TITLE WON BUT SPORTING CHANCE MISSED IN PROMOTION PLAY-OFF

Sporting Club Albion bounced back from a disappointing 2014-15 season to deservedly win the Northern Division. But their title-winning joy was short-lived as they went down to Southern Division champions Brighton & Hove Albion in the promotion play-off for the one available place in FA WSL2. 

Heading into 2015-16 after finishing third from bottom in the previous campaign, Sporting were clearly not among the favourites to take the title. In fact manager Graham Abercrombie, looking back at what was his second season in charge, reckoned: “We were favourites to go down!”

Some astute signings, particularly Abbie Cottam from Aston Villa and Leigh Dugmore from Leafield Athletic, made an immediate impact as the first three games were won. 

But then two successive defeats, at the hands of Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers - both of who were set to be among the title chasers - were reality checks for Abercrombie’s team. “We were absolutely hammered at Stoke,” recalled the manager. “It was 4-2 but could have been 24-2!

“I had a long chat with the players after that game, put all the cards on the table and everyone took a look at themselves. We lost the next match 2-0 to Blackburn, but we played better and then won four games in a row to put us in a good position.”

Sporting were actually in a very good position at that point, top of the table in early November though Stoke and Blackburn were both just two points behind and Preston North End two further points adrift.

Then came, remarkably, a four-month spell in which Sporting did not have a single league match. By the time they next stepped out for a Northern Division fixture they were 18 points behind leaders Preston. They had a massive seven games in hand, but that first game back was against North End and - perhaps unsurprisingly - they lost 3-0 and were now 21 points in arrears.

Abercrombie said: “That was a difficult part of the season. Our home pitch (Halesowen Town) wasn’t the best and we had a number of postponements, although we had a few Cup ties in that four-month spell and got ourselves to the FA Cup quarter-finals and an away game against Manchester City. 

“We lost 2-0 at Man City but it was a great day for the club, and by that time (early April), we were playing well in the league. We’d lost that game at Preston, but Leigh Dugmore was sent off when we were only 1-0 down and overall I was pleased with our performance. It might sound weird, but at the end of that game I really thought we could make a challenge.”

Sporting’s challenge was kick-started from their next match, a 3-0 victory over Derby County which was followed by six straight wins and a draw before a vital 4-0 win against title rivals Blackburn.

By that time, the start of May, Preston had already completed their fixture schedule and had finished on 49 points. Sporting’s win against Blackburn had taken their points tally to 43 with four games remaining. 

Blackburn were on 40 points with two games left, while former table toppers Stoke’s challenge had crashed and burned in a spell of four defeats in a row.  

“The title was ours to lose after the Blackburn game,” said Abercrombie, “although our last four league games were packed into 10 days and we had some tired legs out there.

“But we got over the line in our last-but-one game and it was great that it was at home. It was a sunny day, we had a load of fans there and we beat a tough Bradford side (4-1). It was fairy tale stuff.

“We’d had the best-ever day at Manchester City, that was the furthest the club had ever got in the FA Cup, then we had the best-ever day by beating Coventry United to win the Birmingham County Cup for the first time, then we had the best-ever day by winning the Northern Division for the first time.” 

So, a hat-trick of best-ever days for Abercrombie and his players. Could they now make it a fantastic quadruple in the promotion play-off against a Brighton team they had already beaten in the FA Cup?

FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE PROMOTION PLAY-OFF 2015-16

Brighton & Hove Albion 4 (Natkiel 41, 68, Perry 73, Taylor 75)
Sporting Club Albion 2 (Dugmore 15, Clough 88)

Adams Park, Wycombe
29 May 2016
Attendance 648

Three Brighton goals in eight second half minutes effectively killed Sporting’s promotion hopes after they had taken an early lead through a well-directed header by their season’s leading scorer Dugmore.

The Southern Division team gradually took control and went in front through goals either side of half-time by Kate Natkiel, whose first strike was a superb 25yard drive and her second an easy finish after a loose ball had conveniently dropped her way in the penalty area.

Two goals in as many minutes then wrapped up the Seagulls’ victory, Sophie Perry curling in a fine free-kick and then Amy Taylor glancing home a header 15 minutes from time.

