WELSH WONDERS WIN THROUGH
In contrast to the straightforward success enjoyed by Chelsea in the previous season, the 2005-06 Southern Division witnessed a three-way tussle between Cardiff City, Bristol City and Watford.
Bristol stuttered in the early stages of their campaign but the Robins also proved Watford’s undoing, extinguishing the Hornets’ dreams of promotion with a 3-2 defeat in their penultimate fixture.
Meanwhile Cardiff twice beat Bristol and registered a 1-1 draw and 1-0 loss against Watford. The South Wales side’s consistency – which featured a handful of draws and only one loss – saw them edge the title on superior goal difference and secured the club’s first-ever promotion to the top flight after 31 years in the English women’s game.
In such a tight contest at the top, matches between the trio of title chasers were effectively ‘six pointers’. One of Cardiff’s co-founders, co-owners and secretary at the time, Karen Jones, recalls a crucial away victory early in October - and for more reasons than the result:
“I remember the evening game at Bristol City, where they went 1-0 up and we came back and won 2-1, says Jones as she looks back. “In the changing rooms at half-time, (manager) Michele (Adams) was giving the players a right old rollicking and then all of a sudden there was this almighty clatter and the bench that all the girls were sitting on collapsed!
“They went down like dominoes. Well, everyone just started laughing and it broke the icy atmosphere and we went out and won - Jess Fishlock scored (the winner) with a very late free-kick.”
Relegated Bristol had returned battle-hardened by their one season in the top flight and so their challenge was expected; but following on from solid though unremarkable mid-table finishes, Cardiff’s and Watford’s were perhaps less so.
Cardiff midfielder Charlotte Miller admitted as much to Women’s Soccer Scene, midway through the season: "We have surprised ourselves with the position that we are in now,” she said.
“We have a very young, talented team but maybe promotion would be a little too much for the team yet, as most of our players are just kids. But if we continue to play the good football we have been doing, and keep picking up the three points, then promotion could be a possibility.”
With three successive Welsh Cup wins under their belts, Cardiff again represented Wales in the UEFA Women’s Cup, and so their start to the season was slightly delayed by a trip to Portugal for the qualifying round. It seemed to serve as a good experience and preparation for the campaign ahead as the team eased into action in good form and built from there.
Fuelled by the club’s impressive girls’ programmes – an important and productive part of the independently run club – Cardiff’s young squad boasted a number of future Welsh stars such as Gwennan Harries, Fishlock and Loren Dykes, who were all in their second year of senior football. All three were regulars on the scoresheet too (Harries netted 13 league goals), along with Marie Barrow and skipper Caroline Cooper.
The Robins responded to their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Cardiff on 2nd November (and a 5-0 defeat by Arsenal in the League Cup a few days later) by winning all of their remaining fixtures in an incredible run of 11 league wins on the bounce. Alas, it was marginally too little, too late and the gap in goal difference proved insurmountable.
Bristol’s runners-up spot afforded them an extra stab at promotion in a play-off against the National Division’ ninth-placed finishers Sunderland. But a 7-3 aggregate score, over the two legs, confirmed there would be no swift return for City.
Watford’s season-long pursuit of both ‘Cities’ was largely powered by prolific striker Helen Ward (née Lander). Ward finished as the division’s top scorer with 30 goals and, incidentally, would go on to be Wales’ record-goalscorer for several years.
At the other end of the table, despite a rousing 3-2 final day win over fellow relegation-battlers Brighton, it was ‘sayonara’ to Langford. They dropped out of the league, after 13 years in the Southern (and for one season, the Northern) Division, never to return. Although, thankfully, the side was re-formed in 2018 to play in the Beds & Herts League.
