VILLA PIP BLACK CATS TO YO-YO BACK UP TO THE TOP FLIGHT
Yo-yo club Aston Villa, after two promotions and two relegations since the 1994-95 campaign, bounced back to the top flight yet again as they claimed 2002-03’s Northern Division title ahead of strong challengers Sunderland and Oldham Curzon.
Villa trailed both of their promotion rivals in the early stages of the campaign. The Black Cats sat top of the table at the end of October with 25 points from 10 games, Oldham were a point below them from the same number of matches and Villa had 19 points from nine games.
Curzon’s impressive start had seen them win eight of their first 10 outings, but the other two of them had ended in defeats by Villa and Sunderland. And the remainder of the season saw the eventual champions and runners-up gradually pulling away from Curzon.
For a long spell the Black Cats, boosted by the emergence of hugely promising youngsters such as future England internationals Steph Houghton and Jill Scott, looked promotion favourites – indeed at the end of March they were five points clear of Villa.
Crucially, however, the Midland outfit had three games in hand and by this point had won eight successive league fixtures around a three-and-a-half month winter period in which they had played only FA Cup, League Cup and County Cup ties.
Sunderland faltered during the run-in to the end of the campaign, taking only four points from their last three matches to leave Villa – who had a superior goal difference – needing three points from their last two matches to effectively take the title but four points to make absolutely certain.
And make absolutely certain they most conclusively did – they took over top spot on goal difference with a 1-0 home win against Lincoln City and then, to put loads of icing on the cake, they travelled to Merseyside and hammered Garswood Saints 8-1 to clinch the title in style.
Villa manager Duncan Riddle, only appointed at the start of the campaign, told ‘Women’s Soccer Scene’: “Every player in the squad has made a big contribution at some stage during the season. It would be impossible to single out individuals – teams win Cups, but squads win leagues.”
“We’ve beaten Sunderland twice (once in the League Cup), Oldham Curzon twice and Bangor City three times (once in the League Cup). They’ve been our nearest rivals so overall we do deserve to go up.”
Villa’s huge final-day victory not only confirmed their promotion but also cemented bottom of the table Garswood’s relegation along with second bottom Ilkeston Town.
It was an agonising close to the campaign for Ilkeston, who would have stayed up at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday if they had won their final game against fourth in the table Bangor City. Instead Bangor grabbed a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw that consigned Town to the drop.
For both relegated clubs it was the end of the line for their Premier League lives. Garswood had originally played under the name St Helens, reaching the FA Cup final four times in the 1980’s and then playing in the League’s Northern Division from the 1992-93 season. The club’s proud history was sadly to be ended when it folded in 2006.
Ilkeston had been 1991 founder members of the League under their original name Spondon. They merged with Notts Rangers for a name switch to Stanton Rangers, then became Ilkeston Town Rangers until becoming simply Ilkeston Town in 1996.
Top flight football in their early years was followed by five successive Northern Division seasons before dropping out of the League, never to return ahead of the 2010 formation of the WSL.
FINAL TABLE
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 59 | 18 | 52 | +41 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 25 | 49 | +23 |
| 3 | Oldham Curzon | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 48 | 29 | 44 | +19 |
| 4 | Bangor City | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 46 | 37 | 37 | +9 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 26 | 32 | +2 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 32 | 29 | +5 |
| 7 | Lincoln City | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 46 | 25 | -8 |
| 8 | Manchester City | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 37 | 21 | -6 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 25 | 44 | 20 | -19 |
| 10 | Sheffield Wednesday | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 20 | -21 |
| 11 | Ilkeston Town | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 24 | 44 | 19 | -20 |
| 12 | Garswood Saints | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 51 | 19 | -25 |
FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE NORTHERN DIVISION RESULTS 2002-03
18/8/2002
Aston Villa 4-1 Bangor City
Garswood Saints 3-1 Ilkeston Town
Liverpool 3-2 Sunderland
Middlesbrough 2-2 Lincoln City
Oldham Curzon 3-2 Manchester City
25/8/2002
Bangor City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Garswood Saints 1-0 Middlesbrough
Lincoln City 3-4 Liverpool
Manchester City 3-3 Ilkeston Town
Sunderland 1-0 Aston Villa
1/9/2002
Bangor City 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Lincoln City 3-7 Aston Villa
