Sunday October 25, 2009; World Cup Qualifier.

England Ladies 8 Malta Ladies 0

England: Karen Bardsley, Alex Scott, Rachel Unitt, Danielle Buet, Faye White (Lindsay Johnson 59), Laura Bassett, Jess Clarke, Jill Scott, Lianne Sanderson (Jody Handley 53), Fara Williams (Emily Westwood 68), Sue Smith.

Malta: Sharon Costantino, Natasha Pace, Rebecca Dagostino, Dorianne Theuma, Ylenia Carabott, Rachel Cushieri, Rebecca Chircop (Kathleen Saliba 64), Catherine Camilleri (Marisa Deguara 51), Mandy Debono (Chantal Marie French 85), Kimberly Parnis, Charlene Zammit.

England Ladies got their World Cup qualifying campaign underway with a completely one sided victory over a Malta side painfully short of international standard. By the end England had run up eight goals without reply but Hope Powell was still bemoaning missed chances.

That was not without reason. Spain have already put thirteen past Malta and this group could end up being settled by goal difference.

From the start the game was a procession towards Sharon Costantino in the Malta goal and the keeper did well to deny Lianne Sanderson with her feet after a clever dink by Fara Williams set the striker free.

England did break the deadlock on seven minutes after Fara Williams had been fouled on the right wing. Sue Smith went for the near post with the free kick and the ball rebounded from the base of the woodwork to allow Faye White a tap in from two yards.

England continued to press and Williams looked certain to score after rounding Costantino from Dani Buet's long through ball only to shoot into the side netting from a narrowing angle.

Costantino then enjoyed an inspired couple of minutes as she denied both Sanderson and Jess Clarke. Her save from Clarke, flicking a Smith centre goalwards from close range, was especially good while Sanderson would have been disappointed not to score with time to pick her spot from twelve yards.

Williams finally increased the lead midway through the half when Smith and Sanderson combined to lay a chance on a plate but then missed the target when Sanderson put her clear again.

England's third goal was a scrappy affair. Sue Smith may have been looking for Buet on the edge of the box from a short corner but the pass was delivered with unnecessary elevation, Buet's attempted volley was completely scuffed and when a defender ignored a chance to clear Clarke was able to poke in at the far post.

Three minutes later England scored a more impressive goal. Fara Williams began the move in central midfield and Jill Scott carried it forward with some neat footwork before feeding Clarke wide on the right. The winger whipped in a good centre which Sanderson dummied and Williams was arriving right on cue to guide the ball into the bottom corner.

Half Time: England Ladies 4 Malta Ladies 0

Malta hadn't managed an attempt on goal during the first half and that wasn't about to change after half time as Karen Bardsley remained completely unemployed while the rest of the England side went about the job of scoring more goals.

Fara Williams continued to be at the centre of everything and she came close to scoring the fifth with a dipping shot from long range that dropped onto the roof of the net.

Then, within the space of three minutes, she drew two fouls out of Natasha Pace and the visitors centre half was sent off. If possible Malta were now even more defensive in their approach.

Jody Handley, just on as a substitute, sent a low drive narrowly wide of the far post but the visitors goal was not breached again until twenty minutes of the second half had passed. Williams was again the scorer, completing her hat trick, as she rose in front of the keeper to head home a fast, inswinging centre from Sue Smith.

Jill Scott sent a header looping onto the top of the bar from a Smith corner but when the winger then sent an identical cross into the middle England scored again.

Clarke headed the first chance against a post but was then able to sneak a low shot past a possee of defenders from five yards out.

England's seventh goal was their most spectacular as Emily Westwood fastened onto a woeful goal kick and hammered it back into the top corner from twenty five yards.

Two minutes from the end the scoring was completed when a neat move ended with Buet backheeling into the path of Alex Scott whose shot was parried and Rachel Unitt was on hand to knock in the eighth.

It is not often a team wins by eight goals and there is still an air of disappointment within the ranks but that was the case here. In truth, however, games like this seldom bring the best out of the dominant team as they go about the task of slaughtering completely passive opposition.

Full Time: England Ladies 8 Malta Ladies 0

England: Karen Bardsley 6, Alex Scott 7, Rachel Unitt 7, Danielle Buet 7, Faye White 7 (Lindsay Johnson 6), Laura Bassett 6, Jess Clarke 8, Jill Scott 7, Lianne Sanderson 6 (Jody Handley 5), Fara Williams 9 (Emily Westwood 7), Sue Smith 8.

Star Player: Fara Williams

Scored a hat trick and was the chief driving force as England attacked from start to finish.

Wednesday October 7, 2009; Champions League Round of 32, 2nd Leg.

Everton Ladies v. Roa IL (Norway)

Everton: R.Brown, B.Easton (M.Hinnigan 54), R.Unitt, F.Williams, F.Whelan, L.Johnson, J.Handley (G.Harries 75), J.Scott (B.Chaplen 89), N.Dowie, E.Westwood, T.Duggan.

Roa IL: C.Knutsen, S.Nordby, R.Sauerbrunn, M.Johansen (H.Gardsjord 62), M.Kristensen, G.Knutsen, K.Edner, C.Huse, M.Knutsen, E.Thorsnes (S.Andreasson 86), E.Haavi (A.Finskud 70).

Everton Ladies were facing a mammoth task to progress into the last sixteen of the inaugural Womens' Champions League as they trailed the Norwegian champions, Roa IL, 3-0 from the first leg. Playing on their home ground Everton would have been hoping for a storming start but the opening exchanges saw both sides betraying nerves and the passing was sloppy.

One misplaced pass by Marthe Johansen did allow the home side an early opportunity, however, and Natasha Dowie drove forward to test Caroline Knutsen with a firm low shot but the keepers' handling was sound.

Toni Duggan also sent a hopeful effort over the bar from distance before Everton suddenly grabbed the early goal they craved in the eighth minute.

Rachel Unitt started the move after making a fine interception as Roa looked to spring an attack of their own. Chesting the ball down perfectly Unitt then picked out Dowie with a good ball down the inside left channel. Dowie held the play up well before slipping the ball back to Fara Williams who produced a killer pass to send Emily Westwood clear of the defence.

Just inside the box and to the right of goal Westwood finished expertly with a low drive into the far corner.

This goal gave the home side increased belief and their football improved as they pressed the Norwegians back for a prolonged spell.

Dowie saw a dipping thirty yarder tipped over before the Roa goal enjoyed an incredibly charmed life during an intense two minute spell of pressure.

Jody Handley created the initial danger as she forced her way to the byeline down the right and a goal seemed inevitable as Toni Duggan and Williams converged on her low centre.

Knutsen managed to block from both Duggan and Williams, however, before Williams sent the second rebound against the base of the post from only a yard out. On this occasion the proximity to goal actually became a problem for the attackers as Knutsen spread herself bravely to shut out the space.

Moments later Unitt was picking out Dowie inside the box with another probing pass and the striker was desperately unlucky to hit the outside of the post with her instant shot on the turn.

With Everton pressing forward constantly the break looked on for the visitors but their distribution continued to be erratic and little came from these opportunities.

Lindsay Johnson had to mop up dangerous situations twice in quick succession and Rachel Brown was also sweeping up effectively when the need arose.

Brown saw more serious action when a slick move between Elise Thorsnes and Marie Knutsen had Emilie Haavi running through on goal but the keeper was out quickly to smother at the forwards' feet.

The game was becoming more even as the half progressed and it became harder for Everton to get players in support of Dowie who was doing an excellent job as the lone striker.

Dowie showed great strength and control to protect a long pass forward before finding Duggan moving up in support. Duggan then sent a good cross to the far post, Jill Scott got up to head back across goal but Handley was unable to make contact as she lunged in at point blank range.

Fara Williams then forced another good save from Knutsen as she tried her luck from distance. Initially Williams tried to find a colleague but when her intended pass dropped back into her stride she sent in an instant volley that was dropping beneath the bar only for Knutsen to tip over at full stretch.

Roa were beginning to look more of a threat themselves, however, and it needed a timely toe from Scott to deny Kristine Edner at the end of a good move before Thorsnes wasted a promising situation after Fern Whelan had mis-read the bounce of a through ball.

Dowie's outstanding hold up play allowed Everton to mount another attack which saw Duggan challenging the keeper for Handley's cross. The ball lobbed goalwards but dropped the wrong side of the post as far as Everton were concerned.

Tempers began to fray as half time approached. Whelan and the Everton bench were particularly angry about an alleged elbow but the Czech Republic referee saw nothing amiss, which was not unusual, and half time came with the tie still in the balance and at just the right time for everyone to calm down and have a bit of a breather.

Half Time: Everton Ladies 1 Roa IL 0

There was almost a sensational start to the second half as Everton were awarded a free kick fully thirty yards out in a central position. As ever distance was no deterrant to Fara Williams who stepped forward to smash a fierce drive goalwards. Knutsen appeared to get something on it before the ball rebounded from the bar but the onrushing Dowie could only head over the bar as the ball flew at her at close quarters.

Roa then had a fine chance to kill the tie as Haavi played Guro Knutsen in on goal but her finish was weak and didn't test Brown.

Everton were able to build up another head of steam as Dowie continued to lead the line with power and purpose while Toni Duggan began to be an increasing menace with some pacy running on the left hand side.

Dowie supplied Williams with a shooting chance but Knutsen's handling was again secure before Dowie was left frustrated as a good centre in from Duggan had the Norwegian defence in trouble only for the ball to refuse to come down in time for her to get a clean shot away.

An injury to Becky Easton forced Everton into a reshuffle as Michelle Hinnigan came on to take over the attacking midfield role with Westwood dropping back into the right back position.

Roa almost took immediate advantage of this alteration as Thorsnes and Haavi combined to supply Marie Knutsen with a chance at the far post but her shot was scuffed and missed the target with something to spare.

The Everton attack was now purring, however, and the tie was really back in the melting pot as they scored again just short of the hour mark to reduce the overall lead to just one.

Williams and Unitt produced a neat interchange down the left before Duggan slipped a nice pass into Hinnigan, drifting into the box on the left hand side. The substitute took one touch before drilling an emphatic left footed finish low into the far corner.

With Everton now playing somewhere near the top of their game you sensed they were about the turn this tie around completely and they continued to hammer away at the Roa goal.

Dowie did superbly to hold off her marker and force her way to the dead ball line but Duggan was unable to reach her centre and then Duggan fired too close to Knutsen after cutting inside from the left wing.

Handley and Hinnigan orchestrated the next Everton attack and there looked to be real danger as Dowie once again turned her marker to free her way to the byeline. Dowie could only slam the ball straight at Knutsen, guarding her near post, when the ball needed pulling back across goal, however.

Rachel Unitt continued to use the ball well when she got forward and found Duggan who produced a smart turn of her own only to see her strong shot well blocked by a lunging defender.

The Roa defence was finding it impossible to hold Dowie and it was hard to believe that the Everton striker would not cap her outstanding performance with the goal her side so desperately needed.

With just over ten minutes remaining it seemed as though the moment had arrived as Dowie once again turned away from her marker expertly from Duggan's centre but her shot flashed wide of the far post rather than bulging the netting as had seemed certain.

This moment would mark the end of Everton's barrage as they struggled to mount real pressure as the minutes ticked down. Instead Roa began to have opportunities as Everton left increasingly large holes in their defence.

Ada Finskud volleyed a good chance over and Brown had to block from the same player after a tired Westwood was caught out following a ball over the top.

Everton claimed optimistically for a penalty before forcing one last chance to take the game into extra time.

Gwennan Harries, on as a substitute, speared a wonderful ball forward towards Dowie from the right back position and when it dropped Williams went for glory with a left footer but the ball bounced wide of Knutsen's left hand post and a relieved Roa were through.

It was sad to see the entire Everton back four sink to their knees as one at the final whistle and they were no doubt joined in such desolation by the rest of their team-mates.

When you've just been knocked out of Europe it is probably even more galling that it should come after such an outstanding performance. When they reflect back on the game later, however, they should take an enormous amount of satisfaction in producing such a display.

Credit should also go to Roa who had dominated the first leg in a similar manner and who never looked outclassed here in the face of a top class Everton showing.

I think extra time would have been the most fitting outcome, and I for one would have welcomed thirty more minutes of the same, but if that had transpired there is no guarantee that it would have signalled an overall Everton victory.

Full Time: Everton Ladies 2 Roa IL 0
Roa win 3-2 on aggregate.

Star Player: Natasha Dowie

Dowie was outstanding up front for Everton with her control and sharp turning the highlight of an excellent game. Taking on both centre halves by herself she was never properly subdued and came close to giving the perfect centre forwards' display.
Unfortunately the one thing her performance lacked was the thing her team needed the most.

Wednesday, September 30
Everton Suffer In Norway

Everton's hopes of making a significant impact in the newly formed Womens' European Champions League took a massive blow as they suffered a resounding 3-0 defeat against ROA IL in their first leg tie in Norway. The Blues would have expected to put up a strong showing in this tricky tie but found themselves on the back foot from the word go and they could hardly complain at going in two goals behind at the break, Elise Thorsnes and Marie Knutsen on target.

Everton looked to respond after half time and enjoyed more of the play but their attacking efforts lacked the composure and conviction needed to bring them back into the game.

Instead it was Roa who struck again to increase their lead through Emilie Haari and the damage could have been even worse as Everton finished in somewhat ragged fashion.

Three goals represents a huge mountain to be climbed in the second leg but the task is not beyond Everton on their own ground. It will need a tremendous team performance to turn the tie around, however, and keeping the clean sheet that will probably be required may well be the toughest task of all.

Arsenal, England's other representatives, face no such concerns over their second leg tie after demolishing PAOK, their Greek opponents, 9-0 away from home in their first leg tie. Kim Little, now undoubtedly Arsenal's star turn, helped herself to four goals while Rachel Yankey and Helen Lander chipped in with two each.

PAOK can scarcely be relishing their trip to Borehamwood for the second leg.

Arsenal also got their league campaign underway at the weekend and were made to work hard for the three points by Birmingham City. The Gunners might have anticipated a straightforward afternoon when Little gave them a second minute lead but they were unable to build on this start and ended up happy to hear the final whistle with the score still at one nil in their favour.

The pretenders to Arsenal's throne enjoyed more substantial victories. Everton scored six without reply against Nottingham Forest, Emily Westwood scoring twice; Chelsea went one better by hitting Watford for seven, Casey Stoney helping herself to a hat trick and Leeds mananged four away to rock bottom Bristol Academy, Carla Cantrell claiming the individual honours by scoring all four.

Millwall Lionesses still lead the way, however, after scoring another fine victory, 2-0 against Doncaster Rovers Belles. Claire Lacey played an important part in the win with a string of first half saves while goals in either half from Lindsay Morgan and Ann Marie Heatherson confirmed the three points.

The other game saw Blackburn score an important win away to Sunderland. Natalie Preston opened the scoring early on and Katie Anderton was also on target before half time. Sunderland responded strongly after half time but could only pull one goal back through a Sophie Williams lob.

Both these sides will need to conjure a few more victories to stay clear of the drop zone.

Liverpool moved back to the top of the Northern section after thrashing Derby County 7-2. Kelly Jones hit a hat trick, Cheryl Foster grabbed two and there was also a debut goal for Katie Brusell, an excellent signing.

Aston Villa and Leicester City both remain unbeaten after slugging out a 1-1 draw. Natasha Meade maintained her excellent form by giving Leicester the lead but a late Kelly Saggs goal earned Villa another draw.

In the South, Barnet continued their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 win over Brighton thanks to goals from Claire Thomas and Katie O'Leary while Portsmouth stay in close contention after a Zoe Nash goal gave them a narrow victory over Colchester.

Elsewhere there was more than a touch of deja vu about the FA's announcement that they were "delighted" to open the application process for clubs to bid for entry into the proposed Summer League, which is now planned to start in March 2011.

Whether the clubs will be equally delighted to prepare new bids after having gone through the process once already is more debatable. Having abandoned their plans once before the FA now have the prospect of a league that will be further weakened by the absence of our top players.

Having seen Smith, Carney, Scott, Aluko and Asante all depart for the WPS League last season it has now been announced that Fara Williams and Lianne Sanderson are draft picks for one of the leagues' two new teams next season, Philadelphia Independence.

Perhaps there was nothing the FA could have done to prevent the drain of our top players to a professional league, realistically there is no prospect of such a thing being sustainable here in the foreseeable future, but in delaying the start of the summer league they certainly placed their league and their clubs in a weaker position.

Without our best players the new format will be at a massive disadvantage from the word go. Womens' football will always have many sceptics to win over. Anybody with the smallest degree of judgement and justice would have to admit the qualities of players such as Kelly Smith and Karen Carney.

The players they have left behind are less certain of bringing new fans or investors to the game.

Tuesday, September 22
Leeds Secure Yorkshire Bragging Rights

Leeds Carnegie got their league campaign under way on Sunday and produced a solid display to claim three points against Doncaster Belles and also ensure local bragging rights, at least until the two teams meet again.

Leeds had their start to the season delayed by the European Championships but they always looked that little bit sharper than the Belles in a closely contested fixture.

The first and second halves were almost mirror images of each other as far as major incidents were concerned. Leeds hit the woodwork in both halves, through Carla Cantrell and Remi Allen, and scored late on in both, through Jess Clarke and Ellen White who both cracked in fine shots.

Doncaster struggled to create clear chances although Precious Hamilton had opportunities either side of half time but could not find the required finish.

Millwall and Watford currently share top spot in the Premier League with ten points each from five games played.

Millwall were held at home to a goalless draw by Birmingham City who came closest to scoring with an effort against the bar from Jo Potter while Watford came from behind to win 3-1 at Nottingham Forest.

Forest led at half time through Reanne Thomas but capitulated after the break as Holly Miles, Sam Pittuck and Lizzie Edwards all hit the target.

In the Southern Section Barnet lead the way with maximum points from five games after winning 2-1 at Crystal Palace thanks to two goals from Cheryl Williams. Portsmouth are in second after a fine 4-2 win at Queens Park Rangers, Cassie Thorp notching a couple in this one.

