IT’S MAXI, NOT MINI AS FRAN SHOOTS READING TO TITLE

Spearheaded by future England star Fran Kirby, Reading coasted to the 2012-13 Southern Division title with a ruck of goals coming from the 19-year-old striker destined to be nick-named ‘Mini Messi’ as she shone at international as well as club level.

A hat-trick in her team’s first game of the season, a 5-1 win against Colchester United, set the pattern for a campaign that in 21 appearances brought Kirby 32 goals in all competitions. 

By the time she hit four in an emphatic 8-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers in late October, Reading were on their way to taking the title after winning six of their first seven games.

And by the time the young sharpshooter bagged another hat-trick in another big win, this one 4-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion in April, her victorious team were on the brink of being crowned champions. 

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Reading's Fran Kirby was a standout star in the Southern Division

They made absolutely sure of the title in their penultimate outing, beating Millwall Lionesses 2-0 away from home with Kirby scoring the opening goal.

The Lionesses had been their only real challengers for the title and ended the campaign in the runners-up spot, but eight points adrift.

Kirby finished the season as the division’s top scorer and would surely have hit a lot more goals had she not been out of action for three months due to a fractured leg.

Fit and firing again for the run-in, she followed the campaign with a trip to Kazan in Russia to represent Great Britain in the World University Games, where the team won Gold.

Reading’s Director of Women's and Girls Football Kelly Chambers told the club’s website, "This is a massive achievement for Fran, and I am very proud of her. She has had a very successful season this year with us and this truly shows what a great player Fran is and has become.” 

While Reading followed their triumph with a step-up to the newly formed FA WSL2, the bottom two clubs - Colchester and QPR - both sadly folded following this season; but each of them was happily re-born. 

QPR returned to the National League’s Division 1 South East in 2021-22, Colchester were meanwhile re-formed in 2023 and began their new life in the Essex County Women’s Football League. 

FINAL TABLE

RESULTS

19/8/2012
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Queens Park Rangers 1-7 Gillingham
Millwall Lionesses 1-0 West Ham United
Reading 5-1 Colchester United
Yeovil Town 3-1 Lewes

26/8/2012
Colchester United 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Gillingham 1-1 Yeovil Town
Lewes 3-2 Reading
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Millwall Lionesses
West Ham United 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

9/9/2012
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 Colchester United
Queens Park Rangers 0-2 West Ham United
Millwall Lionesses 2-1 Lewes
Reading 7-0 Gillingham
Yeovil Town 4-4 Tottenham Hotspur

16/9/2012
Gillingham 0-2 Millwall Lionesses
Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Yeovil Town
Lewes 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Colchester United

30/9/2012
Colchester United 2-1 Lewes
Millwall Lionesses 2-0 Queens Park Rangers
Reading 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United 2-2 Gillingham
Yeovil Town 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

7/10/2012
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Gillingham
Colchester United 0-0 Yeovil Town
Lewes 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
Reading 3-0 Millwall Lionesses
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 West Ham United

21/10/2012
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Gillingham
Yeovil Town 0-1 Reading

28/10/2012
Lewes 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur
Reading 8-0 Queens Park Rangers
Yeovil Town 1-0 West Ham United

11/11/2012
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 Reading
Gillingham 1-0 Lewes
Millwall Lionesses 2-1 Yeovil Town

18/11/2012
West Ham United 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Yeovil Town 3-1 Colchester United

2/12/2012
Millwall Lionesses 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Reading 4-0 Lewes
Yeovil Town 3-0 Gillingham

9/12/2012
Gillingham 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

16/12/2012
Colchester United 1-0 Gillingham
Yeovil Town 2-0 Queens Park Rangers
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Lewes

13/1/2013
Colchester United 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Gillingham 0-2 West Ham United
Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Millwall Lionesses
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Reading

3/2/2013
Lewes 4-0 Colchester United
10/02/2013
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Lewes

24/2/2013
Queens Park Rangers 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Millwall Lionesses 5-2 Colchester United

3/3/2013
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Queens Park Rangers
Colchester United 1-0 Reading
Millwall Lionesses 0-2 Gillingham
West Ham United 1-0 Lewes

10/3/2013
Gillingham 1-2 Queens Park Rangers
West Ham United 0-0 Millwall Lionesses

17/3/2013
Gillingham 1-2 Reading
Queens Park Rangers 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United 1-1 Colchester United
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Millwall Lionesses

24/3/2013
Lewes 0-1 Millwall Lionesses

31/3/2013
Gillingham 0-0 Colchester United
West Ham United 1-2 Reading
Yeovil Town 1-0 Millwall Lionesses

7/4/2013
Colchester United 0-2 Millwall Lionesses
Reading 2-1 Yeovil Town
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United 1-1 Queens Park Rangers

14/4/2013
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 West Ham United
Queens Park Rangers 2-2 Colchester United
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Yeovil Town

21/4/2013
Colchester United P-P West Ham United
Lewes 1-0 Yeovil Town
Reading 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Queens Park Rangers

28/4/2013
Colchester United P-P Tottenham Hotspur
Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Lewes
Millwall Lionesses 1-5 Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United 0-1 Yeovil Town

1/5/2013
Lewes 3-0 Gillingham

5/5/2013
Gillingham 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Queens Park Rangers 0-4 Reading
Lewes 3-0 West Ham United
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Yeovil Town

9/5/2013
Millwall Lionesses 0-2 Reading

12/5/2013
Reading 3-2 West Ham United