LITTLE MAYA’S BIG GOAL WINS LEAGUE CUP FOR SPURS
Cardiff City 1 (Suominen)
Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Baptiste, Vio)
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FA Women’s Premier League Cup final
Aggborough Stadium, Kidderminster
8 May 2016
Tottenham manager Karen Hills hailed “little Maya” after midfielder Maya Vio, one of the smallest players on the pitch, rose highest to head home a dramatic extra time winner in a tightly contested League Cup final.
The victory-clinching goal, which arrived in the dying seconds of the match, brought Spurs the biggest honour in the then 31-year history of the club’s women’s team.
Until the magical Maya moment the game had been locked at 1-1 for well over an hour, Cardiff striker Hope Suominem having levelled Bianca Baptiste’s 30th minute opener just before half-time.
A delighted Tottenham manager Karen Hills said: “This is an amazing feeling.
“I thought the girls were tremendous. Cardiff City took it to the wire, but the girls stuck to their task-and for little Maya to pop up at the end and score with a header is remarkable.”
Spurs had started as well as finished the game in fine fashion, Baptiste forcing Cardiff goalkeeper Alesha McGlynn into a good save after just 12 minutes.
As Cardiff responded both Kelly Bartlett and Michelle Green went close to giving the Welsh side the lead.
But it was Baptiste who broke the deadlock, the striker turning the ball into the net after Leah Rawle had cleverly lobbed McGlynn to provide the simple chance.
Baptiste almost doubled her tally with a goalbound shot that was brilliantly cleared off the line by Hannah Mills.
That excellent defending was rewarded when Suominen, after collecting a Kelly Isaac pass, sent a dipping 20-yard shot over Spurs keeper Toni-Anne Wayne to equalise.
After being beaten on that occasion, Wayne-on what was her 33rd birthday-distinguished herself in the second half with fine stops from both Laura Williams and Alys Hinchliffe.
There was drama at the other end midway through extra time, when Cardiff-after using all of their substitutes-went down to 10 players after keeper McGlynn was injured and defender Mills had to take over in goal.
The stand-in keeper did well to block a close range shot from Avilla Bergin as Tottenham pushed for a winner.
But Mills could do nothing to prevent the killer goal, substitute Ronnell Humes hoisting over a cross from the left and Vio rising high to head home.
“It’s a dream come true,” said birthday girl Wayne, a former England Under-20 international who had been in the losing Charlton Athletic team in the 2007 FA Cup final.
“It’s (the League Cup) the biggest trophy that we play in apart from the Women’s FA Cup, and I think both sides did the competition proud as it was a great game.”
Cardiff: McGlynn, Aldridge, Bartlett, Britton, Evans, M. Green (C. Lloyd 63), Hinchliffe (B. Lloyd 104), Isaac (C. Williams 99), Mills, Suominen, L. Williams.
Tottenham: Wayne, Keown, Schillaci, Rawle (Kmita 76), J. Green, Vio, Soobadoo, O'Leary (Bergin 72), Baptiste (Humes 99), McLean, Martin.
Substitutes not used: Moloney, Blanchflower.
FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE PLATE 2015-16
Southern Division Coventry United lifted the FAWNL Plate after a convincing 5-1 victory over South East Division One team Enfield Town in a largely one-sided final, played at Hednesford Town’s Keys Park stadium.
Enfield midfielder Elizabeth Kent levelled the scores after Jade Formaston had given Coventry an early lead, but goals either side of half-time-by Libby Piggott and Cristina Torkildsen- put the midlands side firmly in control.
Two goals in the last eight minutes by striker Maz Gauntlett put the icing on the Coventry cake to successfully conclude the season in which they played for the first time as United after their name-change from City.
FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE CUP RESULTS 2015-16
Determining round
30/8/2015
Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 Gillingham
Cambridge United 3-0 Cheltenham Town
Cardiff City 1-0 Enfield Town
Chester-le-Street 1-3 Sporting Club Albion
Chorley 1-4 Radcliffe Olympic
Coventry United 0-1 C&K Basildon
Forest Green Rovers 5-1 Maidenhead United
Guiseley Vixens 1-0 (a.e.t.) Liverpool Marshall Feds
Huddersfield Town 10-1 Blackpool Wren Rovers
Ipswich Town 3-2 (a.e.t.) Norwich City
Keynsham Town 2-3 Portsmouth
Larkhall Athletic 6-1 Exeter City
Leafield Athletic 0-8 Nottingham Forest
Loughborough Foxes 0-6 Blackburn Rovers
Loughborough Students 1-3 Norton & Stockton Ancients
Lowestoft Town 3-2 (a.e.t.) Luton Town
Middlesbrough 5-2 Leeds Ladies
Milton Keynes Dons 3-4 Queens Park Rangers
Morecambe 9-0 Leicester City Ladies
Mossley Hill 4-2 Steel City Wanderers
Newcastle United 1-2 Bradford City
Nuneaton Town 6-1 Stockport County
Old Actonians 3-3 (a.e.t.) (4-2 p) Denham United
Peterborough Northern Star 0-5 Derby County
Plymouth Argyle 7-2 St Nicholas
Rotherham United 0-5 Leicester City
Shanklin 2-1 Bedford
Solihull 0-4 Preston North End
Southampton Saints 0-1 Chichester City
Stoke City 5-0 Birmingham & West Midlands
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Lewes
Tranmere Rovers 0-1 Sporting Khalsa
West Ham United 3-0 Crystal Palace
W/O Charlton Athletic H-W Gloucester City
W/O Hull City H-W Wolverhampton Wanderers
W/O Swindon Spitfires A-W Swindon Town
Preliminary round
With 36 teams progressing from the determining round, four needed to be eliminated to allow a single-elimination knockout tournament to take place.
Twenty eight of the winners from the determining round were given byes to the first round, with eight teams being drawn against each other in preliminary round ties.
27/9/2015
Cambridge United 6-2 Lowestoft Town
Norton & Stockton Ancients 0-17 Bradford City
Portsmouth 1-3 (a.e.t.) Brighton & Hove Albion
W/O Blackburn Rovers H-W Radcliffe Olympic
First round
4/10/2015
Blackburn Rovers 4-2 (a.e.t.) Huddersfield Town
Bradford City 4-0 Leicester City
C&K Basildon 1-0 West Ham United
Cambridge United 0-4 Chichester City
Cardiff City 3-0 Charlton Athletic
Derby County 3-1 Middlesbrough
Hull City 2-1 Preston North End
Ipswich Town 1-4 Forest Green Rovers
Mossley Hill 1-0 Guiseley Vixens
Nottingham Forest 4-1 Nuneaton Town
Old Actonians 3-0 Shanklin
Queens Park Rangers 1-7 Brighton & Hove Albion
Sporting Club Albion 4-0 Sporting Khalsa
Stoke City 6-1 Morecambe
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Plymouth Argyle
Swindon Town 5-0 Larkhall Athletic
Second round
29/11/2015
Brighton & Hove Albion 6-0 Chichester City
C&K Basildon 2-5 Tottenham Hotspur
Mossley Hill 3-4 Blackburn Rovers
6/12/2015
Hull City 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Stoke City 3-2 Bradford City
20/12/2015
Old Actonians 2-5 Swindon Town
3/1/2016
Derby County 0-3 Sporting Club Albion
7/1/2016
Cardiff City 9-0 Forest Green Rovers
Quarter-finals
21/2/2016
Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Sporting Club Albion
Stoke City 2-4 Cardiff City
6/3/2016
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Swindon Town
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Semi-finals
20/3/2016
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
27/3/2016
Cardiff City 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
Final
8/5/2016
Cardiff City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
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