In the North Leicester City moved to the top with a thumping 5-0 win over Luton Town, Natasha Meade getting a couple, but Liverpool are the only side still boasting a 100% record.

Match 25; 10/09/2009: European Championship Final

England 2 Germany 6

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, F.White, A.Asante, C.Stoney, K.Chapman (Emily Westwood 86), F.Williams, J.Scott, K.Carney, K.Smith, E.Aluko (L.Sanderson 81).

Germany: N.Angerer, S.Bartusiak, B.Peter, A.Krahn, S.Laudehr, M.Behringer (C.da Mbabi 60), I.Grings, B.Prinz, L.Bresonik, K.Kulig, K.Garefrekes (F.Bajramaj 83).

England made a couple of changes from their semi final line up as they prepared to tackle the might of Germany in the final. Faye White returned at the heart of the defence in place of Lindsay Johnson while Jill Scott came into the midfield.

Both these changes looked reasonable although it was harsh on Johnson to have to sit out the final after improving steadily throughout the tournament. White had been the original first choice, however, and had shown up well against Birgit Prinz in previous encounters.

The biggest worry here was whther White would be affected by her nasty cheek injury which meant she would be playing in a zorro type face mask.

Bringing Scott into the midfield and pushing Kelly Smith further forward in place of the ineffective Sue Smith was certainly a sensible move. It was, however, debatable whether Eni Aluko should be moved onto the left wing with Smith taking her central position as the game kicked off.

This doubt grew larger as Fara Williams played a lovely ball to release Aluko down the left only for the striker to carry the ball out of play at the byeline. It was the sort of position that Kelly Smith loves.

England were looking positive and faring reasonably well in a highly physical opening and came agonisingly close to opening the scoring on eight minutes. Smith won England a free kick in a dangerous position and Williams smashed in a fierce drive that flew inches wide of the post with the diving Nadine Angerer beaten.

Germany had already posed a real threat themselves with White called upon to deny Prinz with a last ditch challenge as the forward bore down on goal and when the opening goal arrived on twenty minutes it was the defending champions who claimed it.

England's biggest mistake was in allowing Kim Kulig to carry the ball unchallenged deep into their territory before a slick series of passes ended with Inka Grings squaring for Prinz to slide home at the near post just ahead of Alex Scott's desperate challenge.

England tried to respond immediately and were unlucky to see Kelly Smith's drive deflected over at the far post after Aluko had got a touch to a right wing centre.

Germany cleared the resulting corner, however, and went straight up the other end to increase their lead. This time Melanie Behringer was allowed space and she had little hesitation in striking for goal from fully forty yards.

It was an excellent strike but once again it was disappointing to see a shot from such distance comfortably beating Rachel Brown in the England goal.

After such a spirited opening it was galling to see England two nil down midway through the first half and automatically there was the worry that this might now turn into an embarrassing rout. Thankfully England were able to respond and within two minutes they were back in the game.

Williams speared a ball out to Smith on the left and she did superbly to ghost past Annike Krahn and Linda Bresonik down the byeline before slipping the ball through Angerer's legs to the far post where Karen Carney was on hand to apply the finish.

The end to end nature of the game continued through to half timne with England looking the marginally more likely to score again.

Jill Scott saw her header bundled off the line by Behringer following a corner and Williams was off target when trying to surprise Angerer at her near post from a free kick.

At the other end Brown was required to make a decent save from a curling effort by Kerstin Garefrekes but the interval arrived with no further score and the game still in the balance.

The opening forty five minutes certainly gave England reason to believe that they could score further goals but there was no escaping the feeling that they had never asserted any real control either in midfield or at the back.

Half Time: England 1 Germany 2

Germany, as a rule, start the second half strongly and this game was no exception. Instead of being able to look for an equaliser England were immediately pressed back onto the defensive and, six minutes into the half, they conceded again.

Casey Stoney had already denied Prinz with a great blocking challenge before Germany struck from a corner. Bresonik whipped in a centre which found Rachel Brown floundering hopelessly and in the ensuing scramble Simone Laudehr hit the post and Stoney botched an attempted clearance before Kulig planted the ball into the gaping net from close range.

Once again England showed commendable spirit, and no little class, in finding a positive response. Carney made a good run to the byeline to set up a shooting chance for Williams which was blocked before feeding a clever ball into Kelly Smith on the edge of the area.

With her back to goal, and slightly to the left, Smith turned her marker superbly before driving an angled shot beyond Angerer and inside the far post for a magnificent goal.

It had to be hoped that England's plucky response might shake the confidence of the Germans slightly and Williams came close to levelling the scores with a skidding drive from distance but, once again, the defence was not able to contain the German attack.

Garefrekes escaped down the right and centred for Grings to send a header over Brown's head. Again the effort had power but the keeper should have been able to keep it out.

It was hard to imagine that England could keep coming back at Germany and so it proved. They bravely tried to keep coming forward but with less belief than before and all this really did was allow the Germans to counter attack with real menace against an exposed defence.

Alex Scott was lucky to see an attmepted clearance slice against her own post and stay out before the scoreline took an ugly look as Germany scored twice more to move into a six two lead.

Prinz and Grings got the better of Anita Asante and Faye White in a two on two situation before Grings sent a shot past the hapless Brown and then a mistake by Alex Scott was seized on for Prinz to drive past a helpless Brown.

Things could have got worse as Laudehr missed the target after White had failed to cut out a cross and then Stoney came to the rescue after Brown had failed to hold a low centre.

Further damage would have been harsh on England who had bravely tried to match Germany, as opposed to just stopping them, and for long periods of the game they had suggested that they might be capable of doing so.

In the end Germany simply proved too strong as England wilted under the demoralising effect of the goals they conceded.

Full Time: England 2 Germany 6

Star Payer: Inka Grings

Grings has really shone in this tournament and saved the best till last. Not only does she possess the pace and power expected from the Germans she has a delicate touch and a good football brain. Scored two and made two, not a bad days work.

England: R.Brown 3, A.Scott 5, F.White 6, A.Asante 5, C.Stoney 7, K.Chapman 5, F.Williams 7, J.Scott 5, K.Carney 7, K.Smith 8, E.Aluko 5.

Sunday September 6, 2009; European Championship Semi Final
England 2 Holland 1

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, L.Johnson, A.Asante, C.Stoney, K.Chapman, K.Smith, F.Williams, J.Clarke (J.Scott 90), E.Aluko (L.Sanderson 70), S.Smith (K.Carney 45).

Holland: L.Geurts, D.Bito (M.de Boer 117), D.Koster, M.Meulen, P.Hogewoning, A.Hoogendijk, A.Kiesel-Griffioen, M.Melis, K.Stevens (S.van de Sanden 120), S.Smit, M.Pieëte (K.van de Ven 86).

Hope Powell sprung an astonishing surprise in her starting line up by leaving out Karen Carney in favour of Jess Clarke. Carney had been England's best attacker throughout the tournament and her direct, positive wing play would have seemed essential against a blanket Dutch defence which had only looked vulnerable in wide areas.

Instead it would be up to the youngster Clarke and Sue Smith, totally ineffective in the earlier games, to get behind the Dutch defence.

England, as expected, made the early running with Holland defending deep and in numbers. In truth there was little cohesion or creativity about England's attacking efforts as they looked to force their way through the middle where time and space were at an absolute premium.

The ball was also played forward from the back far too early and too long, playing straight into Holland's hands, when it was necessary for someone to bring the ball out and draw an opponent out of position before trying to find a colleague.

There was some early encouragement for England in the shape of a nervous start by Holland goalkeeper Loes Geurts who fumbled an easy catch on her goal-line from a stabbed effort by Lindsay Johnson and then chose to punch a corner under no pressure at all.

England were unable to really test Geurts though before half time as their attacking play became increasingly ragged.

Eni Aluko almost managed to play Clarke through inside the area and Kelly Smith made one typical dart along the byeline before checking inside for a shot which was well blocked by the diligent Anouk Hoogendijk.

England were lacking ideas and composure in their play, however, and were already frustrated by Holland's defensive gameplan. There was also an increasing danger that the Dutch might catch England napping at the back on one of their increasingly frequent counter attacks.

Rachel Brown made a routine save from a long range Manon Melis effort and Karin Stevens volleyed over after getting behind Lindsay Johnson. The most threatening moment of all saw Marlous Pieëte breaking through on the edge of the England penalty area but Casey Stoney saved the day with a fine covering tackle.

England were making no headway whatsoever at this stage and Brown, slow to come, only just reached a through ball before Melis.

Half time was a welcome relief to an England side that had completely lost its' way and needed to regroup and, surely, get Karen Carney involved in the action.

Half Time: England 0 Holland 0

Hallelujah! Hope Powell made the blindingly obvious change and Carney was on for the second half in place of Sue Smith whose continued presence through this tournament has become inexplicable. Jess Clarke, playing with far more intent, deservedly kept her place.

Carney made a slow start but would become a pivotal figure in an improved England performance as the game wore on.

Holland were the first to threaten after half time and Alex Scott was forced into an excellent clearing header when Brown chose not to come for a corner only three yards out from goal.

It was evident that Powell had asked Anita Asante to bring the ball out of defence more regularly and the defender did this well enough but England's attacking efforts remained unfulfilled due to a lack of quality in their passing.

England finally managed to raise the tempo and quality of their play and suddenly the Dutch goal came under real pressure. Inevitably the catalyst for this improvement was Carney whose persistance won England a corner down the right and Holland were unable to relieve the pressure.

Kelly Smith did superbly to get to the left hand byeline and fire over a fine centre that Katie Chapman couldn't quite reach at the far post and then Aluko managed to poke in an effort that did not have the power to trouble Geurts.

England's pressure then paid off, however, as Clarke charged down an attempted clearance by Dyanne Bito and the ball bounced through to Aluko in space inside the penalty area. Aluko kept her cool to find Smith ideally placed and she swept the ball swiftly into the far corner.

Carney was buzzing and tricked her way to the byeline to whip in another good centre but Manoe Meulen was strong at the near post against Aluko.

Amazingly, however, three minutes after England had taken the lead the sides were level again as Holland broke forward to score. Stoney found herself struggling to hold up Melis and when she pulled the ball across goal it deflected nicely for Pieëte to sweep home at the far post.

The goal did not encourage the Dutch to be any more positive and England continued to attack with increasing conviction. As the game progressed Holland's defence began to look truly vulnerable for the first time.

Carney put a telling centre across the face of goal but nobody was able to get on the end of it, Smith went past three defenders but her shot deflected to safety and then Fara Williams sent another good centre across but the ball refused to drop to a white shirt as Holland struggled to clear.

England shouted for a penalty when a fierce volley by Smith cannoned into Daphne Koster, with Stoney booked for complaining too vigorously, but the decision, which would have been harsh, was not forthcoming.

Minutes later, however, England seemed to have cast iron claims when Petra Hogewoning lifted her arm to an awkwardly bouncing ball inside the box. Again the referee ignored England's appeals.

Alex Scott had England's last chance as they pressed hard for the winner but her volley was too high and extra time duly arrived.

Full Time: England 1 Holland 1

England continued to dominate as extra time began with Holland looking a very tired team. Lianne Sanderson, on for Aluko, teed up a fine chance for Williams but her first time shot flew over the angle and then Sanderson missed a wonderful opportunity to give England the lead they craved.

Carney did brilliantly to get away down the byeline and her ball across goal found Sanderson five yards out but, with the ball slightly behind her, she could only scoop her shot up against the underside of the crossbar for an amazing miss.

Carney then won England a corner which she took herself and Jill Scott came close with a flying header.

Another corner saw Smith have a shot that was charged down and Chapman send in a crisp half volley that Geurts saved well. It seemed as though a goal had to come but when Carney sent over another dangerous corner Scott mistimed her header altogether and the ball lobbed over from four yards out.

Holland managed one brief threat but Chapman made a telling interception on the edge of the area and the first half of extra time ended with the sides still all square.

England could not maintain the intensity of pressure they had managed in the first half of extra time but remained the side hunting a winner. Williams chipped a deep free kick into a scrum of players deep inside the Holland penalty area but the ball refused to fall kindly for England and then Carney sliced over the bar after cutting inside onto her left foot.

With only four minutes remaining England finally snatched the goal their dominance had merited. Kelly Smith, looking to be struggling badly with injury, did well to win a corner and this time Carney's delivery got the finish it deserved with Jill Scott arriving right on cue to head down past the despairing dive of Geurts.

England now looked to run the clock down while Holland threw Koster forward to try and make something happen in the England half. Williams shot over after a good move involving Smith and Sanderson before the Dutch had a half chance to force penalties right at the end but Kirsten van de Ven's effort was off target and England had done it.

Now they can sit back to see who they face in the final. Let's hope it's Norway.

Full Time (after extra time): England 2 Holland 1

England: R.Brown 6, A.Scott 7, L.Johnson 7, A.Asante 7, C.Stoney 6, K.Chapman 7, K.Smith 7, F.Williams 6, J.Clarke 6 (J.Scott 7), E.Aluko 5 (L.Sanderson 5), S.Smith 3 (K.Carney 8).

Star Player: Karen Carney

Carney's omission from the starting line up was bizarre and inexplicable. Without her England looked clueless, with her they looked positive and dangerous.
She has to start in the final.

Thursday September 3, 2009; European Championship Quarter Final
Finland Ladies 2 England Ladies 3

Finland: T.Korpela, P.Vaelma, J.Julin (A.Westerlund 72), T.Salmén, A.Mäkinen, L.Kalmari, T.Hyyrynen, L.Sällström, E.Sainio (A.Sjölund 52), S.Talonen (S.Lehtinen 75), M.Saari.

England: R.Brown, L.Johnson (L.Bassett 68), F.White (J.Scott 39), A.Asante, C.Stoney, K.Chapman, K.Smith, F.Williams, K.Carney, E.Aluko, S.Smith.

England entered this quarter final tie against the hosts without the injured Alex Scott but were boosted by the return of Anita Asante. Asante moved back into the centre of defence alongside Faye White with Lindsay Johnson switching to right back.

Against a side whose chief threat was likely to be an aerial one this gave the England back four an imposing look.

The game began with Sue Smith operating on the right rather than the left and she had the first effort at goal. Eni Aluko and Karen Carney engineered a neat move down the left and when the ball was slipped inside Smith was positioned to send in a good effort from just outside the box that wasn't too far over the bar.

Having started brightly England found themselves being penned back and it was a worry to see Aluko quickly becoming isolated in attack. With Finland eager to pile balls forward and quick to get players up in support England found themselves called upon to show their defensive mettle.

There was no shortage of bravery but England also managed to place themselves under unnecessary pressure at times during this spell, a common feature of their tournament so far.

Asante did well to get her head to a dangerous inswinging centre from the right but Casey Stoney then placed her side in danger with a weak header from the loose ball and hearts were in mouths as Fara Williams then decided she could dribble her way out of trouble.

The referee came to Fara's aid as she went down under pressure by awarding the free kick but the episode did not inspire confidence.

Increasingly England began to impose themselves at the back, however, with Faye White leading the way with several dominant clearances while Williams and Katie Chapman were diligent in mopping up most of the loose balls in and around the penalty area.

Chapman was looking especially lively and was inches away from playing Aluko in on goal after winning possession superbly in the centre circle.

Laura Kalmari did have an opportunity when she was first to a half clearance on the edge of the box but her stabbed shot was a foot or so wide with Rachel Brown scrambling across goal.

On the quarter hour mark England received a massive boost as they took the lead with a clinical goal. A weak back pass put Tinja Korpela under pressure and England struck quickly from her hurried clearance.

Katie Chapman set the ball rolling with neat chest control before finding Kelly Smith in space. Smith simply waited for her colleagues to move into position before slipping the ball forward to Williams who cushioned an instant pass inside for Aluko whose perfectly timed run had carried her clear of the defence.

Aluko had time to consider her options and kept a clear head to stroke the ball low past Korpela and into the far corner.

This goal not only gave England increased confidence it induced the Finns to try and force the pace. This in turn gave England greater space in which to counter attack and they looked impressive on several occasions as they swiftly turned defence into attack.

There was still the occasional lapse at the back to keep Finland interested, however, the worst of which came when Asante allowed Brown's ill judged roll out to slip under her foot just outside the area. Sanna Talonen's first touch was not the greatest either though and White was able to take the sting out of her shot to present Brown with an easy save.

England were beginning to move forward in some style and Stoney linked well with Sue Smith during a left wing raid which ended with Carney sending in a left footed effort that did not have the pace to worry Korpela.

Aluko then went past two defenders with sheer pace tight to the left touchline before finding Williams, supporting well, but her cross-shot flashed wide with nobody able to get a touch.

The improvement in England's play, and their increased conviction, was highlighted by Stoney who was getting forward far more frequently than at any stage in the group games despite having a flying winger to contend with herself.

England's left back was pivotal in another excellent attack from which Aluko rose brilliantly to tee up a shooting chance for Sue Smith who lacked the conviction to have a crack first time and ended up being crowded out.

Smith played better in this game than in any of the group matches but still seemed to lack real belief on too many occasions and this was a prime, and very frustrating, example.

England were now looking in almost complete control with the defence dealing with the high balls thrown at them with real authority and the attack moving with impressive fluency.

Shortly before half time this situation was altered by an unfortunate injury to Faye White.

Finland whipped in centres from either flank in quick succession both of which were dealt with in fine style by England's captain but, from the second of these, she stayed down with an obvious head injury.

The referee chose not to stop play which meant England remained under serious pressure and it needed a superb headed clearance from Lindsay Johnson to remove the danger with White still flat out on the penalty spot.

White received prolonged treatment on the pitch and then more on the sidelines before admitting defeat and giving way to Jill Scott.

England found themselves defending a corner before the switch could be made and Jessica Julin should have done better than head wide of goal after Brown came off her line without getting a touch.