Liverpool 1-1 Garswood Saints
Middlesbrough 0-4 Manchester City
Oldham Curzon 2-1 Ilkeston Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Sunderland
8/9/2002
Manchester City 0-3 Liverpool
Oldham Curzon 1-0 Middlesbrough
Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Ilkeston Town
Sunderland 3-1 Bangor City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Lincoln City
15/9/2002
Aston Villa 4-1 Manchester City
Bangor City 4-1 Lincoln City
Middlesbrough 2-1 Ilkeston Town
Liverpool 1-2 Oldham Curzon
Sunderland 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Garswood Saints
22/9/2002
Bangor City 8-0 Garswood Saints
Ilkeston Town 2-1 Liverpool
Manchester City 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough
Oldham Curzon 1-3 Aston Villa
25/9/2002
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Middlesbrough
Sunderland 3-2 Lincoln City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Aston Villa
6/10/2002
Liverpool 1-1 Middlesbrough
Aston Villa 4-0 Ilkeston Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Oldham Curzon
Sunderland 1-1 Garswood Saints
13/10/2002
Ilkeston Town 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Lincoln City 2-2 Liverpool
Manchester City 2-3 Sunderland
Middlesbrough 0-3 Oldham Curzon
15/110/2002
Liverpool 1-1 Bangor City
20/10/2002
Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
Garswood Saints 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Manchester City 0-1 Lincoln City
Sunderland 6-3 Oldham Curzon
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Middlesbrough
23/10/2002
Aston Villa 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Oldham Curzon 3-0 Garswood Saints
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Manchester City
3/11/2002
Lincoln City 1-1 Oldham Curzon
Liverpool 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Middlesbrough 1-2 Bangor City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Aston Villa
6/11/2002
Bangor City 3-2 Liverpool
10/11/2002
Bangor City 1-4 Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Liverpool
17/11/2002
Aston Villa 4-1 Sunderland
24/11/2002
Bangor City 2-1 Manchester City
Ilkeston Town 3-1 Lincoln City
Middlesbrough 1-4 Sunderland
Oldham Curzon 6-0 Sheffield Wednesday
1/12/2002
Sunderland 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
15/12/2002
Bangor City 0-3 Sunderland
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
12/1/2003
Bangor City 3-1 Oldham Curzon
26/1/2003
Middlesbrough 0-4 Liverpool
2/2/2003
Garswood Saints 2-2 Lincoln City
Liverpool 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Oldham Curzon 1-1 Bangor City
9/2/2003
Ilkeston Town 1-3 Bangor City
Middlesbrough 2-4 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Garswood Saints
16/2/2003
Garswood Saints 1-1 Manchester City
Ilkeston Town 3-1 Middlesbrough
23/2/2003
Ilkeston Town 0-1 Sunderland
Lincoln City 2-3 Middlesbrough
Manchester City 0-5 Oldham Curzon
Sheffield Wednesday 3-5 Liverpool
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Bangor City
26/2/2003
Ilkeston Town 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday
2/3/2003
Middlesbrough 2-3 Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Lincoln City
9/3/2003
Aston Villa 3-0 Oldham Curzon
Lincoln City 3-3 Ilkeston Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
16/3/2003
Garswood Saints 1-1 Liverpool
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Oldham Curzon
Sunderland 2-0 Ilkeston Town
Wolverhampton 4-2 Manchester City
23/3/2003
Lincoln City 3-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Liverpool 0-1 Ilkeston Town
Manchester City 0-1 Aston Villa
Middlesbrough 2-0 Garswood Saints
Oldham Curzon 1-2 Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Bangor City
30/3/2003
Ilkeston Town 2-3 Oldham Curzon
Lincoln City 3-1 Garswood Saints
Liverpool 0-3 Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sunderland 0-0 Manchester City
6/4/2003
Aston Villa 3-3 Garswood Saints
Lincoln City 1-0 Sunderland
Manchester City 1-1 Bangor City
Middlesbrough 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Oldham Curzon 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
9/4/2003
Ilkeston Town 0-0 Aston Villa
Lincoln City 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
13/4/2003
Ilkeston Town 0-5 Manchester City
Aston Villa 1-0 Middlesbrough
Garswood Saints 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Lincoln City 1-0 Bangor City
Oldham Curzon 2-0 Liverpool
16/4/2003
Manchester City 2-0 Garswood Saints
20/4/2003
Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Garswood Saints 2-2 Sunderland
Manchester City 1-2 Middlesbrough
Oldham Curzon 4-3 Lincoln City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Liverpool
27/4/2003
Lincoln City 1-2 Manchester City
Garswood Saints 3-5 Bangor City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Sunderland
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 Ilkeston Town
4/5/2003
Aston Villa 1-0 Lincoln City
5/5/2003
Ilkeston Town 0-1 Garswood Saints
8/5/2003
Manchester City 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
11/5/2003
Bangor City 2-3 Middlesbrough
Garswood Saints 1-8 Aston Villa
18/5/2003
Bangor City 2-2 Ilkeston Town
