LIONESSES’ TOP FLIGHT RETURN AFTER EIGHT-YEAR ABSENCE

Founder members of the (originally titled) WFA Women’s National League in 1991, Millwall Lionesses thrived in the early years of the competition but were relegated at the end of its first decade; and by the start of the 2008-09 campaign they could only reflect on former glories such as winning the FA Cup in 1991 and 1997, and lifting the FA Women’s Premier League Cup in the 1996-97 campaign.

Since dropping out of the National Division they had not knocked firmly on the door of promotion until 2007-08, when they finished runners-up to a Fulham team inspired by former Charlton Athletic striker Ann-Marie Heatherson. But now they had Heatherson in their own ranks after she had declined the chance to move up with Fulham and signed for the Lionesses and their new manager Keith Boanas - who had been her Charlton boss.

Along with the Heatherson signing Boanas had brought in another former Addicks striker, Emma Whitter, who he signed from Chelsea, plus England defender and ex-Millwall Lioness Leanne Champ from Arsenal.    

With a significantly strengthened starting line-up the Lionesses made a bright start to the campaign, winning five and losing only one of their first seven matches - the sole defeat ironically coming at the hands of Charlton. 

After those seven games, Boanas departed the club in January 2009 in order to become Head Coach of the Estonia national women’s team. He left his team trailing top of the table Charlton by nine points, but such was the discrepancy in the amount of fixtures played by each of the division’s 12 teams by this juncture that Millwall had five games in hand on the Addicks and at least two games in hand on every other team above them.

Matt Beard, who replaced Boanas, recalls: “We had such a massive amount of catching up to do on fixtures that at one stage we sacrificed training because we were playing Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday-Wednesday, and it was hard. But it paid off for us.” 

Under Beard, who had been Boanas’ assistant at Charlton, the Lionesses kicked on to such effect that they picked off the teams above them in a run that saw them requiring only a single point from their last five outings to claim the title and promotion back to the National Division.

“We are almost there,” said proud club chair Lou Waller after 12th April’s 2-0 win against Truro City, “and if we do it I think a lot of people will be pleased for us.” Millwall would be “back where we belong,” added Waller, who as a player had been an FA Cup and League Cup winner with the Lionesses and an England international.

With Waller watching on from the sidelines her beloved team did indeed do it, clinching the title just three days after that home victory over Truro with a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace and going on to finish the campaign four points clear of runners-up Barnet. 

“It was great for me as a Millwall fan,” says Beard, “but there was an amazing group of people at the club at that time and it was so good to lead the team to promotion.”

Beard left for Chelsea in the following season, the last one before the inception of the FA Women’s Super League. Millwall, with new boss Aidan Boxall at the helm, would finish eighth in the top flight table but were to suffer the failure of their application to become one of the eight clubs that would form the new league.

Meanwhile the 2008-09 Southern Division’s relegated clubs were bottom team Truro and second bottom Ipswich Town, the latter like Millwall founder members of the league and in its early years a top flight outfit.

FINAL TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	GD
1	Millwall Lionesses	22	17	3	2	61	14	54	+47
2	Barnet	22	11	7	4	58	33	40	+25
3	West Ham United	22	10	9	3	41	20	39	+21
4	Charlton Athletic	22	10	6	6	37	28	36	+9
5	Portsmouth	22	9	6	7	50	36	33	+14
6	Colchester United	22	8	6	8	37	41	30	-4
7	Cardiff City	22	8	5	9	40	38	29	+2
8	Keynsham Town	22	8	3	11	34	49	27	-15
9	Crystal Palace	22	5	8	9	31	43	23	-12
10	Brighton & Hove Albion	22	5	5	12	28	44	20	-16
11	Ipswich Town	22	5	3	14	19	64	18	-45
12	Truro City	22	3	5	14	32	58	14	-26

 

RESULTS

17/8/2008
Barnet 5-3 Colchester United
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 West Ham United
Crystal Palace 4-3 Cardiff City
Ipswich Town 1-2 Millwall Lionesses
 
24/8/2008
Charlton Athletic 1-2 Keynsham Town
Colchester United 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Portsmouth 3-2 Crystal Palace
Truro City 1-1 Cardiff City
West Ham United 0-0 Ipswich Town
 
31/8/2008
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-5 Cardiff City
Ipswich Town 0-3 Charlton Athletic
Keynsham Town 1-4 West Ham United
Truro City 1-5 Millwall Lionesses
 
3/9/2008
Charlton Athletic 2-0 Crystal Palace
Ipswich Town 1-0 Colchester United
West Ham United 0-0 Barnet
 
7/9/2008
Colchester United 4-4 Keynsham Town
Portsmouth 2-2 Barnet
West Ham United 1-1 Truro City
 
21/9/2008
Barnet 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Charlton Athletic 2-0 Colchester United
Crystal Palace 1-4 Keynsham Town
Portsmouth 4-1 Cardiff City
Truro City 3-5 Ipswich Town
West Ham United 1-2 Millwall Lionesses
 
