in to the end of the season.
Fleeting said: "We are definitely in with a chance of winning the League even though we have a number of games to catch up on the top two. It would be great to do a League and Cup double and that’s certainly the aim.
"If I can help by continuing to score goals that would be great, but the goals I’ve got so far haven’t just been down to me – the team has been working really hard and creating lots of chances, which makes a striker’s job that much easier."
While Fleeting and Co look to take another three points off Leeds, Charlton will be doing likewise against a Doncaster side they have already beaten twice this season – the second time in the FA Cup.
Those two games are the National Division’s only weekend fixtures, while the Northern Division’s solitary match will see second from bottom Chesterfield seeking desperately needed points at Middlesbrough.
Liverpool have already clinched the Northern Division title, but the battle down South is still very much alive as leaders Southampton Saints vie with second-placed Bristol City for promotion.
City, a point behind but with two games in hand, are now favourites after Saints lost 2-1 at home to third in the table AFC Wimbledon two weeks ago.
On Sunday the south coast side have the chance to avenge that defeat when they visit Wimbledon, where nothing less than three points will be good enough for Saints if they are to keep the pressure on City – who are without a fixture this weekend.