Sporting substitute Karen Clough pulled a goal back two minutes before the final whistle, but it was too little too late to potentially change the game’s outcome.

Recalling an afternoon that started in confidence and anticipation but ended in better disappointment, Abercrombie said: “We had real belief going into the game, even though we didn’t have our strongest team out after losing two players with ACL injuries in the last few weeks of the season.

“We made a bright start and were looking good after going in front, but Brighton got themselves into the game and they were sensational in the second half. 

“It obviously wasn’t the end to the season we wanted, but it was still a season of great achievement. The players did brilliantly, they were all good characters as well as good players. They did the club proud and I was so proud of them as a group.” 

Brighton and Hove Albion (3-5-2): Baker; Cooper, Ashton-Jones, Boswell; Perry, Barton, Young, Olding (Rowe 90), Somes (Dorey 80); Taylor (Fulgence 86), Natkiel.

Substitutes not used: Leitch, Wilson.

Sporting Club Albion (4-4-2): Thomas; Crossman, Conroy, Darby, Highman; Smith, Holmes, Greaves, Parnell (Clough 74); Dugmore, Cottam (Haynes 74).

Referee: Anthony Tankard

FAWPL NORTHERN DIVISION UPS AND DOWNS 2015-16

Sporting Club’s failure to win the promotion play-off meant that they would once again contest the Northern Division in 2016-17, though it would be with a name change to West Bromwich Albion. Already affiliated to the men’s club, the name switch brought them completely into the WBA family.

The 2015-16 bottom two teams, Guiseley Vixens and rock-bottom Loughborough Foxes, were both set for relegation after each had spent only one season in the Northern Division after promotion. The Vixens were heading back down to Division One North and the Foxes returning to Division One Midlands. 

FINAL TABLE

FA WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE NORTHERN DIVISION RESULTS 2015-16

16/8/2015
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Loughborough Foxes
Bradford City 2-3 West Bromwich Albion
Derby County 2-1 Guiseley Vixens
Preston North End 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Huddersfield Town 3-3 Stoke City
Newcastle United 6-1 Nuneaton Town

23/8/2015
Bradford City 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Guiseley Vixens 0-7 Huddersfield Town
Newcastle United 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Nuneaton Town 1-4 Derby County
Stoke City 2-0 Loughborough Foxes
West Bromwich Albion 3-2 Preston North End

6/9/2015
Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Nuneaton Town
Preston North End 2-1 Bradford City
Loughborough Foxes 3-4 Derby County
Nottingham Forest 4-0 Newcastle United
Stoke City 5-2 Huddersfield Town
West Bromwich Albion 5-0 Guiseley Vixens

9/9/2015
Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Preston North End
Bradford City 5-1 Guiseley Vixens
Stoke City 4-2 West Bromwich Albion

10/9/2015
Loughborough Foxes 6-3 Nuneaton Town
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Derby County

13/9/2015
Blackburn Rovers 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
Derby County 2-1 Bradford City
Preston North End 5-1 Loughborough Foxes
Huddersfield Town 3-3 Nottingham Forest
Stoke City 5-0 Guiseley Vixens

20/9/2015
Bradford City 1-4 Stoke City
Derby County 0-1 Huddersfield Town
Guiseley Vixens 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Newcastle United 4-2 Loughborough Foxes
West Bromwich Albion 5-1 Nuneaton Town

23/9/2015
West Bromwich Albion 3-1 Stoke City

24/9/2015
Derby County 2-0 Nottingham Forest

27/9/2015
Guiseley Vixens 0-6 Derby County
Huddersfield Town 1-4 Preston North End
Newcastle United 1-4 West Bromwich Albion
Nuneaton Town 0-2 Nottingham Forest

30/9/2015
Preston North End 0-1 Blackburn Rovers

11/10/2015
Blackburn Rovers 5-0 Guiseley Vixens
Bradford City 3-2 Derby County
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Huddersfield Town

13/10/2015
Guiseley Vixens 1-5 Bradford City

18/10/2015
Derby County 4-3 Blackburn Rovers
Huddersfield Town 7-0 Loughborough Foxes