The departure of White saw Katie Chapman move back into the centre of defence with Scott coming on in her accustomed midfield position. England remained under pressure while they got accustomed to the re-adjustment but Finland were unable to take advantage, Anne Mäkinen's hopeful lobbed volley from twenty five yards being their only real attempt on goal.

Jill Scott's first involvement helped England relieve the pressure as she burst forward to win a free kick in an advanced area but nobody could get a touch on Sue Smith's inswinging delivery and the half ended with a similar situation at the other end as Laura Kalmari couldn't reach a decent ball across the face of goal by Talonen.

So at the interval it was a case of so far, so good for England although the loss of their captain presented an obvious worry.

Half Time: Finland 0 England 1

Kalmari, a handful in the air, had been kept in check during the first half but immediately rose well to give Talonen a chance on the resumption but Asante was in quickly to block at the expense of a corner that was easily gathered by Brown.

If Finland were hoping for a spirited response at the start of the second half, however, England quickly nipped that intention in the bud by immediately moving forward to increase their lead.

Jill Scott did well to force a free kick out of Petra Vaelma, who had been trying to shepherd the ball behind for a goalkick, and when Korpela could only get a fingertip to Chapman's bouncing shot from Sue Smith's centre Fara Williams nipped in smartly to slot home the second.

This goal seemed to mark the end of Finland's challenge as England began to move the ball about with real quality but this didn't extend to the final third and several wonderful positions went begging through a poor final pass or wrong choice of option.

Two splendid right wing moves came to nothing as the overlapping Johnson wondered what to do next in a promising position then Kelly Smith, possibly offside anyway, slid a shot narrowly wide from Aluko's pass.

More fine midfield play saw England racing forward at an exposed Finnish defence again but Scott chose a bad option through the middle with Sue Smith racing up in acres of space to her left.

There still didn't seem much danger of a Finnish recovery at this stage but England's failure to put the game to bed completely during this period of dominance led to a frantic finale as the host nation belatedly managed a response.

Kelly Smith drove narrowly over from distance after showing typical strength to hold off her marker before England again got away with some sloppiness in defence when Asante's errant ball across the backline went unpunished.

With twenty minutes of the second half gone, however, Finland were able to get themselves back into contention when their cause was beginning to look lost.

Maija Saari whipped an inswinging corner into a scrum of players massed in front of the England goal which was headed goalwards. Brown flicked out a hand to turn the ball towards the far post where Sue Smith, under real pressure, could only put the ball on a plate for Annica Sjölund to stab home from point blank range.

The damage inflicted did not seem to be too great as England went straight up to the other end and restored their two goal cushion from the kick off but the goal would have a profound effect on the rest of the game as Finland now had a means of hurting England which they used to full advantage.

England's response to conceding was emphatically memorable and magnificent. Rather than knock the ball backwards from the kick off the ball was moved sideways to Eni Aluko who simply set off for goal at full speed and, having swerved beyond two would be challengers, she struck a resounding shot beyond Korpela from just inside the box.

Finland again looked incapable of troubling the England defence from open play but, ten minutes later, the deficit was back to one as they profited from another right wing corner by Saari.

This time Brown came into the scrum of players around her but could only punch back across her own goal where Linda Sällström was on hand to nod into an empty net.

Moments later another aerial bombardment looked likely to bring Finland reward but Brown made a tremendous reflex save to deny Kalmari's rising drive after a couple of headed flicks into the heart of the England penalty area.

This time the resulting corner was cleared but the pattern for the final ten minutes had been well and truly set. Finland looked to launch the ball forward at every opportunity and force as many set pieces as they could while England continued to counter attack with style but, ultimately, no substance.

English nerves were not helped by the sight of Fara Williams struggling to find her breath after taking two blows in the stomach in quick succession while Kelly Smith was feeling her suspect leg. Aluko also looked to have aggravated her groin and the final whistle now couldn't come quickly enough.

Another inswinging corner caused more panic underneath the England crossbar but this time Brown was able to dive across and gather the loose ball after Sue Smith had managed to make a block on the far post.

Going forward England did not seem to know whether it was better to try and eat up time in the corner or look for the goal that would finally settle this epic encounter. Karen Carney almost did both as she ambled her way to the left hand corner flag only to then emerge from two markers and have a clear run in towards the near post.

This suddenly promising situation was wasted as Carney lashed a wild shot way over the far post and Finland were able to put the England goal under more pressure as the game entered stoppage time.

Kalmari did brilliantly to escape the attentions of Chapman inside the England penalty area but Brown's handling was secure as she dealt with the resulting angled drive.

There were also a couple more corners to deal with but England managed to scrape these clear and ended with a victory that was undoubtedly well deserved over the course of the game.

In fact this had been an outstanding performance in many ways and the victory would have been convincing had it not been for Finland's ability to cause mayhem at corners.

All areas of the team had functioned more effectively than at any previous time in this tournament and within an excellent team performance there had been several outstanding individual displays.

England will be well pleased to have reached the last four, which was probably the first target they had set themselves beforehand, and will now look forward with genuine optimism towards a semi final against either France or Holland.

Only the mounting injury worries will cast a shadow over the camp in the run up to that game.

Full Time: Finland 2 England 3

England: R.Brown 6, L.Johnson 7 (L.Bassett 7), F.White 8 (J.Scott 7), A.Asante 7, C.Stoney 8, K.Chapman 9, K.Smith 7, F.Williams 8, K.Carney 7, E.Aluko 9, S.Smith 6.

Star Player: Eni Aluko

This was surely Aluko's best performance in an England shirt. Goals always help a centre forward but this was an outstanding all round display as she held the ball up well, linked play and was always eager to stretch the defence with her pace.
Her first goal was coolly taken and her second was simply magnificent.

Wednesday, September 2
Lionesses Continue To Roar

Obviously most attention in the womens' game has been turned towards Finland for the past couple of weeks but the domestic season continues to progress and Millwall Lionesses maintained their outstanding start to the campaign at the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Bristol Academy. This means Millwall have maximum points from their opening three games and sit proudly on top of the National Premier League.

The story is completely the opposite for Bristol who have lost both their opening games and are the only team, of those in action so far, yet to register a point.

This was a hard fought victory for Millwall and Bristol will feel aggrieved at taking nothing from the game after a spirited display. Both goals arrived late on courtesy of Charlotte Gurr although Ann-Marie Heatherson again deserves much of the credit for Millwall's success.

Heatherson cannot stop setting up goals, rather than scoring them, so far this season and provided assists for both of Gurr's goals on Sunday. In fact Gurr was a little cheeky in nicking the first goal when Heatherson slipped the ball goalwards but there were obviously no hard feelings as she then put the second on a plate for Gurr to settle the issue.

Nottingham Forest registered their first win of the season after edging out Sunderland 3-2. Kelly McDougall's brace for the home side was to no avail as goals from Suzanne Davies, a fine individual effort, Chloe Foster and Annabel McKechnie gave Forest their victory.

The other two top flight games ended in draws and this latest set of results seems to confirm the feeling that the bottom half of the division will take a lot of sorting out this season.

Doncaster Belles let a two goal half time lead slip at home to Watford while Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City also shared the spoils.

Returning to the European Championships, tomorrow sees England taking on Finland in the first of the quarter final ties, the game kicking off at 2pm our time and being broadcast live on Eurosport.

After losing the first game to Italy everybody is obviously pleased, and fairly relieved, to see England making it through to the last eight but now hope and expectations are raised again and it will be a huge disappointment if Hope Powell's side can't overcome the host nation and claim a place in the last four.

Both form and fitness provide worries ahead of the fixture, however. England have only played well in short patches during the three group games and will need to come up with a more convincing display if they are to get the better of a team that will certainly give it a real go in front of a big home support.

There are also major injury doubts about Anita Asante and Alex Scott in defence while Kelly Smith, Eni Aluko and Lindsay Johnson have also given cause for concern about their fitness during the tournament.

The defence gave a much improved display against Sweden and hopefully that level of performance can be maintained even if Scott and Asante are unavailable.

The most sensible solution to that problem, should it arise, would seem to me to be switching Casey Stoney to right back and bringing in Rachel Unitt on the left.

Once again the England attack has not functioned that effectively, barring the remarkable comeback against Russia, and I would have thought a change in personnel could have a positive effect.

The weakest player over the course of the three group games, in my opinion, has been Sue Smith on the left wing although it is hard to see Powell discarding her at this point. Smith's inability to provide penetration going forward has blunted the attack and she has offered her full back little support defensively which has often left England vulnerable down that side of the pitch.

Personally I would like to see Kelly Smith moved into that position and Jill Scott drafted into the midfield. Although this might seem to take our main threat away from the centre of the action she would still be able to interchange with the other forwards and she may well be able to cause even more danger away from the more congested areas of the pitch.

Scott, a real workhorse, would keep England competitive and energetic in midfield and this alteration might also allow Fara Williams to play in a more advanced role where she could provide more telling service to the forwards than she has managed so far.

Of course none of that will happen and I can only imagine I will be tearing my hair out watching Sue Smith knocking the ball back to our full back rather than taking on theirs for much of the afternoon.

Being a forward, though, Smith may have the last word and actually provide the vital moment that sees England through to the last four.

I certainly hope that one of the England players emerges from the game as a heroine. These opportunities don't come along very often and England players never seem willing or able to seize the moment.

Good luck girls and don't die wondering.

Monday August 31, 2009; European Championships
Sweden Ladies 1 England Ladies 1

Sweden: H.Lindahl, C.Rohlin, S.Segerström, A.Paulson, C.Seger, S.Thunebro, L.Schelin (S.Lindén 90), K.Asllani (L.Nilsson 68), V.Sandell Svensson, T.Sjögran, L.Dahlqvist (J.Landström 60).

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, F.White, L.Johnson, C.Stoney, K.Chapman, K.Smith, F.Williams, K.Carney, E.Aluko (E.Westwood 65), S.Smith (J.Clarke 90).

England faced a nervous afternoon against the strongest of their group opponents Sweden. Knowing that a draw would be good enough for them to progress into the knockout stages their task did not look overwhelmingly daunting but uneven performances against both Italy and Russia meant nobody could approach the game with real confidence.

The delicate nature of their situation transmitted itself into an uncertain start in which the worst failings of their opening games were again all too evident. England's attempts to play the ball around at the back only led to them surrendering possession in dangerous areas and exposed their defence to some early pressure.

It was England who sent in the first attempt of note, however, as Kelly Smith went close from the edge of the box after a corner was only half cleared and confidence began to grow gradually as the back four, all over the place against Russia, showed far more organisation and conviction in dealing with Sweden's attacking moves.

It was still Sweden who looked the more assured, however, and England had to defend a series of corners while Rachel Brown dealt capably with a low drive by Sara Thunebro at the end of a neat move.

In response England tested Hedvig Lindahl with a Sue Smith header at the far post but the save was a simple one.

The next time England posed a threat on goal, however, they found themselves in front. Karen Carney won a free kick which was played short for her to pump into the box where Faye White escaped her marker to send a soaring header past Lindahl.

This goal should have settled England nerves but they were quickly offering the Swedes encouragement with more indecisive play around the edge of their own box. A series of passes placed the defence into increasing trouble until Lindsay Johnson found herself hemmed in on the edge of the area and when she was robbed Victoria Sandell Svensson had a great chance to equalise but could only shoot straight at Brown.

Five minutes before half time England surrendered their lead in dubious circumstances. Casey Stoney found herself struggling to deal with a right wing attack and when the ball was played into the box Katie Chapman slid into a challenge with Lotta Schelin and was penalised somewhat harshly.

Sandell Svensson stepped forward to hit a low penalty to Brown's right and although the keeper went the right way the kick was too accurate and Sweden were level.

Now England came under pressure with Lisa Dahlqvist spoiling a good move with a weak finish at Brown before Alex Scott saved the day right on half time with a fine headed clearance off the line after a fierce Thunebro free kick from the side of the penalty area.

Half Time: Sweden 1 England 1

There was almost a stunning start to the second half as Kelly Smith went close to repeating her remarkable goal against Russia. Once again she was in position to collect a weak clearance from the goalkeeper which she immediately returned with interest. Lindahl, however, was able to claw the ball out of the top corner and England had to settle for a corner.

Then there was a worry as Johnson went down feeling a knock she had suffered just before half time but the defender returned after treatment and gave a performance that grew in stature as the game progressed.

In fact England now played with more control and authority than at any other time during this tournament and looked the more likely winners as the game went on. In general, however, chances remained few and far between.

Schelin could not make the most of a half chance for Sweden while for England Kelly Smith got hold of a long range effort but saw it fly straight at Lindahl and Carney produced one dangerous break which ended with a drive wide of the far post.

Defences were mainly in command and both sides were probably mindful of the fact that the 1-1 scoreline was good enough for them both to qualify. The closing stages saw one clear chance for either side, however.

Swedens' came first as Anna Paulson stormed forward on the overlap and sent over a wonderful centre but Schelin's attempted volley was completely botched. For England Fara Williams put in a pinpoint centre which found White, still forward following a free kick, unmarked but this time England's captain was unable to hit the target from twelve yards.

So the game ended in a draw that was highly satisfactory to both teams and England go into the quarter finals on the back of their most assured display so far.

Further improvement is probably necessary if they are to make it through to the last four at the expense of tournament hosts, Finland, however.

Full Time: Sweden 1 England 1

England: R.Brown 6, A.Scott 7, F.White 8, L.Johnson 7, C.Stoney 6, K.Chapman 7, K.Smith 7, F.Williams 6, K.Carney 6, E.Aluko 5 (E.Westwood 5), S.Smith 5.

Star Player: Faye White

Scored England's goal with a cracking header and played a major role in a vastly improved defensive effort.

Friday, August 28
European Championship 2009 Finals; Group C

England 3 Russia 2

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, F.White, L.Johnson, R.Unitt, K.Chapman, K.Smith, F.Williams, K.Carney, E.Aluko, S.Smith (J.Clarke 66).

Russia: E.Kochneva, T.Skotnikova, O.Shmachkova, V.Savchenkova, E.Fomina (N.Barbashina 76), O.Kurochkina, O.Poryadina (N.Myskiv 90), N.Pertseva, E.Danilova (O.Petrova 43), K.Tsybutovich, E.Morozova.

Having lost their opening game so disappointingly to Italy this fixture took on epic proportions for England. Defeat would mean certain exit and a draw would leave them with a massive mountain to climb.

England would have probably expected to impose themselves on the Russians from the off but it was their opponents who started on the front foot. Elena Morozova was quickly getting the better of Rachel Unitt, replacing the suspended Casey Stoney at left back, and sending over a centre which eventually ended with Valentina Savchenkova firing in a fine shot from distance that Rachel Brown did well to tip over.

The reshuffled England defence failed to heed the warning, however, and when the corner was drilled across they were static as Ksenia Tsybutovich stormed in to bullet a header past Brown.

It was hard to tell what England had been doing at the corner although it appeared as though a zonal marking plan had gone badly wrong.

There was no immediate response from England who continued to look dreadfully uncertain at the back and fairly clueless going forward.

There was regular danger down England's left although the next source was the Russian right back who waltzed away from Sue Smith to send over another centre which evaded Alex Scott and presented Savchenkova with a glorious chance but the forward lost her composure and sliced badly wide.

England's first move of any fluency saw Katie Chapaman and Scott make progress down the right before the ball was ferried inside to Kelly Smith who drilled in a daisy cutter that had Elena Kochneva scrambling at the foot of her post to tip wide.

Eni Aluko was next to test Kochneva who looked less than convincing as she spilled the half hit shot behind for a corner and England were nearly level when Faye White sent in a powerful header that rebounded off the bar.

Morozova, well serviced and very pacy, was having plenty of joy against an exposed Rachel Unitt and got away to put over another dangerous centre which presented Oksana Shmachkova with a decent chance but her shot was way too high.

With twenty minutes gone there was no hiding from the fact that this had been a very poor performance indeed by England up to this point. Not only were they looking highly uncomfortable at the back but they were putting nothing together going forward. There was no pattern or cohesion to their attacking play and they had already resorted to a series of hopeful long balls and the occasional long range shot.

Then disaster struck as England conceded a truly awful goal. A punt forward out of defence sailed straight over Lindsay Johnson's head and Olesya Kurochkina ran through to score after an excellent first touch.

Johnson looked at fault but the biggest share of blame probably lay with Faye White who had been marking Kurochkina but failed to follow her run and cover her partner.

England would probably have been shellshocked by this setback had they had the time to think about it but, crucially, they were back in the game within a minute.

The build up to the goal was scrappy but the execution outstanding as Karen Carney latched onto a loose ball just outside the area and sent a low left footed drive skimming into the far corner.

This goal immediately shifted the impetus towards England who began playing with real purpose and conviction for the first time in the tournament.

Kelly Smith sidestepped a challenge before testing Kochneva and Scott also forced a save as she ventured forward to support the attack.

Now there was a genuine optimism about England's chances and it was no surprise when they drew level just past the half hour mark. There was also little surprise about who provided the inspiration.

Karen Carney had exploded into life after her goal and was now at the heart of all England's best work. The equaliser saw the winger at her incisive best as she darted away from a couple of challenges before slipping a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Aluko who drilled her shot inside the near post from point blank range.

England scarcely seemed to need encouragement at this point but they were receiving it courtesy of the uncertain handling of the young Russian keeper. Carney tried to expose Kochneva with a chip from outside the area and the keeper only just kept the attempt out.

Russia could still cause problems down their right wing, however, and another rapid break down that flank ended with Tatiana Skotnikova putting in a crisp low effort that brought a fine reaction save out of Brown.

Faye White also had to produce a last ditch tackle to halt another Russian advance and this set in motion a swift England counter attack led by Kelly Smith but spoiled by a poor finish from Aluko.

Four minutes from half time came a moment to stun everyone present. Aluko wandered forward to put some pressure on Kochneva as she prepared to drop kick clear from inside her area and the keeper allowed herself to be flustered into sending a low kick towards the halfway line.

