WOMENS SOCCER - FA CUP
2012/13
Final - Arsenal (3) v (0) Bristol Academy - Arsenal shook off their poor form in the League to win their 12th FA Cup. Arsenal controlled the game, scoring in the 2nd minute through Steph Houghton then finished off the game with 2 goals in the 2nd half from Jordan Nobbs and Ellen White. The Cup was the 1st trophy for new coach Shelley Kerr (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/Ward, PAL)
2013/14
Final - Arsenal (2) v (0) Everton - Arsenal secured their 13th FA Cup final victory with a comfortable win over Everton at the MK Dons Stadium. Arsenal overcame their poor start to the season to control the game and goals from captain Kelly Smith, a great free kick from the edge of the penalty area, and Japanese international Yukari Kinga sealed the win (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Bower/Ward, PAL)
2014/15
Final - Chelsea (1) v (0) Notts County - Chelsea claimed their 1st ever FA Cup trophy with a win at Wembley Stadium, the 1st time the Final had ever been held there. The winning goal came in the 37th minute from the FA WSL Player of the Year, Ji So-Yun. Chelsea had the better chances in the game but failed to find the 2nd goal to kill the game off. Chelsea also featured Katie Chapman and Eniola Aluko. Notts County featured Laura Bassett, Alex Greenwood and Ellen White (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Bower/Smith, PAL)
2015/16
Final - Arsenal (1) v (0) Chelsea - Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup final trophy with an easier-than-expected win at Wembley. Arsenal took an 18th minute lead with a goal from Danielle Carter then used a great pressing game and a attacking midfield to control the tempo of the game and see the match out for the win. Arsenal also featured Kelly Smith, Alex Scott, Casey Stoney, Jordan Nobbs and Fara Williams. Chelsea featured Katie Chapman, Fran Kirby, Karen Carney and Ji So-Jun (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/Smith, PAL)
2016/17
Final - Birmingham City (1) v (4) Manchester City - Manchester City won their 1st ever FA Cup with a resounding win in front of a Womens Cup Final record crowd of 35,721 fans at Wembley. City used great Defense to stop Birmingham settling into the game then ended the match as a contest with 3 goals in a 14 minute spell in the 1st half to go in at the break with a 3-0 lead. Birmingham pulled a goal back with 17 minutes left but City ended the scoring 3 minutes later to win the game. The City goal-scorers were Lucy Bronze, Izzy Christiansen, Carli Lloyd and Jill Scott. The Birmingham goal came from Charlie Wellings (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/Smith, PAL)
2017/18
Semi-Final - Arsenal (2) @ (1) Everton - Arsenal booked a place in their 16th FA Cup Final with a late winner at Marine Travel Arena in Crosby. Arsenal dominated the game but Everton cancelled out a 1st half Arsenal goal with a 2nd half penalty and looked to be heading for extra-time when Arsenal scored in the 91st minute to win the game. The Arsenal goals came from Danielle Carter and Louise Quinn. The Everton goal came from Chloe Kelly (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Cowen/Brown-Finnis, PAL)
Semi-Final - Manchester City (0) @ (2) Chelsea - Chelsea knocked out the holders at Kingsmeadow, and booked a place in their 3rd Final in 4 years. The star for Chelsea was striker Fran Kirby who scored a goal in each half to settle the game (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/Smith, PAL)
Final - Arsenal (1) v (3) Chelsea - Chelsea won their 2nd FA Cup in 3 years and avenged their 2016 loss to the Gunners with a dominating win at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea dominated the 1st half but couldn't find the breakthrough so went in at the break tied 0-0. But the 2nd half saw goals from Ramona Bachmann (2) and Fran Kirby that put Chelsea in charge, and despite a goal from Vivianne Miedema, the Blues held on to win (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/Smith, PAL)
2018/19
Semi-Final - West Ham (1) @ (1) Reading - At Adams Park in Wycombe, West Ham reached their 1st ever Women's FA Cup final with a penalty-shootout victory over Reading. In a very physical game, both teams scored 2nd half goals to force extra-time and, ultimately, a penalty-shootout where West Ham held their nerve to win 4-3. The West Ham goal came from Alisha Lehmann. The Reading goal came from Rachel Furness. Reading's Fara Williams had a big game but she missed a penalty and had a last minute 1-on-1 chance that she also missed (9, 2 Discs, BBC Cowen/Ludlow, PAL)