FINAL TABLE
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 53 | 17 | 49 | +36 |
| 2 | Bristol City | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 30 | 49 | +21 |
| 3 | Watford | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 59 | 28 | 47 | +31 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 58 | 39 | 40 | +19 |
| 5 | Millwall Lionesses | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 31 | 38 | +20 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 31 | 33 | 28 | -2 |
| 7 | AFC Wimbledon | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 39 | 52 | 27 | -13 |
| 8 | Reading Royals | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 34 | 42 | 23 | -8 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 38 | 52 | 22 | -14 |
| 10 | Southampton Saints | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 30 | 70 | 18 | -40 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove A | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 33 | 53 | 17 | -20 |
| 12 | Langford | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 60 | 17 | -30 |
FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE SOUTHERN DIVISION 2005-06 RESULTS
14/8/2005
Bristol City 5-1 West Ham United
AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Southampton Saints
Langford 3-1 Reading Royals
Millwall Lionesses 3-2 Crystal Palace
Portsmouth 1-1 Watford
21/8/2005
Crystal Palace 2-4 Bristol City
Langford 4-3 Southampton Saints
Millwall Lionesses 1-1 Cardiff City
Reading Royals 2-1 Portsmouth
Watford 3-1 AFC Wimbledon
West Ham United1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
28/8/2005
Bristol City 1-0 Watford
AFC Wimbledon 6-1 Crystal Palace
Millwall Lionesses 7-1 Southampton Saints
Portsmouth 3-1 West Ham United
Reading Royals 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
4/9/2005
Bristol City 0-2 Reading Royals
AFC Wimbledon 0-4 Cardiff City
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-5 Southampton Saints
Langford 1-1 West Ham United
Millwall Lionesses 0-3 Watford
Portsmouth 3-2 Crystal Palace
7/9/2005
Crystal Palace 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Reading Royals 3-0 AFC Wimbledon
Watford 7-0 Langford
West Ham United 1-3 Millwall Lionesses
13/9/2005
Southampton Saints 0-3 Portsmouth
18/9/2005
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Bristol City
Crystal Palace 2-1 Reading Royals
Langford 1-3 Portsmouth
Millwall Lionesses 1-1 AFC Wimbledon
Watford 4-0 Southampton Saints
West Ham United 0-0 Cardiff City
25/9/2005
Bristol City 1-2 Millwall Lionesses
AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Langford
Portsmouth 4-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Reading Royals 1-3 Watford
Southampton Saints 1-5 West Ham United
2/10/2005
Crystal Palace 1-4 Portsmouth
Reading Royals 0-3 Bristol City
Southampton Saints 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Watford 1-1 Millwall Lionesses
West Ham United 4-0 Langford
5/10/2005
AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Reading Royals
Langford 2-2 Watford
Portsmouth 6-0 Southampton Saints
6/10/2005
Bristol City 1-2 Cardiff City
Millwall Lionesses 3-0 West Ham United
9/10/2005
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 West Ham United
Cardiff City 2-1 Crystal Palace
Southampton Saints 3-1 Langford
16/10/2005
Reading Royals 2-3 Cardiff City
Watford 2-1 West Ham United
23/10/2005
Bristol City 3-3 Portsmouth
AFC Wimbledon 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Cardiff City 0-1 Watford
Langford 2-0 Millwall Lionesses
Southampton Saints 1-4 Reading Royals
West Ham United1-2 Crystal Palace
30/10/2005
AFC Wimbledon 0-4 West Ham United
Langford 2-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Portsmouth 0-4 Cardiff City
Reading Royals 1-2 Millwall Lionesses
Southampton Saints 1-4 Bristol City
Watford 1-0 Crystal Palace
2/11/2005
Cardiff City 3-0 Bristol City
6/11/2005
Langford 2-3 Cardiff City
13/11/2005
Bristol City 2-1 AFC Wimbledon
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-7 Watford
Cardiff City 3-0 Southampton Saints
Crystal Palace 2-1 Langford
Millwall Lionesses 3-5 Portsmouth
West Ham United 1-0 Reading Royals
27/11/2005
Millwall Lionesses 2-3 Bristol City
Watford 3-3 Reading Royals
West Ham United 2-0 Southampton Saints
11/12/2005
AFC Wimbledon 2-5 Portsmouth
18/12/2005
Millwall Lionesses 4-0 Langford
22/1/2006
Langford 1-1 Crystal Palace
Portsmouth 0-6 Millwall Lionesses
Reading Royals 0-1 West Ham United
Southampton Saints 1-2 Cardiff City
Watford 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
29/1/2006
Crystal Palace 3-1 Millwall Lionesses
Reading Royals 4-1 Langford
Southampton Saints 2-4 AFC Wimbledon
West Ham United 0-2 Bristol City
5/2/2006
Bristol City 4-3 Crystal Palace
AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Watford
Cardiff City 0-0 West Ham United
Millwall Lionesses 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Portsmouth 5-0 Reading Royals
12/2/2006
Cardiff City 7-1 Langford
West Ham United 1-3 Portsmouth
19/2/2006
Cardiff City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
26/2/2006
AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Millwall Lionesses
Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham United
Reading Royals 1-3 Southampton Saints
Watford 1-1 Cardiff City
5/3/2006
Bristol City 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Crystal Palace 1-2 Cardiff City
Millwall Lionesses 2-0 Reading Royals
Portsmouth 2-2 AFC Wimbledon
Southampton Saints 1-3 Watford
12/3/2006
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Crystal Palace
Cardiff City 2-1 Portsmouth
Southampton Saints 0-3 Millwall Lionesses
West Ham United 2-1 AFC Wimbledon
19/3/2006
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Cardiff City
26/3/2006
Watford 1-0 Portsmouth
2/4/2006
AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Bristol City
Cardiff City 1-1 Millwall Lionesses
West Ham United 2-4 Watford
9/4/2006
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-3 Millwall Lionesses
Portsmouth 2-2 Langford
Reading Royals 3-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 2-3 Bristol City
13/4/2006
Crystal Palace 3-4 AFC Wimbledon
14/4/2006
Cardiff City 2-1 Reading Royals
Portsmouth 1-3 Bristol City
16/4/2006
Crystal Palace 3-5 Watford
Langford 1-1 AFC Wimbledon
23/4/2006
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 AFC Wimbledon
Langford 0-2 Bristol City
26/4/2006
Southampton Saints 1-5 Crystal Palace
27/4/2006
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Reading Royals
30/4/2006
Bristol City 2-1 Langford
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Portsmouth
Crystal Palace 0-2 Southampton Saints