Kelly Smith was waiting just inside the centre circle and she needed only one touch to set herself before launching a forty five yard volley back over the keepers' head and into the net.

From nowhere England were now in the lead and Russian disarray was suggested as they made a change in personnel a couple of minutes before the break.

It was Russia, however, who ended the half pressing forward and England still looked suspect whenever they were asked to defend. They somehow survived a corner with the defence all at sea and then Brown made a magnificent save to deny Savchenkova when she once again latched onto a centre from the right by Morozova.

So England led at the interval after a truly breathless half but there was no telling what the second period might have in store.

Half Time: England 3 Russia 2

Judging by how the second half unfolded it is only possible to think that Hope Powell instructed her side to protect what they had as England lost all the attacking impetus that had been gained prior to half time and only threatened the Russian goal sporadically.

This seemed a strange tactic as they had shown that they could consistently breach the Russian defence yet remained fragile themselves at the back.

England's inability to deal with the most routine situations was highlighted again as Johnson made a terrible mess of a punt down the middle which allowed Kurochkina in on goal but the strikers' lob over Brown also cleared the crossbar.

Then Morozova reminded Rachel Unitt of her pace as she skinned the England full back before driving her shot over the angle.

To be fair to Unitt she actually played the winger fairly well whenever she was close enough to put in a tackle but had no answer to her pace when the winger had any space to move into. The defender may also have expected a degree of protection from her teammates but this was never forthcoming.

Faye White was the next to land her side in trouble with a wayward header which set in motion another Russian attack that ended with Morozova picking out Savchenkova yet again with a low centre but this time Brown could watch as the effort flashed wide.

Katie Chapman launched England onto the attack with a crunching challenge and a telling through ball for Kelly Smith but she was not able to beat the advancing Kochneva.

This moment seemed to give the clearest indication yet that Smith is not 100% fit. At her sharpest she would almost certainly have got there ahead of the keeper with something to spare.

It was hard to understand England's attitude as the second half progressed. You felt that if they had needed to they would be able to score again but were apparently happy to ride their lead. Hardly the approach of potential champions.

This remained a dangerous ploy as their defending remained dreadfully unpredictable. White made a good challenge to stop one Russian attack and Johnson produced a telling interception to thwart another but then Johnson made a horrible misjudgement of a straight ball down the middle and Kurochkina again had the opportunity to punish her.

Fortunately for Johnson and England the striker blasted her shot wide of the far post.

The surreal nature of the game was emphasised when Rachel Brown, who had given a sound display to this point, suddenly launched a drop kick into the back of the nearest Russian forward and was hugely relieved to see the ball rebound straight into her arms.

England then had a great chance to settle the issue on one of their rare ventures forward. Fara Williams, Kelly Smith and Karen Carney were all involved in the build up and Jess Clarke, on for Sue Smith, looked a certain scorer at the far post only to completely scuff her finish. The Russians were able to block out the danger as the ball lobbed back across goal from Clarke's shin.

Carney set England moving forward again with a wonderful, sweeping ball out of defence to release Clarke and then raced forward to get on the end of the move herself but could not direct her shot away from Kochneva.

With the minutes ticking down the game remained on a knife edge with Russia still posing danger whenever they attacked. Morozova teased Unitt again to set up the substitute Natalia Barbashina but her sidefooted attempt was off target while at the other end Aluko sent a vicious volley flying over the bar after more good work by Carney.

The game ended with England still soaking up pressure and Unitt made one vital tackle before Olga Petrova sent the last chance of the game agonisingly wide of the post with the entire England team holding their breath.

There were scenes of joy among the Englaqnd camp at the end and there has to be plaudits for any team that comes back from two goals down to win a game but this performance was totally inadequate in terms of laying down a marker for the rest of this tournament.

If England are to mount any sort of challenge they need to improve massively in every department, both individually and as a team.

Full Time: England 3 Russia 2

England: R.Brown 7, A.Scott 6, F.White 5, L.Johnson 4, R.Unitt 6, K.Chapman 6, K.Smith 7, F.Williams 5, K.Carney 8, E.Aluko 6, S.Smith 4 (J.Clarke 5).

Star Player: Karen Carney

This game was a tale of two right wingers with both causing havoc. Carney was outstanding as England roared back to overturn a two goal deficit, scoring the crucial first goal and at the heart of most of her teams' attacks.
Although attention will obviously focus on Kelly Smith's fantastic goal on this occasion their main inspiration, when they needed it most, came from Carney.

Tuesday, August 25
European Championship 2009 Finals; Group C

England Ladies 1 Italy Ladies 2

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, A.Asante (R.Unitt 71), F.White, C.Stoney, J.Scott, K.Chapman, F.Williams, K.Carney, E.Aluko (K.Smith 45), S.Smith (L.Sanderson 84).

Italy: A.Picarelli, S.Gama, R.D'Adda, A.Tuttino, E.Tona, V.Schiavi, G.Domenichetti (A.Parisi 53), M.Gabbiadini (R.Manieri 90), P.Panico, T.Zorri, C.Pini (A.Guagni 77).

England's European Championships got off to a disastrous start as they lost a player and ultimately the match against Italy at the Lahti Stadium.

In the final analysis the loss of Casey Stoney to a soft, but probably merited, red card was too big a burden for England to overcome although they scarcely deserved their defeat which owed much to more suspect goalkeeping from Rachel Brown.

There was no hint of the upheaval to come as England completely dominated the first ten minutes against opponents whose primary mission was to get ten players behind the ball and deprive England space.

This negative tactic was effective, however, as England struggled to make inroads despite their possession. Eni Aluko began brightly but once more was mainly isolated while the two wingers, Karen Carney and Sue Smith, could not get into the game at all.

England never vary from this formation but to be effective it requires dynamic wing play, something that Carney supplies with reasonable regularity but which never seems to come from the other wide player.

Aluko dropped deep to instigate one fine England move with a sharp burst and a good ball out to Casey Stoney and the attack ended with Fara Williams driving a shot into the face of an Italian defender.

Having soaked up England's initial burst the Italians began to counter attack more frequently and quickly showed that they could cause danger on the break.

Melania Gabbiadini led one forceful attack which ended with Giulia Domenichetti driving in a shot at the near post which Brown saved, unconvincingly, at the expense of a corner. This was well worked and it took a brave block by an England defender on the edge of the box to snuff out the danger.

England now began to launch too many long balls which made life easier for the packed Italian defence and their only efforts at goal were coming from distance. As usual Williams was the most likely to chance her arm and one clever effort sailed inches over with Anna Picarelli struggling in the Italian goal.

The more precise moves were now coming from Italy, however, and England required two strong headed clearances from Faye White and a fine interception by Jill Scott to halt dangerous attacks.

England's wingers finally got into the game when Sue Smith made her way to the byeline and when Williams flicked her centre to the right Carney arrived for a drive that was fierce but also sliced and which flew over the angle at the near post.

There was more danger for England when Domenichetti orchestrated a fine move but then went for an extra pass when faced with a glorious shooting opportunity.

The growing warnings were not heeded, however, and when Williams was caught in possession shortly afterwards deep inside her own half the England defence was again exposed and when Gabbiadini went down on the edge of the box following the slightest of touches from Stoney the England left back had to go.

England survived the free kick as Katie Chapman's head took the impact of Tatiana Zorri's free kick but they now faced the prospect of negotiating over an hours play a player short.

Hope Powell's response was to drop Chapman into centre half, move Anita Asante to left back and go to a 4-4-1 formation.

Before England had settled Domenichetti produced a wonderful flick inside the area to release Gabbiadini but her finish was woeful and Brown collected the effort easily.

Thereafter England didn't suffer any real alarms up to half time and actually grabbed the lead when Carney sprang to life to gain her side a penalty.

Carney slipped a dangerous ball through for Aluko who appeared to be impeded but the winger didn't wait for a whistle and seized onto the loose ball herself before driving into the penalty area where she was poleaxed by Alessia Tuttino.

Fara Williams stepped forward and stroked the ball into the bottom left hand corner of Picarelli's goal to give England the lead and renewed heart.

Inspired by the goal England enjoyed a good spell in which Aluko was prominent as she stretched the Italian defence with her pace.

The England striker created something from nothing with a brilliant first touch and a driving run before playing Smith into space to the left of goal. The winger could have gone for goal or taken the ball on but simply checked back and laid a meaningless ball back into the tightly marked Aluko and the chance was gone.

This incident typified Smith's frustrating display.

The winger did better moments later when she managed to squeeze over a centre from the byeline which Aluko knocked back for Asante but the defender's shot was never on target.

Aluko then hit top gear as she latched onto a long ball over the top before driving her shot over the angle.

Italy ended the half on the attack after White conceded a cheap corner but some scrambling defence ensured that England reached the interval ahead.

Half Time: England 1 Italy 0

Hope Powell decided to make a change at half time with Kelly Smith coming on in place of Eni Aluko. It was only possible to imagine that Smith had been left out of the starting line up because she was not fully fit and, while not showing any obvious signs of discomfort, England's top player looked way short of her best and struggled to make any impact as England's lone striker.

It was also disappointing to see Aluko, who had finished the first half in dynamic fashion, giving way when she might have expected more space in which to use her pace with Italy a goal down and having to chase the game.

England began the second half looking comfortable at the back and were able to worry the Italian defence from a couple of set pieces. Williams forced a sprawling save out of Picarelli from way out before the Italian keeper flapped hopelessly at a deep free kick by Carney and got lucky as the ball bounced behind off Kelly Smith.

With England looking in control of proceedings Italy then equalised out of the blue on fifty six minutes. England were sloppy in clearing their lines on a couple of occasions which allowed the Italians to send a centre into the box which cleared Fara Williams and allowed Patrizia Panico to take a touch before slotting home past Brown.

This was obviously a huge setback for England but they continued to offer at least an equal threat as Itlay despite being a player short.

Williams went for glory when she had better options around her as England showed some slick passing and then tested Picarelli from closer range after good approach play between Carney and Kelly Smith.

The England defence was then caught out by a routine free kick straight down the middle of the pitch but Asante redeemed herself by reacting quickly to deny Gabbiadini the shooting chance.

Kelly Smith then made her one trademark burst along the goalline after getting the better of Roberta D'Adda but couldn't find a pass or a shot as she was blocked out at the near post.

England suffered another blow when Asante had to leave the field with a knock to be replaced by Rachel Unitt with twenty minutes left.

At this point, possibly through fatigue, England began to lose their composure and sloppy passing allowed Italy to get well on top. Two expert pieces of defending under intense pressure at the back post by Alex Scott enabled England to ride out this dodgy spell, however,

Then England threatened to grab the lead themselves. Jill Scott sent a lovely ball through towards Williams but the midfielder couldn't quite manage enough of a touch to beat the advancing Picarelli and then a desperate defender scooped the ball over her own crossbar as Kelly Smith looked to latch onto a through ball.

Picarelli again came and flapped at the resulting corner but Unitt was too high with her effort from the angle of the penalty area.

With ten minutes remaining the gallant England effort suffered a hammer blow when Italy, out of the blue, scored again. Tuttino was afforded too much time and space on the England left and certainly caught her speculative drive perfectly but big questions had to be asked of Rachel Brown as she moved too late to prevent the ball from flying in at her near post.

From fully thirty yards and at an angle that hugely favoured her England's goalkeeper should surely not have been beaten.

England had the chance to put the Italian goal under immediate pressure when Kelly Smith won a fre kick down the side of the penalty area but rather than launch it towards the nervous keeper they attempted to set up Williams for a shot on the edge of the area and when this move failed the Italians were suddenly breaking in numbers. This counter attack ended with Panico being found inside the England box but her shot flew straight at Brown allowing the save.

England belatedly withdrew Sue Smith in favour of Lianne Sanderson as they gamely looked to salvage a draw. The main source of danger came from Fara Williams free kicks but twice Picarelli dived to keep out long range efforts and then punched clear as the ball refused to fall kindly in a cluster of England players after another drive had cannoned off the wall.

Carney speared a great ball into Smith on the edge of the area but her normal conviction was lacking and a defender got in a vital challenge while Williams was well off target with a cushioned volley from the subsequent corner.

England had tried valiantly to compensate for the loss of a player but in the end their efforts had come to nought. In fact the decent performance following Casey Stoney's red card might deflect attention away from some awkward questons raised by England's display up to that point.

They had gone backwards after a dominant start and only really discovered a sense of purpose in the face of adversity. Too many players had been patently below par with Carney and Sue Smith peripheral at best and innocuous at worst.

In the face of a blanket defence there had been precious little creativity from the midfield and the long ball had been resorted to far too easily. Heavily outnumbered this was the worst possible type of service for Eni Aluko.

On the plus side the defence had generally coped well under pressure with Faye White performing with credit on her surprise return to the side along with Alex Scott, Anita Asante and Katie Chapman.

Up front Aluko's efforts deserved better reward than her substitution at half time.

Overall, though, we are once again faced with question marks over Rachel Brown in goal as well as real concerns about the state of Kelly Smith's fitness.

If Smith is not able to function properly in the next two games England may well be heading for an early exit from the competition.

Full Time: England 1 Italy 2

England: R.Brown 4, A.Scott 7, A.Asante 7 (R.Unitt 6), F.White 7, C.Stoney 5, J.Scott 6, K.Chapman 7, F.Williams 6, K.Carney 6, E.Aluko 7 (K.Smith 5), S.Smith 5.

Tuesday, August 25
Come On England!

Millwall Lionesses made it a perfect start to their return to top flight football by making it two wins out of two with an excellent away win at Blackburn on Sunday. They were pegged back twice by the home team before clinching victory late on during a strong finish.

Millwall's goals came from Lindsey Morgan, Charlotte Gurr and a Leah Jones brace although their main threat was carried by Ann-Marie Heatherson who troubled the Blackburn defence all afternoon and was heavily involved in the goals.

Morgan opened the scoring with a simple finish after a good right wing move early on but this goal was quickly cancelled out by a smart Danielle Sheen finish.

Blackburn enjoyed their best spell of the game in the lead up to half time but could not take advantage and found themselves behind again shortly after the break when Gurr scored with a free kick from just outside the box.

Once again it did not take Rovers long to equalise as Katie Anderton scored from the penalty spot after the referee adjudged she had been impeded inside the area, a decision that did not go down well with the visitors.

The game was then held up as Millwall keeper Claire Lacey had prolonged treatment on a finger dislocated in trying to stop Anderton's penalty.

With the outcome in the balance it was Millwall who came on strongest as the game wore on and they ended up worthy winners after Jones put a fitting finish to another neat move and then scored from the spot after the Lionesses were awarded a spot kick of their own.

I don't think Millwall are quite ready to become the genuine force in womens' football that they once were but this has been a hugely encouraging start to their season and they will now be hopeful of pushing on and making sure there are no relegation concerns as the campaign develops.

Things will probably remain tight around the bottom of the table, however. Watford gained their first win of the season at the expense of WFC Sunderland, who had won their opening game, while Nottingham Forest got off the mark with a draw at home to Birmingham City.

Watford edged a tight game that never really flowed against Sunderland. Lizzie Edwards opened the scoring with a first half penalty before Annie Barratt doubled the advantage midway through the second half.

Jordan Nobbs, who had seen an earlier effort ruled out and was perhaps the games' most prominent individual, reduced the arrears late on but Watford held out for a vital win.

Birmingham will have mixed feelings about their draw at Forest. After starting with an emphatic win on the opening day they would have travelled to Nottingham confident of victory but would have no doubt gladly taken the point they eventually earned when they trailed by two goals at half time.

Beth Bailey and Paxton Johnson were on target for Forest in a first half which they dominated but Birmingham retaliated swiftly after the break and were level just past the hour after goals from Kerry Bartlett and a Danni Bird penalty.

Surprisingly neither side could fashion another goal and the game ended up locked at 2-2.

In the South Reading are clearly enjoying themselves after their trying season in the northern section and made it two wins out of two through a late Amy Shaw penalty against Crystal Palace while WFC Fulham's sorry start to the season continued as they went down 4-1 at home to Keynsham Town, Kayleigh Sage striking twice for the visitors.

In the north Manchester City have maximum points from two games after Krystle Johnson scored the only goal of the game in stoppage time away to Luton Town.

Most attention in the womens game at this time is focussed on Finland where the 2009 European Championships have now got under way with England making their entry into the tournament this afternoon when they take on Italy.

It is always difficult to predict a strong tournament from England with any certainty although there is plenty of reason for optimism when you look at the players available.

I think that within the squad there is a feeling that they need to reach the last four of this tournament to deem it a success and that is certainly the next step forward after making the quarter finals of the World Cup two years ago.

Winning their group will be crucial towards achieving that goal as they will certainly face Germany in the quarter finals if they finish as runners up in their group.

Of course people may harbour the hope of England actually winning the tournament itself and those born optimists would point out that it is almost certain that they would have to beat Germany at some stage to do that so the quarter finals are just as good a time to meet them as any other.

That is true and, personally, I actually think England are the only team in Finland who might have it in them to shock the Germans. It would obviously be a big surprise if England did meet the Germans and come out on top, however, so it would be better for our chances of a prolonged tournament if such a meeting was delayed as long as possible.

Even if they don't meet the Germans until later on in the tournament England will have to be at their best to progress. They will need the usual contributions from stalwarts like Kelly Smith, Fara Williams, Anita Asante and Alex Scott while hoping that Karen Carney can really dazzle on the big stage.

They will also need much improved contributions at either end of the pitch from their goalkeeper and centre forward, positions which have been a problem at previous major tournaments.

It would also be nice to think that someone might emerge from the shadows to make a real impact on the competiton as this generally happens to teams that do enjoy success.

It was undoubtedly hugely impressive, and intimidating, to see the effect Germany's substitutes had in their game with Norway and it would be nice to think that someone in England's ranks could have a similar impact.

The only player in our squad that I can see who might step out of the shadows and claim centre stage is Lianne Sanderson, assuming Eni Aluko is given the starting role up front, and it is vital for England that, between them, these two players make a positive contribution.

