TOFFEES TRIUMPH IN TIGHT TITLE RACE
A run of 12 straight wins set up Everton for the 1997-98 FA Premier League title – but it was a goalless draw in a tense, long drawn-out penultimate match of the season at Croydon that got the Toffees over the line, reckoned central defender and captain at the time Mo Marley.
“That Croydon match was a story in itself,” said England international Marley, who later became Everton’s manager and whose husband Keith was assistant to manager Billy Jackson in that triumphant campaign.
“Keith actually wrote a song about the match,” added Marley. “It was a legendary game for us and the song became a bit of an anthem.
“The game seemed like it was never going to end – we had 19 minutes of stoppage time, which was incredible because there’d been no real hold-ups in the second half.
“We had to play with 10 men (sic) for most of the match after Cathy Gore had been sent off half-way through the first half.
“Croydon had a goal disallowed, which was bad luck for them, but I think that if the game had gone on for another 19 minutes they still wouldn’t have scored.
“We still had a game to go and Arsenal were chasing us for the title, but that result won the League for us at the end of a long season where we’d been winning lots of matches but often only by fine margins.
“Little things were going for us, like winning one of the games 1-0 through an own goal. So at times we were getting the rub of the green, but we were also making our own luck with some great play from some great players.
“We were really strong that season with internationals like Becky Easton, Karen Burke and Louise Thomas in the squad and with qualified coaches helping give us a sharper edge all round the pitch.”
The 97-98 title was the only one that Everton, three years after changing their name from Leasowe Pacific following their takeover by the men’s Premier League Toffees, achieved in the pre-WSL era – though in the 2008-09 campaign they were agonisingly pipped on goal difference by Arsenal for top spot.
While the Toffees lost only one game in their most memorable league season, Wembley lost every one of their outings – conceding 109 goals in their 18-match campaign to plummet into the Southern Division.
FINAL TABLE
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 54 | 14 | 43 | +40 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 55 | 22 | 40 | +33 |
| 3 | Doncaster Belles | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 54 | 18 | 38 | +36 |
| 4 | Croydon | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 46 | 14 | 35 | +32 |
| 5 | Millwall Lionesses | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 15 | 29 | +22 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 27 | +8 |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 43 | 19 | -10 |
| 8 | Bradford City | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 38 | 52 | 12 | -13 |
| 9 | Berkhamsted Town | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 22 | 64 | 11 | -42 |
| 10 | Wembley | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 109 | 0 | -106 |
FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE NATIONAL DIVISION RESULTS 1997-98
7/9/1997
Arsenal 2-2 Everton
Berkhamsted Town 2-2 Tranmere Rovers
Croydon 8-0 Bradford City
Doncaster Belles 1-0 Millwall Lionesses
Liverpool 4-0 Wembley
14/9/1997
Bradford City 1-3 Arsenal
Everton 1-0 Croydon
Liverpool 0-0 Millwall Lionesses
Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Doncaster Belles
Wembley 0-2 Berkhamsted Town
21/9/1997
Berkhamsted Town 3-3 Bradford City
28/9/1997
Bradford City 0-3 Everton
Liverpool 4-1 Berkhamsted Town
Millwall Lionesses 0-0 Croydon
Tranmere Rovers 2-4 Arsenal
Wembley 0-9 Doncaster Belles
5/10/1997
Arsenal 3-0 Liverpool
Berkhamsted Town 0-3 Everton
Bradford City 1-3 Millwall Lionesses
Doncaster Belles 0-1 Croydon
Tranmere 5-0 Wembley
8/10/1997
Arsenal 1-0 Millwall Lionesses
Doncaster Belles 3-1 Liverpool
12/10/1997
Everton 2-1 Doncaster Belles
Liverpool 0-3 Croydon
Millwall Lionesses 7-3 Tranmere Rovers
Wembley 0-7 Bradford City
21/10/1997
Everton 3-2 Tranmere Rovers
22/10/1997
Bradford City 1-5 Doncaster Belles
2/11/1997
Bradford City 2-2 Liverpool
Croydon 4-0 Tranmere Rovers
Doncaster Belles 2-1 Arsenal
Everton 8-0 Wembley
Millwall Lionesses 2-0 Berkhamsted Town
9/11/1997
Berkhamsted Town 2-9 Doncaster Belles
Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Bradford City
16/11/1997
Bradford City 1-2 Croydon
Everton 3-1 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-1 Doncaster Belles
Tranmere Rovers 5-2 Berkhamsted Town
26/11/1997
Croydon 4-0 Berkhamsted Town
30/11/1997
Everton 5-1 Bradford City
Doncaster Belles 6-0 Wembley
3/12/1997
Berkhamsted Town 1-7 Arsenal
7/12/1997
Croydon 1-3 Doncaster Belles
Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal
Wembley 1-4 Tranmere Rovers
9/12/1997
Liverpool 0-2 Everton
14/12/1997
Arsenal 9-1 Wembley
Millwall Lionesses 1-2 Doncaster Belles
21/12/1997
Bradford City 3-0 Tranmere Rovers
Everton 4-1 Liverpool
25/1/1998
Doncaster Belles 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
Millwall Lionesses 3-0 Wembley
8/2/1998
Doncaster Belles 4-0 Berkhamsted
Everton 1-0 Millwall Lionesses
Wembley 0-6 Liverpool
15/2/1998
Bradford City 0-1 Berkhamsted Town
22/2/1998
Bradford City 12-0 Wembley
Everton 5-0 Berkhamsted Town
Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Croydon
1/3/1998
Berkhamsted Town 5-0 Wembley
15/3/1998
Doncaster Belles 2-1 Everton
Wembley 0-4 Croydon
18/3/1998
Arsenal 3-1 Berkhamsted Town
22/3/1998
Liverpool 3-1 Bradford City
Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Millwall Lionesses
29/3/1998
Liverpool 2-1 Tranmere Rovers
Wembley 0-7 Everton
1/4/1998
Millwall Lionesses 1-1 Arsenal
5/4/1998
Doncaster Belles 3-3 Bradford City
Millwall Lionesses 1-1 Liverpool
Tranmere Rovers 3-3 Everton
Wembley 1-3 Arsenal
8/4/1998
Croydon 2-2 Arsenal
19/6/1998
Berkhamsted Town 1-6 Croydon
23/4/1998
Wembley 0-9 Millwall Lionesses
26/4/1998
Arsenal 5-0 Tranmere Rovers
Berkhamsted Town 0-5 Liverpool
Croydon 0-0 Everton
Millwall Lionesses 5-0 Bradford City
30/4/1998
Arsenal 3-3 Croydon
Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Liverpool
7/5/1998
Croydon 6-0 Wembley
8/5/1998
Arsenal 4-2 Bradford City
10/5/1998
Arsenal 1-0 Doncaster Belles
Croydon 0-2 Liverpool
MATCH DATES AND SCORES NOT KNOWN
Berkhamsted Town v Millwall Lionesses
Croydon v Millwall Lionesses
Millwall Lionesses v Everton