Semi-Final - Chelsea (0) @ (1) Manchester City - The 2 heavyweights of the English game faced off for a place in the final, and City went through with a sensational goal in injury time. Both teams were hesitant to commit players to attack and the game ambled along and, with the game entering injury time with extra-time seemingly a formality, City's Demi Stokes played a hopeful cross in to the Chelsea penalty area. Under no pressure from anyone, Chelsea defender Magdalena Eriksson stuck out a leg and put the ball in to her net for the game-winner. City also featured Nikita Parris and Steph Houghton. Chelsea featured Fran Kirby and Ramona Bachmann (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/S.Smith, PAL)
Final - Manchester City (3) v (0) West Ham - Favoured Manchester City won their 2nd trophy of the season with a strong 2nd half against underdogs West Ham. The teams were tied at 0-0 at the half with both teams having chances to open the scoring. But City took control early in the 2nd half with the 1st goal and West Ham faded as the half wore on, conceding 2 more goals in the final 9 minutes. The City goals came from Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp. West Ham, in their 1st ever cup final, featured captain Gilly Flaherty, Jane Ross, Kate Longhurst, Cho So-Hyun and Adriana Leon (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/S.Smith/Stoney, PAL)
2019/20
Semi-Final - Arsenal (1) @ (2) Manchester City - Holders Manchester City booked a place in the Final with a dominating display against Arsenal at the Academy Stadium in Manchester. All the goals were scored in the first half. City scored first with a great free-kick from Steph Houghton but, against the run of play, Arsenal equalised with a superb long-range shot from Jordan Nobbs. Any chance of a comeback by the Gunners was immediately squashed by City as 2 minutes later, new signing American Sam Mewis gave the Blues the lead with her first goal for the club. The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Arsenal and City coasted home in the 2nd half to the win (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/K.Smith, PAL)
Final - Everton (1) v (3) Manchester City - At an empty Wembley Stadium, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Manchester City re-claimed the FA Cup but needed extra-time to beat a hard-working Everton team. City took a 1-0 lead in at the break but Everton equalised on 60 minutes. Neither team could find a winner, despite City twice hitting the woodwork, so the game went to extra-time. In the extra period, City started to take control as Everton faded and 2 goals in the final 9 minutes won the cup for the holders. The City goals came from Sam Mewis, Georgia Stanway and Beckie. The Everton goal came from Valerie Gauvin. Everton also featured goalkeeper Sandy McIver, who had a magnificent game and kept the Toffee's in the contest with a string of superb saves (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Pearce/S.Smith, PAL)
2020/21
Final - Arsenal (0) v (3) Chelsea - Chelsea finally completed their 2020/21 season, winning the delayed FA Cup Final to complete their first domestic treble. The Final was played in November due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Chelsea dominated the game from the start, scoring after 3 minutes then completing the rout with 2 more goals in the 2nd half. Arsenal, despite having star striker Vivianne Miedema, didn't have 1 shot on target in the game. The Chelsea goals came from Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr (2) (9, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Summerton/Ward, PAL)
2021/22
Final - Chelsea (3) v (2) Manchester City - In arguably the greatest Women's FA Cup Final ever, Chelsea completed the domestic double (League and FA Cup) with a dramatic extra-time win over City at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea seemed on course to win in 90 minutes as they held a 2-1 lead with 2 minutes to play, but City sensationally scored to extend the game and force extra-time. The goal only delayed the inevitable, though, as Chelsea capitalised on a Defensive mistake to score again and held on to win the cup. The Chelsea goals came from Sam Kerr (2) and Erin Cuthbert. The City goals came from Lauren Hemp and Hayley Raso (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Cowen/Brown-Finnis, PAL)