Rachel Brown will also be under scrutiny in goal having suffered through injury and incosistent form since the last World Cup.

The standard of goalkeeping in the first four games has been impressively high and if Brown can hit top form and continue that trend then England are certainly equipped to do well but we need to avoid conceding cheap goals as we don't tend to score heavily ourselves in this sort of company.

As ever I am hoping for the best but keeping my fingers crossed.

Come on England!

Tuesday, August 18
Promoted Sides Kick Off With Wins

The National Premier League got under way on Sunday and there were excellent, confidence boosting, victories for the two sides promoted last season; WFC Sunderland and Millwall Lionesses.

The early fixture list is missing Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea and Leeds as they will not begin their league campaigns until their England squad members have returned from the imminent European Championships in Finland. This means that the focus at the moment is on who might get sucked into a relegation battle.

On paper it looks as though there might be as many as half a dozen sides with cause for concern. It is unlikely that anybody will be cast adrift at the bottom of the league this year, unlike the past few seasons, and the relegation issue could provide plenty of tension and excitement right through to the bitter end.

Sunderland would have been hopeful that they could make a positive impact on the Premier League having made it to the FA Cup final last season while gaining promotion and they got off to an impressive start with victory away to Bristol Academy.

The visitors were quickly into their stride and grabbed the lead in the opening minutes when Nicola Devine headed home at the near post following a corner.

Sunderland then proceded to give a well organised, disciplined display which limited Bristol to a minimum of chances and clinched victory midway through the second half with a smart counter attack which ended with Natalie Gutteridge on target.

Three vital points and added belief for the young Sunderland squad but genuine concern for a Bristol side that has suffered badly during the summer with the loss of Corinne Yorston to Arsenal, Gwennan Harries to Everton and the two Kerry's, Bartlett and Manley, to Birmingham City.

Bartlett was on target for her new club as Birmingham romped to a 4-0 victory over Watford. She put the icing on the cake after goals either side of half time by Danni Bird, Heather Scheuber and Sian Larkin had put the Blues firmly in control.

There is certainly plenty of talent within the Birmingham squad and they look to have a well balanced side. It is not inconceivable that they could achieve a top four finish this season and this was a convincing start.

Watford appear as though they might have a soft underbelly and will struggle to find the goals that Helen Lander previously provided on such a regular basis. They have brought some very skillful players to the club during the summer, however, and will be hoping that this will help them gain the wins necessary to avoid the drop.

This season may well be a real rollercoaster ride for The Hornets, though.

Millwall Lionesses were the other promoted side to kick off with a vital win. They left it late before snatching all three points against Nottingham Forest through a Carly Eagles goal. Eagles was on hand to score when the Forest defence failed to deal with a crossed ball properly and this goal could well prove crucial in the final reckoning.

The other game saw Doncaster Belles and Blackburn Rovers share the spoils after a 1-1 draw. Donny had an excellent season last time whereas Blackburn struggled badly during the second half of the campaign.

There was nothing to choose between the two sides on Sunday, however. Rachel Williams was quick to show what England will be missing in Finland by reacting sharply to volley home the opener from six yards when Blackburn couldn't clear a corner in the first half and would have had a second but for a tight offside decision.

Blackburn got stronger as the game wore on, however, and equalised through Katie Ward in the second half before almost snatching a winner through Amy Kane who was denied by a fine save by Nicola Hobbs.

Blackburn have been very active in the transfer market during the summer and will be hoping for a much stronger showing this season. Their new recruits showed up well in this game but their chances may well hinge ultimately on how quickly and fully goalkeeper Danielle Hill recovers from the injury that has now kept her out for almost a year.

Outside the National Premier League there was a chastening start for ambitious OOH Lincoln who went down 4-1 to Liverpool. Lincoln have been runners up in the Northern section for the past three seasons and will have to recover quickly if they are to go one better this time around.

Cheryl Foster, who impressed during Liverpool's relegation last season, scored twice.

In the South the most notable results were Barnet's 3-1 victory over Cardiff City, Stacey Sowden scoring twice, and Brighton's 5-0 hiding of WFC Fulham.

Brighton only narrowly avoided relegation from this section last season while Fulham dropped out of the National Premier League. This result does not bode well for Fulham's prospects this term.

Nice to see Amy Found, stalwart of the womens' game and a good player, among the Brighton scorers.

Away from the domestic game the Champions League draw has been made with Everton being paired with Roa IL and Arsenal meeting PAOK Thessaloniki.

You would not expect Arsenal to have too many problems overcoming their Greek opponents but Everton face a difficult tie. They only just sneaked through their qualifying group ahead of Norwegian opposition and now face the champions of that country.

It would be nice to think that both English teams can make it through to the last sixteen, hopefully after England have enjoyed a successful European Championships.

Finally I should just mention our previous report which saddled Everton's Becky Easton with an own goal during their Champions League qualifier against Osijek.

Apparently our Croatian sources aren't the most reliable and the goal should have been marked down against Lindsay Johnson. We apologize to Becky for this error and thank her for pointing it out to us.

Tuesday, August 11
Everton Progress In Europe

Everton Ladies scraped through their qualifying group in the newly formed Womens' Champions League with an injury time winner in their final game against Team Strommenn of Norway.

Everton required the victory as Strommenn went into the deciding game with a superior goal difference but it looked as though their efforts would be frustrated as a tough, uncompromising battle appeared destined to finish goalless. In a final fling, however, Fara Williams and Rachel Unitt combined well to provide Michelle Hinnigan with a chance and the youngster kept her composure to provide the crucial finish.

Cue scenes of jubilation for Everton and darkest despair for the Norwegians.

In fact the Everton girls probably felt as much relief as jubilation having been so close to the exit door. Hinnigan's goal spared her side the fate they suffered on their previous European venture when they narrowly failed to qualify from their group in the UEFA Cup two years ago.

Memories of that frustrating week in Belgium were impossible to avoid as Everton began this campaign in sloppy fashion. Facing their Croatian hosts, WFC Osijek, in the opening game Everton trailed at half time after Lindsay Johnson put through her own goal and Fara Williams failed to convert a penalty.

They struck back after half time to clinch victory thanks to goals from Toni Duggan, Williams and another own goal but the margin of this win handed the initiative to Strommenn.

A Jill Scott hat trick helped Everton to a resounding 7-0 win over FC Levadia Tallinn of Estonia in their second game but Strommenn remained in pole position after thrashing Osijek 9-0.

In the final analysis though it was Hinnigan's goal that settled everything and Everton can look forward with real excitement towards this Friday's draw which will determine their opponents in the last 32.

No doubt most of you will have already seen the squad selected by Hope Powell for the upcoming European Championships but I should add a quick comment on a squad containing one or two surprises.

The most notable decision would seem to be the selection of Jess Clarke over Rachel Yankey as the third winger in the squad. Although Yankey's playing career has appeared to be winding down of late with less frequent appearances for Arsenal and losing her place to Sue Smith in the England team her omission remains a surprise.

Yankey still has good pace and her crossing, especially from set pieces, is still the best in the country. She would have seemed to be an ideal choice as an impact substitute.

Clarke, however, now has a real chance to make a name for herself and cement a place in the national squad. It won't be easy in top level international competition though and it will be interseting to see how she fares.

Personally I am very disappointed not to see Rachel Williams included in the squad but the Doncaster player has always seemed to be lower down Powell's list and her omission is hardly a surprise.

Powell herself has talked about the possibility of a player emerging during the tournament and making a real impact, however, and I would have thought Williams was more likely to do that than Clarke or Danielle Buet, the fringe players who have been selected.

One of the biggest differences between England and the likes of Germany and America is physical power. When we match up there doesn't appear to be much difference in ability but those nations look bigger and stronger. Only Kelly Smith really measures up in that way but Williams also has these physical attributes.

Clarke and Buet might well perform with credit, if given the chance, but they are likely to be neat and tidy rather than explosive.

England never seem to really bite the bullet and go for it in major tournaments and I'm concerned this one will be no different. Taking Rachel Williams would have been a more positive move and leaving her behind could well be a mistake, especially given the concerns over Kelly Smith's fitness.

Goals are always a concern for England and this tournament will be a big one for both Eni Aluko and Lianne Sanderson as they look to prove themselves at international level.

If they don't fire then the goalscoring onus will fall squarely on the shoulders of Smith once again as Jody Handley is unlikely to cause too many problems in this company.

Regular watchers of Everton Ladies will probably be somewhat confused at Handley's continued selection in the England squad ahead of Natasha Dowie while there are other candidates around the country who may also feel slightly miffed.

In goal Karen Bardsley, based in the States, got the nod as third keeper over the centrally contracted Carly Telford who can also feel aggrieved after doing little wrong for club or country over the past couple of years.

It is not inconceivable that Bardsley could come out of this competition as England's number one number one, however.

Telford was one of five players on central contracts who will not be making the trip to Finland, the others being Steph Houghton, Rachel Williams, Rachel Yankey and Corinne Yorston.

Finally congratulations go to Eni Aluko, Kelly Smith and Alex Scott after their selection in the WPS All Stars team chosen by players, managers, media and fans in America.

As far as I can see the trio won't be able to take part in the scheduled game against Swedish side Umea because of the European Championships, which will surely decimate the Umea side as well, but their selection remains an honour and a huge achievement.

Aluko has most reason for satisfaction as she headed to the States with a much lower profile than Smith and Scott and certainly the most to prove. Six goals in nineteen games, and a decent number of assists, have impressed everybody and helped her team, Saint Louis Athletica, into the play offs as runners up in the regular season.

Hopefully this showing will give Aluko the confidence to really make her mark with England in Finland.

Wednesday July 22, 2009; International Friendly

England Ladies 1 Denmark Ladies 0

England: K.Bardsley, A.Scott, C.Stoney, K.Chapman, L.Johnson, A.Asante, K.Carney, J.Scott (E.Westwood 90), L.Sanderson (J.Handley 45), F.Williams, S.Smith.

As expected England went with their strongest side, apart from injuries, for their final game before the European Championships and this resulted in a better performance and outcome than in the previous weeks’ friendly with Iceland. The performance was not totally convincing but there were positive signs in most areas of the pitch.

There were typical contributions from established players like Alex Scott, Fara Williams and Karen Carney; Lydsay Johnson and Anita Asante gave possibly their most assured display together at the heart of defence; Sue Smith was again lively on the left and Lianne Sanderson produced her most impressive performance in an England shirt during the forty five minutes she was allowed.

There was also an interesting debutant in goalkeeper Karen Bardsley who stepped in at the last minute when Rachel Brown suffered an injury during the warm up. Bardsley was not overly stretched but coped confidently with everything thrown at her and the events of the night will cast increasing doubts over Brown’s international future.

Brown has been riddled with injury problems over the past couple of years and her form has undoubtedly suffered as a result. She will almost certainly go to Finland as Hope Powell’s number one choice but she is now under increasing pressure to confirm her fitness and form.

England started brightly and were obviously looking to impress with quick, sharp attacking moves. Fara Williams was prominent in the early stages but as the first half developed the central figure in these attacks was centre forward Sanderson whose sure control and clever lay offs gave England a real fulcrum for their attacking moves.

Despite some clever interplay England were unable to fashion any clear chances in this opening salvo, however. The most promising move ended when Williams was tripped as she looked to burst through and she could only hit the free kick straight into the wall.

The first sign of a threat from Denmark came around the quarter hour mark with a shot from distance that caused no alarm then a header over the bar by Katrine Veje who might have done better.

England were more incisive when Sanderson and Karen Carney combined to set up Williams inside the area but the shot flashed just wide of the post. Another sweeping move involving Smith, Sanderson and Stoney offered Williams another shooting opportunity and this time it took a good save by Johansen to deny Fara a goal.

At this stage, however, Denmark were beginning to enjoy a greater share of the possession and regular questions were being asked of the England defence. In general Johnson, Asante and company were able to keep the opposition at arms length and Bardsley was able to drop onto a couple of long range efforts from Veje comfortably enough but there was relief all round when Nadia Nadim escaped to head just over following a long throw.

The half ended with Johansen diving out smartly to deny Carney as she looked to profit from another neat flick by Sanderson and the game remained deadlocked despite plenty of promising moments from both sides.

Half Time: England Ladies 0 Denmark Ladies 0

It was surprising to see Sanderson removed at half time with Jody Handley coming on in her place up front. This was no doubt a planned move by Hope Powell but it seemed scant reward or encouragement to Sanderson after her excellent contribution. Handley would prove less effective in general before coming up with the games’ decisive contribution late on.

There was less cohesion in both sides’ play after the break with the two defences looking increasingly confident and secure. Bardsley was equal to another hopeful strike by Veje while England’s most regular shooter, Fara Williams, came close from out wide with a speculative effort that might have been intended as a centre or a shot.

The biggest impetus to England’s attack in the second half was coming from Alex Scott who ventured forward with increasing regularity and purpose from right back as the game wore on. With England eventually beginning to build up something like concerted pressure Scott surged forward again before cutting back a fine ball into the path of Williams whose shot was parried by Cederkvist. Smith looked certain to score as she lunged at the loose ball a yard out but her effort clipped the outside of the post and went harmlessly behind.

England had another good chance when Denmark’s substitute keeper played her side into trouble but Williams was again off target, shooting on the turn, after being found by the alert Smith.

It seemed as though the game was destined to finish goalless as full time approached but with three minutes remaining England finally broke the deadlock to claim victory. Karen Carney, willing as ever, had ventured out to the left and when she drilled a shot towards goal Handley lunged forward to get the slightest, but most crucial, of touches to deflect the ball past Cederkvist.

This goal provided England and their supporters with welcome light relief at the end of a night that had been promising in parts but had seemed certain to end in frustration.

Now for the real stuff.

Full Time: England Ladies 1 Denmark Ladies 0

England: K.Bardsley 7, A.Scott 8, C.Stoney 7, K.Chapman 6, L.Johnson 7, A.Asante 7, K.Carney 8, J.Scott 6, L.Sanderson 8 (J.Handley 6), F.Williams 7, S.Smith 7.

Star Player: Lianne Sanderson

She only played forty five minutes but was excellent as England’s target up front. Big and strong, Sanderson’s excellent control and astute use of the ball allowed England to build up attacks on a regular basis before half time. If she can maintain this level of performance for England Sanderson will become a vital part of the set up.

Thursday July 16, 2009; International Friendly

England Ladies 0 Iceland Ladies 2

England: S.Chamberlain (C.Telford 45), R.Unitt, C.Yorston (D.Susi 65), D.Buet, F.White, L.Bassett, J.Clarke (G.Davison 79), J.Scott (R.Williams 65), E.Aluko, E.Westwood, R.Yankey.

Hope Powell selected what amounted to a shadow side for England’s penultimate game before the European Championship finals and had to suffer a frustrating night as her team slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Iceland in Colchester. England did not lack effort and had their visitors on the back foot for most of the night but lacked penetration and subtlety in their attacking play.

Iceland, attacking mainly on the break, carried a greater threat throughout and there could be little argument about the result in the final reckoning.

England made the early running but there was more huffing and puffing than real precision in their approach play which would become a theme of the night. The best moment of this opening thrust came when Eni Aluko produced a smart turn to create space for herself but the striker was then unable to pick out Emily Westwood’s run and the opening went begging.

Having weathered this early squall Iceland took a grip on proceedings as they enjoyed their most dominant period of the game. Margret Vidarsdottir, the outstanding individual on the night, saw a sweet half volley deflect just wide off an England defender and then forced a decent save out of Siobhan Chamberlain from the resulting corner.

England’s defence had an unfamiliar look to it and there was nothing really convincing about their efforts as a unit but brave blocks by Yorston, Bassett and White were vital as Iceland looked to press home their advantage. There was little surprise when Iceland did then take the lead on twenty five minutes, however, as Holmfridur Magnusdottir sent a low left footed drive past Chamberlain from just outside the box.

England tried to respond but there was no disguising the frantic nature of their efforts. Aluko, sporadically dangerous but basically isolated yet again, sent a curling effort wide after another solo run and Faye White was unlucky to see her strong header cleared off the line after Aluko had forced a corner.

With Iceland defending in numbers and in a highly determined fashion, however, half time came with England looking unlikely to force an equaliser.

Half Time: England Ladies 0 Iceland Ladies 1

England came out looking to impose themselves on proceedings and Rachel Yankey produced a remarkable dribble that took her past four challenges but there was still a defender in position to block her eventual shot which emphasised again the spirited nature and discipline of the Icelandic defensive effort.

England were now claiming penalties with some frequency but the referee, correctly, remained aloof and there was more frustration when Jill Scott’s drive was saved.

There was less certainty at the other end when Carly Telford, a half time substitute, had to scramble to tip over a clever long range effort by Vidarsdottir but the England keeper just about got there and the game remained in the balance.

With just over an hour gone England finally created a clear chance when Danielle Buet’s free kick found Scott unmarked in front of goal but the midfielder could only plant her header wastefully over the bar.

Then Aluko went on a purposeful diagonal run before forcing a good save out of the Icelandic keeper from the edge of the box as England hinted at a rousing finish.

This optimism was dashed when Iceland scored a second, clinching goal with ten minutes remaining. Dunia Susi, a surprise replacement at full back, played her team into trouble with a wayward pass and Vidarsdottir was too strong for the England central defence before finishing calmly beyond the advancing Telford.

England continued to press as hard as they could but still lacked the quality to breach the Iceland defence and it was Telford who found herself in more serious action as the visitors threatened to increase their lead on the break in the closing minutes.

Obviously this defeat is not that significant given the side selected but it is difficult to see what Hope Powell will have learned or gained from this game ahead of the European finals. No doubt she will pick her strongest possible side for next weeks game with Denmark but it might have been more beneficial to mix the teams up and have a handful of hopefuls alongside a core of established players in both games. This would have given her a better idea if any of the fringe players are ready to step into the first team if the situation demands.

