BITTERSWEET FIRST-BUT-LAST MAJOR TROPHY FOR LEEDS
Everton 1 (Williams)
Leeds Carnegie 3 (Holtham, White 2)
FA Women’s Premier League Cup final
Spotland, Rochdale
11 February 2010
Attendance 3,000
England Under-23 forward Ellen White struck twice as Leeds Carnegie deservedly beat the favourites to lift the first major trophy of the club’s then 21-year history.
But in what was the last FA Women’s Premier League Cup final ahead of 2011’s formation of the Women’s Super League, the jubilation of the Carnegie players and coaching staff was mixed with a sense of impending doom as their sponsor, Leeds Metropolitan University, had decided to withdraw the club’s bid to join the new League.
As a result, an end-of-season exodus of players was set in motion and the club, after two years of Carnegie branding, reverted its title to Leeds United and lost its top tier status.
So it was a bittersweet mix of emotions that the Carnegie players and coaching staff were feeling as, on a badly weather-affected Spotland pitch more suited to ice-skating than playing football, they won what was not just the first but also the last major trophy they won in the pre-WSL era.
Goalkeeper Carly Telford, who along with several of her young Carnegie team mates was to become an England international, recalled in a She Kicks magazine interview: “I remember getting there and thinking, ‘it’s definitely going to be called off.’ It had rained most of the day, then by the time we got there it was freezing.
“Parts of the pitch were frozen. Sian Massey (referee) was in charge, so we all thought, surely not! But nope, out we trotted. I remember (left winger) Sue Smith just casually gliding up and down the wing and poor Woody (Everton right back Emily Westwood) slipping everywhere as it was frozen down that side.”
Everton manager Mo Marley felt strongly that the game should have been postponed. “We should never have played the game,” she says looking back. “The pitch was frozen, it was dangerous. The players were falling over in the warm up, it was awful. But fair play to Leeds, they handled the situation better than our girls did.”
Leeds were much the better side before half-time and should have gone ahead after nine minutes, when Smith curled a cross into the six-yard box but the unmarked White headed wastefully wide.
Six minutes later though White had a hand in the opening goal, her long-range drive bouncing off a defender to drop for Katie Holtham to direct a low 20-yard shot just inside the far post.
White then increased the lead following a mistake by Everton goalkeeper Rachel Brown, who spilled a Carla Cantrell corner allowing the striker to force the ball over the line.
The game could have been won by the end of a first half which was as notable for Everton's nervousness in the conditions as it was for the dominance of their opponents, who squandered several good openings with Cantrell and central defender Sophie Bradley the main culprits.
The flow of the game turned immediately after the interval, Everton pulling a goal back through a breakaway attack that ended with captain Fara Williams steering the ball past Telford after being sent clear by striker Natasha Dowie.
The favourites edged the remainder of the second half and midfielder Williams almost equalised in the 67th minute, chipping a shot narrowly wide of the far post. But five minutes from time the game was won when White collected a Holtham pass to shoot home from 15 yards.
After losing three Cup finals in the previous four seasons it was no wonder that the Leeds players massively celebrated their long-awaited triumph. “A weird and crazy game,” recalled Telford, “but we ended up winning and going crazy – it was amazing!”
Not so amazing for all concerned was the break-up of the team at the end of that season. White, destined to become the England Women’s team’s top scorer with 52 international goals, said: “I think we were all gutted when the club was not going to be a part of the WSL.
“If you look at the players and what they achieved later (in their careers), it's pretty incredible. A few of us have spoken about what it would’ve been like if we’d been able to continue. It was such a great squad, and I loved playing in that team!”
Telford added: “I do believe we had the makings to be something really special. We had youth, togetherness, good experience and an ambitious staff.
“We gave our all to the club but they (Leeds Metropolitan University) didn’t want to take the venture on. It was taken out of our hands and we went our separate ways. It was heart-breaking.”
Everton (4-2-1-3): Brown; Westwood, Whelan, Johnson, Unitt; Scott, Williams; Hinnigan (Harries, 78); Handley, Dowie, Duggan.
Subs not used: Easton, Evans, Culvin, Chaplen.
Leeds Carnegie (4-4-2): Telford; Walton, Bradley, Bassett, Sutcliffe; Clarke (Allen, 71), Holtham, Moore, Smith (Thackray, 87); Cantrell, White.
Subs not used: Bonner, Staneff, Daly
Referee: Ms S. Massey
RESULTS
Preliminary Round
23/8/2009
Barnet 5-0 Colchester United
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Portsmouth
Derby County 1-2 Curzon Ashton (AET)
OOH Lincoln 3-1 Newcastle United
Round One
13/9/2009
Aston Villa 3-0 Derby County
Birmingham City 6-2 OOH Lincoln
Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City
Cardiff City 0-4 Bristol Academy
Charlton Athletic 1-0 Luton Town
Chelsea 6-2 Barnet
Keynsham Town 7-1 Crystal Palace
Leeds Carnegie 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Leeds City Vixens 0-5 Doncaster Rovers Belles
Leicester City 3-2 Preston North End
Portsmouth 5-2 WFC Fulham
Reading 3-0 Queens Park Rangers
Sheffield Wednesday 0-5 Everton
Sunderland 5-1 Liverpool
Watford 1-4 Arsenal
West Ham United 0-0 Millwall Lionesses (AET: Millwall won 4-1 on penalties)
Round Two
4/10/2009
Aston Villa 2-4 Leeds Carnegie
Birmingham City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers (AET)
Bristol Academy w/o Reading (Reading withdrew)
Doncaster Rovers Belles 3-1 Leicester City
Everton 4-0 Sunderland
Keynsham Town 3-1 Charlton Athletic
Millwall Lionesses 0-2 Arsenal
Portsmouth 0-1 Chelsea
Quarter-finals
1/11/2009
Arsenal 4-0 Keynsham Town
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol Academy
Everton 3-0 Doncaster Rovers Belles
8/11/09
Leeds Carnegie 5-0 Blackburn Rovers
Semi-finals
6/12/2009
Everton 2-1 Arsenal
13/12/09
Chelsea 0-2 Leeds Carnegie
Final
11/2/2010
Everton 1-3 Leeds Carnegie