28/9/2008
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Crystal Palace
Colchester United 2-2 West Ham United
Ipswich Town 1-6 Barnet
Keynsham Town 2-1 Truro City
Millwall Lionesses 0-0 Portsmouth
 
5/10/2009
Cardiff City 0-1 Charlton Athletic
Ipswich Town 2-4 Truro City
 
8/10/2009
Barnet 1-1 West Ham United
Cardiff City 3-1 Keynsham Town
Colchester United 0-1 Ipswich Town
Crystal Palace 1-1 Charlton Athletic
 
12/10/2008
Barnet 3-4 Portsmouth
Charlton Athletic 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Ipswich Town 0-3 Cardiff City
Keynsham Town 1-3 Colchester United
Truro City 1-6 West Ham United
 
19/10/2008
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 Ipswich Town
Charlton Athletic 1-0 Millwall Lionesses
Colchester United 2-3 Cardiff City
 
26/10/2008
Cardiff City 0-3 West Ham United
Ipswich Town 0-3 Crystal Palace
Millwall Lionesses 3-0 Colchester United
Portsmouth 3-0 Charlton Athletic
Truro City 1-5 Barnet
 
2/11/2008
Cardiff City 4-0 Ipswich Town
 
9/11/2009
Barnet 5-2 Crystal Palace
Cardiff City 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Ipswich Town 0-7 Portsmouth
West Ham United 0-1 Charlton Athletic
 
16/11/2008
Charlton Athletic 0-1 Barnet
 
23/11/2008
Cardiff City 2-2 Portsmouth
 
30/11/2008
Truro City 1-2 Keynsham Town
 
7/12/2008
Cardiff City 2-2 Colchester United
 
21/12/2008
Cardiff City 0-3 Millwall Lionesses
 
18/1/2009
Cardiff City 0-2 Truro City
 
25/1/2009
Ipswich Town 0-2 Keynsham Town
 
1/2/2009
Charlton Athletic 3-0 Truro City
Keynsham Town 3-0 Ipswich Town
West Ham United 0-2 Colchester United
 
15/2/2009
Barnet 3-0 Ipswich Town
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Colchester United
Portsmouth 2-2 Truro City
 
22/2/2009
Crystal Palace 1-1 Colchester United
Ipswich Town 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Truro City 1-1 Portsmouth
West Ham United 3-2 Cardiff City
 
1/3/2009
Truro City 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Barnet 2-2 Keynsham Town
Charlton Athletic 1-1 Cardiff City
Crystal Palace 0-0 Ipswich Town
Millwall Lionesses 0-0 West Ham United
Portsmouth 1-2 Colchester United
 
8/3/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Keynsham Town
Colchester United 1-0 Barnet
Ipswich Town 0-5 West Ham United
Portsmouth 0-3 Millwall Lionesses
 
15/3/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-4 Barnet
Colchester United 3-2 Truro City
Portsmouth 1-2 Ipswich Town
 
19/3/2009
Barnet 2-5 Millwall Lionesses
 
22/3/2009
Barnet 6-0 Truro City
Cardiff City 2-0 Crystal Palace
Colchester United 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Millwall Lionesses 9-0 Ipswich Town
Portsmouth 1-2 West Ham United
Keynsham Town 0-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
 
25/3/2009
Colchester United 1-4 Millwall Lionesses
Portsmouth 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace
 
29/3/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Keynsham Town 1-1 Barnet
Millwall Lionesses 3-2 Cardiff City
 
1/4/2009
Crystal Palace 1-1 West Ham United     
Millwall Lionesses 1-1 Charlton Athletic         
 
5/4/2009
Cardiff City 1-2 Barnet
Charlton Athletic 2-2 Ipswich Town
Crystal Palace 0-2 Portsmouth
Millwall Lionesses 1-0 Keynsham Town
Truro City 2-2 Colchester United
West Ham United 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
 
7/4/2009
Keynsham Town 0-2 Cardiff City
 
8/4/2009
Millwall Lionesses 3-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
 
12/4/2009
Millwall Lionesses 2-0 Truro City
Barnet 1-1 Cardiff City
Charlton Athletic 3-4 Portsmouth
Crystal Palace 4-4 Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United 4-2 Keynsham Town
 
15/4/2009
Crystal Palace 0-3 Millwall Lionesses
 
19/4/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 Truro City
Colchester United 0-2 Crystal Palace
Portsmouth 5-0 Keynsham Town
Millwall Lionesses 2-3 Barnet
 
22/4/2009
Millwall Lionesses 4-1 Crystal Palace
 
26/4/2009
Charlton Athletic 2-3 West Ham United
Colchester United 4-3 Portsmouth
Keynsham Town 0-5 Millwall Lionesses
 
29/4/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Portsmouth
 
30/4/2009
Barnet 5-2 Charlton Athletic
 
3/5/2009
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Millwall Lionesses
Keynsham Town 2-3 Charlton Athletic
Truro City 1-2 Crystal Palace
West Ham United 3-0 Portsmouth
 
5/5/2009
Crystal Palace 0-0 Barnet
 
10/5/2009
Keynsham Town 1-5 Crystal Palace
 
17/5/2009
Crystal Palace 0-4 Truro City
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