Full Time: England Ladies 0 Iceland Ladies 2

England: S.Chamberlain 6 (C.Telford 6), R.Unitt 5, C.Yorston 5 (D.Susi 4), D.Buet 5, F.White 5, L.Bassett 5, J.Clarke 5 (G.Davison 5), J.Scott 6 (R.Williams 6), E.Aluko 7, E.Westwood 5, R.Yankey 6.

Star Player; Eni Aluko

Not an easy decision but Aluko battled bravely as the lone striker and caused moments of panic in the Iceland defence. You might have thought Powell could have taken the opportunity to throw on another striker to give her some support given the nature of the game and the scoreline but once again we stuck rigidly to the 4-3-3 system that continues to make life as hard as possible for our one forward.

All the Women’s National Premier League club pages have been updated to include Football England's appraisal of the good and bad of their season, and here is our very own Women’s Team of the Season.
We‘re going to have to stick with the 4-3-3 formation for the women’s team I‘m afraid because virtually everyone still plays it all the time so the players obviously fit into the system. It would be nice to see a few different ideas and tactics creeping in from our coaching manual managers.
Lindsay Johnson, Kelly Smith and Fara Williams have now featured in all four Football England Team of the Seasons while Rachel Unitt and Karen Carney retain their starting places from last season. Natasha Dowie steps up from the 2007-08 substitutes bench while the Leeds duo of Carly Telford and Sue Smith go the other way.
Special mention this year goes to Doncaster’s Rachel Williams who made such a storming impression during her first season at this level.

Substitutes:
C.Telford (Leeds Carnegie)
C.Weston (Doncaster Belles)
K.Chapman (Arsenal)
S.Smith (Leeds Carnegie)
G.Harries (Bristol Academy)

Manager: Vic Akers (Arsenal)

Gk: Emma Byrne (Arsenal)

Byrne has struggled to get into this side mainly because she has seldom had much to do between the posts in the all conquering Arsenal side. This season has seen her a little more active as Arsenal found themselves in a state of transition and she proved herself reliable in every instance, culminating in an outstanding performance in the league decider at Everton.
Tall and agile she undoubtedly has the best physique for a goalkeeper in the National Premier League.

RB: Casey Stoney (Chelsea)

It was nice to see Stoney back in her best position for Chelsea and she was outstanding all season. Rock solid in the tackle and good in the air Stoney also gets forward well with sound passing and excellent crossing ability. Ended the season as player manager at Chelsea and she certainly has an air of authority in everything she does.

CH: Lindsay Johnson (Everton)

Lindsay Johnson is magnificent. She’s more like a crusader than a centre half, sweeping across the field with majestic power to repel opposition attacks and then starting her own. One of the most single minded players in English football she just keeps going and going, putting everything she has into the Everton cause. Lindsay, we salute you.

CH: Gilly Flaherty (Arsenal)

Arsenal needed a couple of their younger players to step up to the plate during a season of upheaval and nobody grasped the nettle harder than Flaherty. By the end of the season she was established at centre half and has all the basic qualities to be a success in that position.
She does not look like the traditional centre half and looking at her you might wonder whether she really has the stomach for a battle but watching her take a full blooded punch to the head and come back for more in the FA Cup final seemed to answer those doubts.

LB: Rachel Unitt (Everton)

Started the season, surprisingly, at centre half but was soon back in her usual position at left back. Remains a model of consistency and brings a calm assurance to everything she does. Suffered one torrid examination at the hands of Arsenal’s Gemma Davison in the FA Cup but handled her well in the clubs’ other meetings.

CM: Kim Little (Arsenal)

Vic Akers promised us that this girl was a bit special and he wasn’t having us on. This was Little’s first full season with Arsenal after moving down from Scotland and she was a massive success.
A busy midfielder who always wants to get forward and hurt the opposition, Little has the ability to skip past a challenge but is most dangerous slipping passes through to her strikers or darting forward to accept such a pass herself.
Has an instinctive footballing brain and hardly ever chooses the wrong option.

CM: Fara Williams (Everton)

Football England Favourite Fara Williams remains untouchable. Yet another season of magnificent consistency and quality in midfield backed up by another impressive goal return.
Outstanding for club and country. (I left these comments untouched from last year but it’s worth noting that Fara now seems to have taken the Ronaldo toe bunger free kick to a new level of consistency)

AM: Rachel Williams (Doncaster Belles)

The Belles’ made an inspired signing in taking this powerful attacking midfielder from Leicester City in the summer and Williams was instrumental in making this the clubs’ best season in a long time.
Always looking to attack the opposition Williams has a raw power that makes her almost impossible to stop when in full flight and is probably only matched in that department by Kelly Smith in this country. She is no bull in a china shop, however, as she retains excellent control and is an assured finisher when storming forward.
Gave an outstanding performance in the League Cup final when she took on the Arsenal defence almost single-handed and looks capable of providing a threat for England if given the chance in the upcoming European Championships.

RW: Karen Carney (Arsenal)

The wonderfully talented and enthusiastic Carney ended the season in the Pro League and America’s gain is very definitely our loss. Gave further outstanding service to Arsenal before her departure and also continued to become increasingly influential for England.

CF: Natasha Dowie (Everton)

Dowie has done exceptionally well for Everton since moving from Charlton and now looks a more complete player than the likes of Aluko and Sanderson who came to prominence earlier and remain above her in the England pecking order.
Dowie is an excellent target with a good touch and real strength, her movement is good and she is a reliable, and still improving, finisher. Probably lacks a yard of pace but must be close to an international call up.

LW: Kelly Smith (Arsenal)

Simply the best. Kelly has been in the midfield in all our previous teams of the season but this time we’ve slotted her in up front. Despite quitting the Premier League for America in February she ended up the divisions’ top scorer by a comfortable margin and her goals went a long way towards Arsenal retaining their title on goal difference in the end.
Now thrilling everybody in the States with her wonderful combination of raw power and delicate skill. What a shame that this country cannot provide her with the platform she deserves.

Manager: Vic Akers (Arsenal)

We have never bestowed this accolade on Akers before despite the fact that his side has been winning virtually everything ever since we began giving coverage in 2005. Akers, along with the Arsenal club, has made his own job relatively easy over the years with his unflinching efforts and their unceasing support which have long since put the club in a position of real power.
This season was completely different, however. Arsenal were still the team to beat and had an enviable array of talent at their disposal but between last summer and the end of the season they lost Anita Asante, Lianne Sanderson, Mary Phillip, Alex Scott, Karen Carney and Kelly Smith. They also had to do without the services of Faye White (injured) and Julie Fleeting (pregnant) for the majority of the campaign.
That is some loss of personnel but Akers was still able to guide his side to a domestic treble; comfortable wins in both cup competitions being followed up by the narrowest and most dramatic of league titles.
This was certainly a fitting way for Akers to stand down from the managers role with Arsenal Ladies and he certainly leaves both a wonderful legacy and a hard act to follow.

Sunday May 10, 2009; National Premier League.

Everton Ladies 0 Arsenal Ladies 1

Everton: R.Brown, B.Easton, F.Whelan, L.Johnson, R.Unitt, F.Williams, J.Scott, M.Hinnigan, J.Handley, N.Dowie (E.Westwood 76), T.Duggan.

Arsenal: E.Byrne, L.Bassett, C.Grant, G.Flaherty, N.Fahey, K.Chapman, J.Ludlow, K.Little, G.Davison (H.Lander 60), S.Grant (E.Pond 90), R.Yankey.

The destination of the Womens' Premier League title for 2009 had come down to this meeting between Everton Ladies and Arsenal Ladies. Everton needed only a draw to end Arsenal's domination of the competition whereas the visitors needed to win to retain their title on goal difference.

There was a healthy crowd, eventually recorded at 2,135, cramming into one stand of The Stobart Stadium, home of Widnes Rugby League Club, at kick off but there was no sign of nerves as the game began in open fashion.

Everton made a positive start, no doubt looking to avoid the trap of playing for a draw, and pinned Arsenal back in the opening minutes. Having won a corner on the right Jill Scott met Fara Williams' driven centre with a powerful downward header at point blank range and it needed a magnificent save on the line from Emma Byrne to keep the scores level.

Everton continued to impress with Williams setting Jody Handley away down the right with a wonderful pass to win another corner and then the England midfielder was dubiously pulled up for offside as she raced through to meet a punt forward from Rachel Brown.

Arsenal had shown some neat football of their own without really testing the Everton defence when they came forward to win a corner of their own with just over ten minutes gone. Kim Little whipped this in to the near post and the ball bounced just wide following an aerial challenge.

The ball appeared to have come off an Arsenal head but the referee decided that it had been an Everton touch and this was to prove a crucial judgement.

Little then sent over a deeper ball which Brown came for without ever looking convincing and when the ball dropped it landed straight at the feet of Suzanne Grant who accepted the gift without hesitation from six yards out.

It was unclear whether the referee had made a misjudgement in awarding the corner. It was blatantly obvious that Rachel Brown had made a misjudgement in trying to deal with it.

This goal now shifted the onus squarely onto the home side to find the next goal but they were unable to maintain their bright start as Arsenal set up a solid shield in front of their back four and looked to play on the counter attack, a situation that seemed to be to their liking.

Jayne Ludlow and Katie Chapman, who was particularly impressive, ensured that it was difficult for Everton to mount any concerted pressure or provide support to Natasha Dowie while Kim Little remained free to help the Arsenal attack when they did break forward.

Little's twinkling feet earned her a couple of shooting opportunities and it needed good blocks by the Everton defence to take the sting out of likely looking efforts and the playmaker then combined well with Gemma Davison in a move that ended with Rachel Yankey sending in an angled drive that was well struck but straight at Brown in the Everton goal.

Everton were trying to press but struggling to create anything resembling a clear opening as the Arsenal rearguard worked diligently. Toni Duggan wriggled away from one challenge close to goal following a corner from the left but then found herself crowded out by covering defenders.

Jill Scott was provided with a better chance when a cute pass by Handley put her in behind the Arsenal defence but although Scott got the first touch as Emma Byrne dashed out the goalkeeper got a stronger touch herself and was able to pick the ball up as Scott went down in the challenge.

Scott claimed a penalty but she had actually fallen over the ball in the end and the referee was certainly correct in waving play on.

The play was becoming increasingly scrappy as the half progressed with Everton huffing and puffing but producing nothing really fluent.

As so often happens when these two teams meet the lone Everton striker, in this case Dowie, was finding herself painfully isolated as her midfield colleagues struggled to get the upper hand and the wide attackers, Handley and Duggan, failed to make any real impression on the flanks.

Dowie therefore, despite looking capable of creating something herself, was always fighting a losing battle against her two shadows.

The Everton striker had been harshly pulled up for a foul on one occasion as she turned her marker in a dangerous area and then showed good feet to fashion herself a half chance but could only manage a feeble finish.

Fara Williams, nowhere near her best, sent in one decent effort from twenty yards that was too close to Emma Byrne's post for comfort before Handley wasted a promising situation after good work from Dowie.

Just before half time Everton almost gifted Arsenal a second goal as Brown and Fern Whelan got themselves into a tangle after a long ball down the middle but escaped as Brown got a vital hand to Whelan's header back as the pair converged on each other.

So Arsenal were in the position they wanted to be at the break with Everton looking increasingly unlikely to break them down and conjure the goal they now needed to be crowned champions.

Half Time: Everton Ladies 0 Arsenal Ladies 1

The second half, unsurprisingly, followed the same pattern as the first. Arsenal remained content to soak up pressure and, despite the fact that Everton managed to press them further back, they continued to do so with relative comfort while remaining a sporadic threat on the break.

Indeed Everton were fortunate to get away unpunished when Williams played her side into trouble with an awful pass straight to Yankey who found her run on goal blocked by Fern Whelan. This looked highly suspect but the referee was content to turn a blind eye and the game remained in the balance.

Everton were still unable to fashion anything clear cut in open play but had plenty of opportunities to apply pressure from set piece situations. Unfortunately Fara Williams was not on top of her game in this area either while Jody Handley's attempts posed even less danger.

There seemed to be a conscious decision to aim the kicks straight at Emma Byrne in the hope that the Arsenal goalkeeper would make a mistake but the Irish international was at her commanding best.

Byrne did well to punch one of Fara's better corners behind and then watched a decent free kick from the same player flash a couple of yards over her crossbar. The one time when the Arsenal keeper didn't get there from a Handley corner Natasha Dowie headed over at the far post. Byrne complained that she had been fouled and seemed to have cause for grievance but the effort would have counted had it been on target.

The better openings were coming at the other end as Everton looked to push more players forward. Yankey made a good break down the left before pulling her low centre back too far for her onrushing colleagues and it needed an excellent challenge from the hugely impressive Lindsay Johnson to stop Helen Lander, on as a sub, in her tracks as Arsenal countered following an Everton corner.

With Everton trying to gather a head of steam for the last fifteen minutes their chances took a hammer blow as Byrne made a great take from a Handley free kick and flattened Dowie in the process. The Everton striker tried to continue but collapsed almost immediately and had to be stretchered from the field.

Emily Westwood, who had been ready to come on in any case, now found herself replacing the one player who had looked capable of snatching a goal for Everton and taking her place at centre forward.

All of Westwood's best work for Everton has been done either in defence or midfield and she could make no real impression as a makeshift striker as the home team continued to throw hopeful balls towards the Arsenal penalty area.

Mo Marley persisted with Handley and Duggan on the flanks despite the fact that neither had sent in a decent cross all afternoon or posed a threat on goal while Michelle Hinnigan, a highly surprising inclusion ahead of Westwood, remained anonymous as the attacking midfield link.

The ball kept coming towards the Arsenal penalty area from a succesion of punts forward, free kicks, long throw ins and corners but Byrne still hadn't made a save of note in the second half and it began to look more likely that Arsenal would seal victory on the break against a defence that by now was almost non existent.

Kim Little could not find a finish after being set up by Rachel Yankey and then the winger shot wide of the near post when the roles were reversed.

In the end the failure to find a second goal proved meaningless as the referee sounded the final whistle with Everton still pounding futilely at the Arsenal door.

Yet another triumph for Arsenal, therefore, with a sixth straight league title in the bag and a domestic treble completed.

In the end this success came courtesy of the smallest of margins. Arsenal took the crown on goal difference but in the end the difference was one superb save by Emma Byrne and one sad misjudgement by Rachel Brown at early corners in this decisive match.

Full Time: Everton Ladies 0 Arsenal Ladies 1

Star Player: Katie Chapman

Chapman was outstanding in what was mainly a defensive Arsenal effort. She was constantly heading balls away before her back four needed to get involved or making an interception or challenge that broke up a potential Everton attack.
She was also neat and tidy, as always, in her distribution and radiated an air of calm authority that no-one on the Everton side could match.

Monday May 4, 2009; Womens FA Cup Final.

Arsenal Ladies 2 WFC Sunderland 1

Arsenal: E.Byrne, L.Bassett (F.White 90), C.Grant, G.Flaherty, N.Fahey, G.Davison (N.Ross 82), J.Ludlow, K.Chapman, R.Yankey, K.Little, S.Grant (H.Lander 62).

Sunderland: H.Alderson, L.Bronze, V.Greenwell, S.Bannon, S.Halliday, L.Staniforth, K.McDougall, J.Nobbs, S.Williams (N.Devine 62), N.Gutteridge (S.Danby 83), D.Stokes.

Recent FA Cup finals had certainly been one sided affairs with Arsenal Ladies sweeping all before them and there was an obvious worry that this one might be the most lop-sided of the lot with the all conquering queens of English football meeting challengers from outside the top flight in Sunderland.

Promotion chasing Sunderland could take confidence from their fine semi final victory over Chelsea and some comfort from a glance at the Arsenal teamsheet. Without the departed Smith, Carney and Scott and with Julie Fleeting unavailable the Arsenal line up was not looking as formidable as in recent finals.

There was no doubt that Arsenal remained overwhelming favourites, however, and if the young Sunderland side betrayed any signs of nerves or inferiority complex then they could expect a long afternoon.

Arsenal started brightly with Gemma Davison heavily involved in their early attacking moves. Facing a makeshift left back in sixteen year old Sophie Halliday the tricky forward immediately surged past her opponent to set up an instant attack and spent the first ten minutes causing problems down either flank.

The first threat to the Sunderland goal came from an inswinging free kick by Rachel Yankey that flashed just wide of the far post via a Sunderland head and Davison instigated a clever move involving Kim Little that ended with Suzanne Grant, preferred to Helen Lander up front, sliding a low effort into the side netting.

This was a clear chance and set the tone for an indecisive display from the centre forward.

Davison was keen to shoot herself when cutting in from the left hand side and saw one strong effort blocked before curling in an inviting centre from the right that was just too high for Grant.

Sunderland could be reasonably pleased with their start, however. They had managed not to concede and each passing minute saw them competing more confidently at the back and in midfield. There was also a hint of indecision in the Arsenal back four when a couple of long balls were sent forward but Sunderland were struggling to get the players forward to take any advantage and the prospect of a goal remained almost exclusively at the other end of the pitch.

Steph Bannon was lucky to escape a yellow card after felling Yankey in full flight following smart distribution by Emma Byrne before Sunderland retaliated with a good move of their own. Halliday clipped a good ball forward down the left for Sophie Williams who sent in a dangerous ball to the near post. Jordan Nobbs was arriving from midfield right on cue but, under pressure from a defender, could not get the power needed on her finish to trouble Byrne.

Williams was soon on the attack in the inside left position again but found herself completely without support and having to shoot from an unfavourable angle. Once again Emma Byrne's save was purely routine.

At this stage Sunderland seemed to have found Arsenal's measure in midfield and looked capable of pushing on to trouble the favourites but Arsenal then upped the pace to pen their opponents back for the rest of the first half.

Kim Little sent in a good effort from distance that had Alderson worried as it flashed over the bar and the Sunderland keeper then had to field a firm drive from Davison as she again cut inside from the left wing.

Davison had been allowed too much space to get her shot away as she came inside and this was a lesson Sunderland did not heed.