22/10/2015
Nuneaton Town 4-2 Loughborough Foxes

25/10/2015
Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Huddersfield Town
Derby County 0-0 Loughborough Foxes
Newcastle United 0-5 Preston North End
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Nuneaton Town
Stoke City 1-3 Bradford City

1/11/2015
Derby County 0-3 Stoke City
Huddersfield Town 0-2 Guiseley Vixens
Loughborough Foxes 1-2 Preston North End
Newcastle United 3-1 Bradford City
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Nuneaton Town 2-3 West Bromwich Albion

8/11/2015
Loughborough Foxes 1-5 Nottingham Forest
Stoke City 3-1 Newcastle United

22/11/2015
Preston North End 6-0 Huddersfield Town
Stoke City 5-1 Derby County

29/11/2015
Preston North End 4-1 Guiseley Vixens

6/12/2015
Loughborough Foxes 2-2 Guiseley Vixens
Nuneaton Town 0-3 Blackburn Rovers

13/12/2015
Loughborough Foxes 0-2 Blackburn Rovers

20/12/2015
Stoke City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Preston North End 4-0 Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Guiseley Vixens

3/1/2016
Preston North End 13-0 Nuneaton Town

31/1/2016
Preston North End 7-1 Derby County

7/2/2016
Huddersfield Town 2-6 Derby County

14/2/2016
Nuneaton Town 3-1 Huddersfield Town

21/2/2016
Huddersfield Town 4-3 Newcastle United
Nuneaton Town 0-1 Preston North End

28/02/2016
Derby County 1-0 Newcastle United
Guiseley Vixens 1-1 Preston North End
Nuneaton Town 1-2 Bradford City

6/3/2016
Blackburn Rovers 3-1 Derby County
Preston North End 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
Guiseley Vixens 1-5 Stoke City
Loughborough Foxes 1-2 Bradford City

13/3/2016
Bradford City 3-0 Newcastle United
Derby County 0-1 Nuneaton Town
Preston North End 0-3 Stoke City
Guiseley Vixens 3-2 Loughborough Foxes

20/3/2016
Bradford City 2-0 Loughborough Foxes
Derby County 0-4 Preston North End
Huddersfield Town 0-2 Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United 1-6 Guiseley Vixens
Stoke City 3-0 Nuneaton Town

23/3/2016
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Derby County

27/3/2016
Bradford City 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Guiseley Vixens 0-2 West Bromwich Albion
Nottingham Forest 2-2 Preston North End

3/4/2016
Guiseley Vixens 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United 2-7 Huddersfield Town
Nuneaton Town 0-2 Stoke City
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Loughborough Foxes

06/4/2016
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Loughborough Foxes

10/4/2016
Bradford City 2-2 Blackburn Rovers
Derby County 1-2 West Bromwich Albion
Loughborough Foxes 1-2 Huddersfield Town
Newcastle United 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Nuneaton Town 4-2 Guiseley Vixens
Stoke City 1-2 Preston North End

17/4/2016
Huddersfield Town 3-1 Nuneaton Town
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Bradford City
West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Newcastle United

20/4/2016
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Nottingham Forest

24/4/2016
Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Bradford City 1-2 Preston North End
Guiseley Vixens 2-2 Nuneaton Town
Loughborough Foxes 2-1 Stoke City
Newcastle United 2-0 Derby County
West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Huddersfield Town

1/5/2016
West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Blackburn Rovers
Bradford City 1-1 Nuneaton Town
Loughborough Foxes 2-1 Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Stoke City

4/5/2016
Huddersfield Town 0-5 Bradford City

8/5/2016
Huddersfield Town 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Newcastle United 0-2 Stoke City

11/5/2016
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Bradford City

12/5/2016
Nottingham Forest 0-2 West Bromwich Albion

15/5/2016
Nuneaton Town 1-2 Newcastle United
Stoke City 4-1 Nottingham Forest
West Bromwich Albion 4-1 Bradford City

17/5/2016
Loughborough Foxes 0-1 West Bromwich Albion

22/5/2016
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Newcastle United

24/5/2016
Guiseley Vixens 2-2 Newcastle United