Arsenal 1 (Spacey)
Charlton Athletic 1 (Arnold)
(Trophy shared)
Craven Cottage, Fulham
6 August 2000
INAUGURAL SHIELD SHARED AFTER CONTENTIOUS BUILD-UP
The first edition of the FA Women’s Charity Match (re-branded the Community Shield in 2002) was played against a contentious background.
As in the long-established Charity Shield in the men’s game, the annual pre-season match was originally scheduled to be between the previous campaign’s FA Women’s Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners.
But Croydon, who had claimed the 1999-2000 League and FA Cup double, were then taken over by Charlton Athletic during the close season. It was not an entirely harmonious move and the fractious consequences included the departure of Player Manager Debbie Bampton and star striker Jo Broadhurst – both of whom went and signed for Doncaster Belles.
If the men’s Charity Shield tradition had been followed it would have been the Belles, 1999-2000 League runners-up, who would have faced Charlton in the Shield game set to be played at Fulham’s Craven Cottage.
However, it was 1999-2000 third-placed finishers and Women’s Premier League Cup winners Arsenal, who were chosen to take on the Addicks in what was to become a continuation of the fierce London rivalry they had had with Croydon.
In fact, they met a familiar looking opposition team despite the change of name – apart from the departed Bampton and Broadhurst, Charlton’s line-up included all nine of the rest of Croydon’s team that had beaten Doncaster in May’s FA Cup final.
The Addicks controlled the early stages but were behind at the interval after Arsenal’s England striker Marieanne Spacey had scored with a powerful 20-yard volley.
As a closely contested second half followed the Gunners looked set for victory, but from a Carmaine Walker cross a minute before the final whistle Emily Arnold stabbed home a close-range equaliser.
With no penalty shoot-out to decide who would claim the Shield, it was shared for what was the only time in the 10 editions of the contest.
After what was a game of few thrills to kick-off the 2000-01 season, Charlton’s captain and now – in place of Bampton – Player Manager, Gill Wylie said: “I don’t think the game was particularly important, the charity (Breakthrough for Breast Cancer) was what it was all about. We wanted to portray a good image for the (women’s) game.
Arsenal (4-4-2): Byrne (Higgs 61); Few (Harwood 70), White, Stoney, Pealling; Ludlow, Williams, Grant, Wheatley; Spacey, Banks (Maggs 84).
Substitutes not used: Small.
Charlton Athletic (3-5-2): Cope; Barber, Fletcher, G. Hunt (Wathen 62): Wylie (Osborn 84), Loizou, Abbot (Webb 80), Proctor, Hunn; Arnold, Walker.
Substitutes not used: Cowan, de Mauny.
NB: There had been a precursor to the Women’s Charity Shield in 1998 when – in what was titled the AXA Challenge Trophy (after the sponsors) – League Champions Everton faced FA Cup winners Arsenal at Wembley in a curtain-raiser for the men’s Charity Shield.