Little, now Arsenal's playmaker in chief, was becoming increasingly involved and one typical burst ended with a clever pass into Grant who managed to squeeze a shot under Alderson only for Lucy Bronze to clear bravely off the line, ploughing into the post as she did so.

The pressure was increasing as Alderson had to claw away a Yankey cross shot and was fortunate to see the ball land at the feet of a defender rather than an attacker and then Little slammed a shot against the outside of a post after Sunderland had played themselves into trouble just outside their own box.

Jayne Ludlow was inches away from connecting with a lunging dive at the far post following an inswinging free kick and Suzanne Grant wasted another clear opening when her touch was poor in front of goal only eight yards out.

An Arsenal goal was now looking inevitable and it duly arrived when Davison was again allowed to cut inside to test Alderson who spilled the shot and was powerless to intervene as Katie Chapman stepped forward to slam the rebound high into the net.

This was certainly a goalkeeping error but it was hard not to feel sympathy for Alderson who had been standing up well to increasing pressure.

Half time couldn't come quickly enough now for Sunderland and they were relieved that Grant could only put in another weak attempt after a lovely turn and pass by Little had put her clear again.

Ludlow also went close with a drive from outside the box when again offered too much time and space but the interval came without further score and only one goal seperating the two sides.

Half Time: Arsenal Ladies 1 WFC Sunderland 0

Sunderland were able to regroup during the break and they were able to keep Arsenal further from their goal for long periods as the second half progressed. They were still unable to make much impression at the other end, however.

Jordan Nobbs and Sophie Williams combined for one neat move but Emma Byrne was out quickly to deal with the centre and there was more danger at the other end as Davison sent two centres right across the face of goal in quick succession.

With the game becoming stuck in a midfield rut there was a horrible delay when Sophie Williams stayed down after a crunching challenge and was eventually stretchered from the field motionless and with breathing apparatus in place.

The challenge had been perfectly fair and seemingly innocuous but there was no doubting the severity of the outcome. We obviously wish Williams the best for a speedy recovery.

This was a blow in more ways than one for Sunderland as Williams had looked the one attacking player who might snatch something for them as they looked to get back on terms.

Arsenal continued to do most of the attacking but there was little conviction about their play by this stage and you sensed that Sunderland might still be able to pull off a shock. Unfortunately the underdogs were beginning to look increasingly jaded which was hardly surprising given the effort they had expended in keeping Arsenal out for over an hour.

Ludlow was again close to converting a teasing centre from Yankey at the far post while Ciara Grant sent a scuffed effort into the side netting following a corner. Then Davison sent Helen Lander, on as a substitute, through the middle but Alderson produced a good save with her foot to keep her side in contention.

There was also another stoppage as Gilly Flaherty received treatment after finding herserf on the end of an Alderson punch as she challenged for a corner.

Flaherty recovered from the blow and almost provided her own knockout punch as she came forward for another set piece but saw her header go straight at the Sunderland keeper.

Arsenal were finishing strongly and Vicky Greenwell did well to block a header from Natalie Ross, another substitute, before Alderson's mixed afternoon continued as she allowed Lander to block her clearance and was hugely relieved at the forwards' poor finish.

With the game into a lengthy period of injury time Arsenal finally managed a second goal and it was one of real class. Chapman chipped beyond the Sunderland defence to pick out Kim Little's forward run and the skillful Little produce a masterly turn to get the ball out of her feet and around the advancing Alderson in one glorious movement before clipping into the empty net.

There were still several minutes remaining and there was a fear that Sunderland might concede again for a margin of defeat that their efforts did not deserve. To their eternal credit, however, Sunderland actually managed to put the Arsenal goal under more pressure than at any time in the game.

Sarah Danby fired in a superb effort from distance that forced Byrne into a flying save and then Kelly McDougall produced a turn and finish that was not far behind Little's in terms of quality to reduce the arrears with the last kick of the game.

It was telling that this was McDougall's first real venture into the Arsenal penalty area, however. Sundeland had battled bravely and given an excellent account of themselves but their attacking options had remained strictly limited throughout and Arsenal were once again worthy winners.

Full Time: Arsenal Ladies 2 WFC Sunderland 1

Star Player: Lucy Bronze

The Sunderland right back epitomized the spirit and quality of Sunderland's defensive effort and stood up to the double threat of Davison and Yankey remarkably well. Her goalline clearance was the obvious highlight of an outstanding performance.

Thursday April 23, 2009; International Friendly.

England 3 Norway 0

England: R.Brown, A.Scott, C.Stoney, F.Williams, L.Johnson, A.Asante, K.Carney, J.Scott, E.Aluko (K.Chapman 66), K.Smith, S.Smith (J.Clarke 79).

Norway: C.Knutsen, I.Stensland, T.Ronning, S.Gulbrandsen, I.Herlovsen (M.Wiik 60), H.Gardsjord (C.Huse 82), M.Mjelde, T.Akerhaugen, I.Isaksen, K.Lie (E.Thorsnes 60), L.Storlokken (A.Giske 60).

Within thirty seconds of the start Norway had come forward for a shot by Solveig Gulbrandsen that was not too far away from the angle of post and bar. This set the scene for a competitive and entertaining friendly international.

The early stages were evenly contested with the two teams trading attacking moves. Fara Williams drove forward from midfield to draw a free kick within shooting distance and was not far away with her resulting effort before Isabell Herlovsen scraped the post with a low drive for Norway.

This was the best chance of the opening quarter hour as the England central defence got itself into a tangle. Lindsay Johnson flicked an intended interception away from Anita Asante who was then brushed aside by Herlovsen as she strove to recover.

This opportunity came as Norway enjoyed their best spell of the game. Attacking swiftly and directly with good movement from midfield the England defence was at full stretch for several minutes. Asante looked uncomfortable under pressure on a couple of occasions but then produced a smart interception to halt a dangerous move while Alex Scott had to clear awkwardly from the jaws of goal after Jill Scott had conceded a free kick just outside the box.

There was encouragement for England when they did manage to get forward, however, especially from the unconvincing, third choice Norwegian keeper, Caroline Knutsen.

Johnson headed a Sue Smith corner wide with the keeper flapping hopelessly and, with Norway unable to relieve the pressure, England then took a nineteenth minute lead.

Jill Scott was the instigator by winning possession high up the field and a quick interchange between Kelly Smith and Karen Carney ended with the latter crossing low to the near post where Fara Williams arrived to sweep home a left footed finish.

Fara’s scoring shot was crisp enough but Knutsen should have blocked the effort rather than spooning it into her own net.

The goal obviously inspired England and they began to take increasing control of the proceedings. The presence of Knutsen in goal also encouraged a shoot on sight policy, particularly from skipper Williams, which promised further goals at any moment. The long range policy did not bring reward at this stage, however, with an early drive into the keepers’ tummy from Fara and a free kick onto the roof of the net from Kelly Smith coming the closest.

England then carved out a clear chance after a superb move out of defence which ended with Williams lobbing a teasing ball to the far post. The Norway defence was uniformly static but Carney wasted the opportunity with a feeble right footed effort when a left foot shot or a header would have been a better option.

Again Norway were unable to properly relieve the pressure, however, and England again took full advantage. A left wing corner was only partially cleared and when the ball was quickly played back out to Carney on the left she delivered a perfect centre for Lindsay Johnson to head home her first international goal.

England were now rampant as half time approached. Kelly Smith sent a superb through ball to Eni Aluko but the striker’s first touch was sloppy and the chance went begging. Carney then saw a thirty yarder tipped over and Aluko’s drive from the resulting corner was blocked on the line. Finally Sue Smith whipped in a cracking free kick which just cleared Jill Scott six yards out.

So by the end of a keenly contested first half England were worth their two goal lead despite having suffered several uncomfortable moments themselves.

Half Time: England Ladies 2 Norway Ladies 0

England were keen to retain the initiative after half time and made a storming start to the second half, keeping Norway pressed back deep inside their own half for several minutes. No chances were forthcoming in this period, however, and Norway managed to lift the siege to enjoy a strong spell themselves.

Jill Scott was rightly booked for a cynical tug as Norway broke dangerously but the free kick brought danger of its’ own as the well placed ball found Gulbrandsen six yards out but her header lobbed over the bar.

The England defence was now looking more secure and Norway struggled to fashion chances despite their increased possession. Anita Asante, in particular, was now looking her normal dominant self. Goalkeeper Rachel Brown was not looking as confident as those in front of her, however, and she was lucky to get away with a hurried clearance, from Alex Scott’s back pass, that was charged down close to goal.

In fairness to Brown this was not the best back pass ever but the incident added to the impression that England’s goalkeeper was not exuding confidence and security. This was confirmed later when she inexplicably passed the ball, under no pressure, straight to Melissa Wiik whose scoring attempt was equally woeful, rolling wide of the gaping goal from twenty five yards.

In between these incidents Ingvild Isaksen had come close with a fierce drive that angled just wide of the far post from the right hand side of the area.

The game was now beginning to drift slightly although there was interest to be had in following the feud that began to develop between the teams’ two star players, Kelly Smith and Ingvild Stensland.

Stensland had not been at her best and had been made to look sluggish on several occasions by the vibrant Smith. It was possibly frustration that caused her to foul Smith late and thereby start the spat.

Nothing was done about this initial incident but Smith obviously made a mental note and provided her own retribution a little later with a crunching, perfectly fair, challenge that left the normally upright and elegant Stensland in an untidy heap.

Absolutely brilliant.

Obviously ruffled Stensland took the earliest opportunity to niggle Smith late again and was promptly booked.

This marked the end of the warfare, however, as both players probably realised they were better off getting on with the game again.

Wiik’s horrible miss had effectively marked the end of Norway’s challenge and England sealed victory with a third goal eleven minutes from the end. Fara Williams was again the scorer when one of her long range efforts finally hit the jackpot. Fara was well out and to the left of goal but her angled drive was too hot for Knutsen who got hands on the effort but could not stop it from finding the far corner.

This was undoubtedly a fine strike from Fara but once again the keeper had to be disappointed.

Stensland then risked an early bath by booting Jess Clarke, who looked lively after coming on for Sue Smith, but the referee was tolerant and contented herself with a word in Stensland’s shell-like.

The final action saw Carney produce a magnificent piece of skill down the left before crossing low to Jill Scott whose first time volley rippled the wrong side of the netting from close range.

All in all a good game and another excellent result for England. The only possible quibble from an England point of view was that the game didn’t really teach us anything that we didn’t know already. Hope Powell only introduced two substitutes and only Jess Clarke, given the last eleven minutes, was a new face with something to prove.

Clarke made the most of her time on the pitch, looking lively and comfortable in this company. It would have been nice to see one or two others given the same sort of opportunity.

Powell has been banging on about the impact new faces can make at major tournaments but they have to be given the opportunity. Gemma Davison might be a credible substitute for Carney and Rachel Williams looks the most likely of all to come in and make a real difference.

I know we have often complained that friendlies have been made meaningless by too many substitutions but this seemed to be going too far the other way.

Still, an excellent performance, result and game.

Full Time: England Ladies 3 Norway Ladies 0

England: R.Brown 4, A.Scott 6, C.Stoney 6, F.Williams 9, L.Johnson 6, A.Asante 7, K.Carney 8, J.Scott 8, E.Aluko 5 (K.Chapman 5), K.Smith 8, S.Smith 7 (J.Clarke 7).

Star Player: Fara Williams

Football England Favourite Fara scored two goals and had several other decent attempts on goal but it was the control and vision she brought to her passing that really earned her star billing. Wonderfully two footed she kept England ticking over from first to last.
Special mention also to Kelly Smith for her notable defensive efforts that kept England out of danger in the early stages when Norway were looking to press. Considering her standing in the game and the fact that this was only a friendly it says a lot about Smith that she is prepared to put in that kind of effort.

Tuesday, April 21
Everton Maintain Pressure

Everton Ladies remain on course to end Arsenal's dominance of the National Premier League after scoring two more vital victories in the last week.

The midweek trip to Birmingham looked a difficult fixture and this proved to be the case. The home side pushed Everton all the way and were only defeated by another set piece special from Fara Williams.

Fara found the top corner with a free kick from 25 yards shortly before half time and Everton just about managed to protect this advantage.

Birmingham gave everything they had in search of the equaliser but it was simply not to be their night. This was confirmed when they struck the woodwork twice within a minute during the second half. Firstly Jo Potter lobbed against the bar and then, after Everton had scrambled the ball clear at the expense of a corner, Jemma Connor-Iommi smacked a shot against the post.

There were no such scares on Sunday, however, as Everton ran out comfortable winners over Bristol Academy. There was only one goal in it at half time, Jody Handley on target, but the game was settled early in the second half as Williams scored twice.

Fara then went on to complete her hat trick before Rachel Unitt completed the scoring for a 5-0 win.

Everything is still geared up towards a championship decider between Everton and Arsenal and we now have a date for this crunch fixture. Sunday May 10 is the date and the Widnes rugby league stadium is the venue.

I can't wait.

Chelsea Ladies ensured that they will finish another vaguely disappointing season in 3rd place after defeating Leeds Carnegie 3-1 on Sunday.

The form of Sarah Kempson, who has come to the fore since Eni Aluko's departure, has been a real plus point for Chelsea recently and she opened the scoring after ten minutes with a free kick.

Former Blue Ellen White headed Leeds level after her initial effort had rebounded from the bar but Chelsea regained the advantage after half time when Sophie Walton sliced into her own net before Emma Whitter sealed the victory.

The other Premier League fixture to take place saw WFC Fulham end their campaign by claiming their first victory of the season at Blackburn.

The home side led at half time through Denise Campbell but Fulham claimed the points after second half goals from Gemma Fraser and Charmaine Benham.

This result provides some form of consolation for Fulham and further concern for Blackburn whose form has deteriorated as the season has gone on.

Sunderland are still sweating on whether they can overhaul OOH Lincoln in the Northern section after taking four points from their two games last week.

There was huge disappointment in dropping two points at home to Newcastle before they rallied on Sunday to record an 11-0 win over Aston Villa.

The Black Cats dominated the derby with Newcastle but could not press home their superiority against predictably resolute opponents. Natalie Gutteridge finally broke the deadlock with a fine header on the hour mark but the second goal wouldn't come and Newcastle made Sunderland pay when Melanie Reay lofted home an opportunist goal from long range for a late equaliser.

There were no such problems finding the net against Villa, however, as Gutteridge and Sophie Williams both scored four in their double figure victory.

Sunderland have three league games remaining and need to win them all to overtake Lincoln.

Congratulations go to Millwall Lionesses who duly confirmed promotion from the Southern section with a hard fought victory over Crystal Palace last week.

It took Millwall seventy minutes to break the deadlock but once Ann Marie Heatherson had headed home the opener Millwall cruised to a 3-0 win.

Heatherson struck again for the second before providing Carly Eagles with the chance to make it three.

It was appropriate that Keith Boanas was back in Blighty to see Millwall crowned champions and especially nice that he should contact us with another chirpy message.

Boanas laid the foundations for Millwall's successful season and was obviously happy to be back to see the culmination of his earlier work. He was also, typically, quick to praise the work of his successor at Millwall, Matt Beard.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Keith a happy 50th birthday and the best of luck with his work in Estonia.

It was also interesting that Boanas should tip Millwall striker Ann Marie Heatherson for international recognition in the near future. I wonder if he's discovered any Estonian blood in her family tree.

Wednesday, April 15
Arsenal Held By Donny

Arsenal Ladies continue to find life more of a struggle after losing three players to the American pro league and, having already lost to Everton, they were held to a goalless draw by Doncaster Belles on Sunday.

Arsenal had already posted two handsome wins against the same opposition this season but found it difficult to make inroads against a resolute Doncaster side in a game of few clear cut chances.

Doncaster were obviously intent on matching Arsenal physically after suffering in that respect in their recent League Cup final meeting and did so successfully. This went a long way towards gaining them their point but also ensured that the game was not much of a spectacle.

Not that the Belles should be blamed for that. There's no point just rolling over.

While the result gives hope to Arsenal's would be challengers, especially Everton, that the queens of womens football in this country are no longer untouchable it doesn't really make any difference to the league situation.

As it stands an Arsenal victory at Everton would still give them the title, presuming neither team slips up again.

Everton cruised to a 6-0 win over already relegated WFC Fulham. Toni Duggan and Jill Scott were on target before half time before Fara Williams helped herself to a hat trick after the break with Jody Handley also on target.

Williams scored once from open play, once from the penalty spot and once from a free kick, which was another of her Ronaldo style efforts.

Elsewhere there were wins for Chelsea and Leeds. Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 with Sarah Kempson scoring twice while Leeds won 2-1 at Bristol Academy.

Sue Smith and Carla Cantrell were the goalscorers but this game was marred by a nasty looking injury to Steph Houghton early on in the game. Houghton was stretchered off after an opponent fell onto her in a challenge with the impact seeming to cause serious damage to her knee.

Leeds continue to be dogged by injuries in general and this could be Houghton's second serious setback in just over a year. We wish her the best and hope that first impressions weren't correct in this case.

OOH Lincoln completed their programme in the Northern section with a 4-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday and then received a massive boost with the news that Sunderland had lost at home to Leicester City.

Jodie Michalaska took her league tally for the season to 32 with a hat trick and Lincoln must now wait to see if Sunderland can make up a twelve point deficit from their five games in hand. With Sunderland still having to face Newcastle and Leicester again during the run in Lincoln will be hopeful that they slip up.

There was no doubting that Leicester deserved their victory on Wearside as two goals from Natasha Meade put the seal on a vibrant second half display from the visitors who ended up 3-1 winners.

There won't be any such dramas in the South where Millwall now need only one more point to clinch the title after two more wins in a week. Firstly they recorded a routine 3-0 win over Brighton before seeing off Truro City 2-0. Not surprisingly Ann Marie Heatherson scored in both of these victories. I wonder if Heatherson will actually go with Millwall into the Premier League next season or simply join another team in the Southern section and get them promoted instead.

Wednesday, April 8
Forest's Great Escape

Nottingham Forest are able to celebrate avoiding relegation and another season in the top flight after defeating Leeds Carnegie 1-0 on Sunday. This win means Forest have taken 13 points from their last 6 games. That represents good form at any time but looks truly remarkable when compared with the 4 points from 13 games that they had managed previously.

Andrea Bell, who blows hot and cold but is a real handful when she is hot, scored the all important goal seven minutes from time when she broke through on goal to score, just about, past Carly Telford from a tight angle.

Credit obviously goes to Forest who have rallied so strongly to produce the goods when it really mattered having contested many earlier games for long periods only to lose out narrowly in the end.

Liverpool Ladies, who have finished their fixtures and are definitely relegated, have in truth no-one to blame but themselves. If they had beaten the league's bottom side, WFC Fulham, on Sunday they would have kept Forest sweating but two Kelly Jones goals were only enough to gain them a point having trailed twice to goals by Gemma Fraser and Charmaine Benham.

That result meant that Liverpool had drawn twice with Fulham this season and they finished the campaign without a home win. The Reds recorded a handful of excellent results along the way but were never able to put a sequence together which meant that they were always vulnerable to a Forest rally and, eventually, that is exactly what happenend.

Significantly Forest's great run started with victory at Liverpool and they will be relieved that the pressure is now off as they complete their season with games against Chelsea, twice, and Everton.

Everton remain on course for the title but they face a long haul through April if they are going to complete their mission. Having slogged their way to a goalless draw at Leeds last week they found Watford in similarly determined mood on Sunday and were grateful for a Fern Whelan header which ended up proving decisive.

Arsenal continue to supply the pressure, and actually hold an eight point lead, after seeing off Bristol Academy 3-0. Not vintage Arsenal with the goals coming from two penalties and a free kick but they got the job done.

Elsewhere Emma Whitter marked her return to Chelsea with the only goal of the game at Doncaster Belles, although at least equal credit for the victory should go to goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain who was in top form, while Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers drew 1-1. Rovers scored both goals, however, with a Karen Burke own goal cancelling out Rhianda Roberts' opener.

In the Premier League North there were comprehensive wins for both OOH Lincoln and Sunderland. Lincoln ran out 6-0 winners at Tranmere while Sunderland anihilated Rotherham 11-0. The individual honours went to Jodie Michalaska who scored four for Lincoln and Sophie Williams who helped herself to five at Rotherham.

In the South Millwall cemented their grip on top spot with a 1-0 win over Keynsham while their potential rivals dropped points again. Once more it was Ann Marie Heatherson who made the difference with a late winner. Having fired Fulham to promotion last season it looks as though Heatherson will repeat the feat with Millwall this time around.

Womens' football was dealt another blow this week as the FA announced that the proposed summer Super League will now not begin in 2010 but has been provisionally pushed back to 2011.

This decision has been blamed on the global economy which comes across as a convenient excuse. It's hard to see how the global economy is really affecting football at the top levels.

Of course serious mis-management can always affect the viability of any concern and the FA has overseen the shambolic building of a new stadium recently as well as throwing good money after bad at a couple of mediocre/incompetent England managers so they might well have to tighten their belts.

I don't know how much money is actually needed to provide womens' football with a sound basis but you can only assume it is a drop in the ocean compared with the figures which continue to be thrown at the mens' game from every direction.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this decision by the FA, however, the real shame is in the way this process has been handled from start to finish.

From the moment this idea was introduced by the FA as the way forward to a bright new future for womens' football we have received nothing but grandiose soundbites about sketchy plans and ideas.

Sift through the self promotion and hype and there has been nothing resembling a comprehendable plan of attack or a recognisable vision for the future.

Information has been sporadic and, when offered, it has given the impression that it was the result of the FA feeling it had to put out a message rather than that it actually had a message to give.

Clubs have been kept in the dark and then called to meetings from which they learned nothing of consequence and were then told to prepare bids to join the proposed league only to be told, a couple of weeks later, that the league wasn't actually going to happen.

The FA, if it indulges in soul searching or internal reviews, will doubtless find absolutely nothing to reproach themselves with in their handling of this affair but to everyone else it smacks of incompetence from start to finish.

Well, I say finish but in point of fact we're simply back where we started from.

Now the clubs are faced with preparing financially for another season, always a nervous time, with the goalposts having been moved at the last moment.

I suppose it's grimly ironic that if you go onto the FA's website for information about this decision you find the few paragraphs granted to it, in which the clubs are told to "put their applications on hold until further notice", right next to a link headed "RESPECT".

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to the FA if you can.

No sign of an apology or a sign of regret that the clubs have been sent on a prolonged wild goose chase. No sign of any respect whatsoever, really.

Meanwhile the WPS has got under way in America to a bright start. Marta has grabbed the headlines by scoring two goals as her side, LA Sol, have recorded two wins out of two and the five English participants have all been in action.

Not surprisingly Kelly Smith has made the biggest impression. Smith gave a fine display and scored in the Boston Breakers' opening game although they ended up defeated 2-1 by FC Gold Pride.

Alex Scott also played in that game and was unable to stop her winger scoring a last minute winner although she was not personally at fault as Boston found themselves stretched at the back following a swift counter attack.

Anita Asante featured for Sky Blue FC as they lost to Marta's brace while Karen Carney and Eni Aluko went head to head as Chicago Red Stars faced St Louis Athletica.

Carney's Chicago won that one by the only goal and she sparkled in patches while Aluko was unable to make an impression, despite her team having most of the play, and was subbed off in the closing stages.

With the sun shining, crowds of 5-6000 and television cameras in attendance it's the stuff of dreams for the FA. Whether the league will sustain itself long term, however, remains a matter for conjecture but we have to hope that it does.

If a professional league establishes itself in the States then it will be good for womens' football throughout the world in helping to confirm its' credibility and marketability.

Personally I think the most obvious positive of the WPS over the standard fare on offer in our own National Premier League, from the action so far, is the state of the pitches.

Lush, level, grassy playing surfaces obviously encourage good football. Even Marta wouldn't fancy the bare, bone hard, windswept parks that our top players are faced with week in and week out.

Saturday, April 4
Everton Cracking Up?

Having given themselves the advantage in the title race by winning at Arsenal last Sunday Everton immediately lost their own 100% record on Thursday night when they could only manage a goalless draw away to Leeds Carnegie.

The trip to Leeds was always going to be a tricky one for Everton and it was probably extra difficult coming on the back of the win at Arsenal. Sometimes you can get too high after a victory and it's not easy to concentrate properly on the next task in hand.

The draw does not really alter the situation at the top of the table, however. If Everton avoid defeat against Arsenal in their second meeting and win their other games then they will still end the season as champions. The result does mean there is extra pressure on them not to slip up again.

Can they handle this pressure? Probably, although it was a bit disconcerting to find the official Everton website saying that their next game is away to Fulham when it's actually at Watford.

It's going to be a bad way to lose the league if your coach driver, in every good faith, ends up at the wrong ground.

The game with Leeds was exceptionally tight throughout with both sides struggling to create any clear cut chances. Everton shaded possession but were without a cutting edge against a commendably resilient Leeds outfit.

One thing that Everton can be reasonably sure about is that Arsenal are unlikely to present them with any unexpected gifts before they meet again. The Gunners had an awkward looking fixture themselves this week, away to in form Birmingham, but secured the points without too much fuss after a 3-1 win.

Kim Little, who has consistently confirmed the star billing given her by manager Vic Akers when she signed for the club last year, again played a starring role and scored the two first half goals which put Arsenal in command of the game.

Birmingham responded early in the second half with a smart goal from Becky Hall and the game remained in doubt until Ciara Grant headed home a rare goal with just under twenty minutes remaining.

Everything looks to be heading for a massive climax when Everton and Arsenal meet again, whenever that may be.

There was also a vital game in the Premier League South as Millwall Lionesses took on Charlton Athletic. Charlton really needed to win this one to breathe new life into the title race but suffered a blow when Sarah Jones opened the scoring for Millwall. They responded well to equalise through Natalie Crinean and had the better of the game from that point on but could not force a winner.

The draw leaves Millwall one point ahead at the top of the league and with three games in hand.

Tuesday, March 31
Arsenal's Unbeaten Record Smashed

Having lost tamely to Arsenal in the FA Cup the week before Everton Ladies returned south for a league fixture against the same opposition on Sunday and completely turned the tables. From the first whistle Everton were positive and sharp all over the field and they had swept into a two goal lead inside fifteen minutes.

Both goals came from smart finishes, the first by Fara Williams and the second from Michelle Hinnigan.

This left the onus squarely on Arsenal to force their way back into the game but they were rarely able to penetrate a resolute Everton defence and Rachel Brown remained largely unemployed in the vistors' goal. One save from Kim Little was worthy of note, however.

On a day when Everton finally looked to have shed their Arsenal inferiority complex victory was confirmed early in the second half when Jill Scott strode clear of the defence to finish calmly past Emma Byrne.

Great joy for Everton therefore but they will need to retain their focus if they are to complete the job of relieving Arsenal of their league title. They still have to play Arsenal at home and if The Gunners win all their remaining games they would still retain their title on goal difference.

Everton also have a positive glut of fixtures to complete in April, including several tricky midweek away games, and there are plenty of banana skins laying in wait if they think this result has got the job done.

This defeat was Arsenal's first in the league for over a century of games and their ever sombre/sullen manager Vic Akers was quick to point out that the record would still be intact had it not been for the loss of key players over the past year or so.

That might well be true Vic but the record wouldn't have existed anyway if your club hadn't been in a position to hand pick the players it wanted from other clubs in the first place.

Nottingham Forest continue to make good progress in their bid to avoid the drop at the other end of the table. Having lost 4-0 at Birmingham in midweek Forest responded with a fine 3-0 win at Blackburn.

The game at Birmingham was one to forget for Forest goalkeeper Claire Wallhead as she found the ball flying past her from all distances as the home side scored four first half goals. Maz Gauntlett scored two of these with the best being her bullet header from a pin point Sian Larkin centre.

At Blackburn, however, Forest always looked dangerous and their generous ex-Rovers contingent certainly looked as though they had something to prove. Andrea Bell reminded her former colleagues of her pace when opening the scoring in the first half and Levi Penny, who Rovers brought into the Premier League from Crewe, made the game safe with two goals after half time.

With Liverpool losing again, at home to Bristol Academy, Forest are now only one point behind their rivals in distress and have three games in hand.

It might have been expected that the game between Liverpool, without a home win all season, and Bristol, no wins on the road, would have ended in a draw but the visitors raced into a three goal lead before half time and Liverpool, despite their best efforts, were unable to retrieve the deficit.

Sam Chappell put through her own goal to give Bristol the lead before the in form Gwennan Harries struck twice to put real daylight between the sides. Danielle Sheen and Ally Hastie, from the penalty spot, were on target for Liverpool after the break but this proved to be too little too late and The Reds now desperately need to win their final game against Fulham if they are to stay up.

Elsewhere Chelsea beat Doncaster Belles 4-1 with both Lianne Sanderson and Sarah Kempson scoring twice while Birmingham confirmed Fulham's relegation in beating them 1-0 with a late goal from Heather Scheuber.

Watford, who lost by the only goal to Arsenal in midweek, found themselves edged out again on Sunday by Leeds Carnegie whose winner came courtesy of an Ellen White header.

The title race in the north has been opened up again after FA Cup finalists Sunderland came a cropper at Manchester City. The Wearsiders would have been hoping to guard against their cup exploits proving a distraction but this seemed to be the case at City who took the points thanks to Elle Turner's second half goal and an impressive display of goalkeeping from Andrea Worrall.

OOH Lincoln took full advantage of this slip up by thrashing Rotherham 7-1 with Stacey Aisthorpe bagging four. Lincoln now lead the section by nine points while Sunderland have five games in hand.

In the south Millwall are now odds on favourites to clinch promotion after beating both Colchester and Cardiff while Charlton drew again, this time away at Brighton.

Ann Marie Heatherson's contribution was again vital. She scored a hat trick in the 4-1 win at Colchester and then popped up with the winner against Cardiff. Millwall had trailed in this one after two goals by Charlotte Miller but Heatherson's goal sealed a 3-2 success and The Lionesses now head the table and have three games in hand.

Charlton's latest draw surely leaves them out of contention while Keynsham's draw with Barnet was of no real use to either team.

Monday, March 23
Sunderland Shock Chelsea

This seasons' FA Cup final will be contested by, predictably, Arsenal Ladies and, more surprisingly, WFC Sunderland. Arsenal overcame a disappointingly tepid Everton challenge while Sunderland recorded a shock, but ultimately comprehensive, victory over Chelsea.

The opening stages of the Arsenal/Everton game were mainly cagey but Everton disintegrated after conceding a dreadful goal midway through the first half. Lindsay Johnson's back pass played Rachel Brown into a certain amount of trouble but there was no excuse for the shocking miscue that presented Rachel Yankey with an open goal from five yards.

This goal completely deflated Everton who found themselves 3-0 down at half time after a towering header from Jayne Ludlow and a close range finish by Gilly Flaherty.

This was the good part of Ludlow's contribution, the bad came in the shape of a dangerous studs up lunge at Fara Williams which fortunately the Everton player managed to leap away from. The yellow card issued was one of three collected by Arsenal players in another display that skirted the boundaries of acceptable physical aggression.

Everton pulled one back shortly after half time through Natasha Dowie and had one or two chances to really get themselves back into the game but there was never any realistic chance of them recovering and it was more likely that further goals would come at the other end as the clock ticked down.

This game was almost a replica of their League Cup meeting earlier on in the season when Arsenal surged into a three goal lead before eventually running out 3-1 winners. Everton will need to hit the ground running in their two league meetings if they are to deny The Gunners another league title.

It is unlikely that Sunderland will be able to prevent Arsenal from retaining the FA Cup but they certainly deserved their semi final glory after producing a superb performance to dump out the strong favourites, Chelsea.

The first half in this one was evenly contested with Chelsea looking perhaps more threatening. Lianne Sanderson was an obvious danger but each time she came face to face with Helen Alderson in the Sunderland goal she came out second best.

Perhaps the pivotal moment came just before half time when Chelsea almost struck a lucky blow when Claire Rafferty's centre bounced out off the crossbar.

Sunderland had certainly given as good as they were getting in the first half and their young side seemed to grow in confidence as every second half minute ticked away and their grip on the game increased.

Chelsea were given a warning as Sunderland had the ball in the net only to be pulled up for offside before the deadlock was finally broken with less than twenty minutes left. Kelly McDougall whipped a fine free kick against the woodwork and Natalie Gutteridge was on hand to convert the rebound.

Chelsea threw players forward in a desperate attempt to respond but Sunderland kept their composure and were able to pick off their opponents and seal victory in style. Two goals from Sophie Williams compounded Chelsea's misery and booked Sunderland their place in a first major final.

Congratulations obviously go to Sunderland whose team is based around the latest products from a conveyor belt of young talent and whose members feature strongly in the various England age group squads.

In the league Liverpool remain in relegtion trouble after seeing their awful home form continue. Having won 3-0 at Watford the week before Liverpool fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to the same opponents on Sunday, Charlotte Young heading the only goal.

WFC Fulham are certainly going down and they lost again at the weekend, 3-1 at Birmingham City. Maz Gauntlett scored two fine goals in an impressive individual display while Danni Bird and Jo Potter were also in good form for The Blues.

The other Premier League fixture played saw Bristol Academy and Doncaster Belles draw 1-1, Gwennan Harries on target for Bristol and Chelsea Weston, sent off last week but apparently available, equalising with a sweet free kick.

OOH Lincoln enjoyed a 3-0 win at Curzon Ashton in the Northern section, Jodie Michalska scoring another two, but will be expecting Sunderland to overaul them over the coming weeks.

In the South Millwall look strong favourites after two wins in a week left them four points behind the leaders but with four games in hand.

Ann Marie Heatherson scored twice in their 5-2 win against Barnet during the week and then grabbed a hat trick as Ipswich were routed 9-0 on Sunday, Emma Whitter getting a couple herself in this one.

Charlton Athletic still lead in this section but look increasingly vulnerable after only drawing 1-1 at Colchester and Keynsham Town look to be out of the running after suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat against struggling Brighton.

Tuesday, March 17
Liverpool Respond In Style

With Nottingham Forest having taken seven points from their last three games, including a win at their expense, Liverpool Ladies were under renewed pressure near the bottom of the Premier League table as they headed to Watford on Sunday. Having lost both their goalkeeper and leading scorer to injuries suffered on international duty The Reds might have been excused for feeling sorry for themselves as they approached this vital game but instead they rallied to produce perhaps their most convincing display of the season.

Hannah Williams, standing in for Nicky Davies in goal, had a relatively quiet afternoon but Maddie Hills, up front in place of Cheryl Foster, was at the centre of everything in a debut to remember.

With just over two minutes gone Hills made her mark with a cool finish having been put through on goal by Ally Hastie. Then, just before half time, she returned the compliment by setting up Hastie for the second Liverpool goal.

Watford's task was made all but impossible when they lost goalkeeper Marie Hourihan to a red card for a handling offence outside the area and Kelly Jones wrapped up an impressive 3-0 victory for Liverpool after another clever assist by Hills.

This was a chastening experience for Watford who are in need of firepower after losing Helen Lander to Arsenal and Ashlee Hincks to WFC Fulham recently.

This result, together with Forest's recent run of form, opens up the remote possibility that someone else might just get dragged into the relegation scrap and Bristol Academy and Blackburn Rovers might just have one eye over their shoulders after defeats at the weekend.

Bristol went down 2-1 at home to Chelsea with all the goals coming in the second half. Michelle Green had equalised Jess Smith's opener to give them hope of claiming at least a point but Lianne Sanderson quickly drove Chelsea back in front to settle the issue.

Blackburn were left frustrated at home to Doncaster Belles after leading at half time through Katie Anderton only to end up beaten at full time. Naomi Chadwick, on as a sub, levelled for Doncaster with fifteen minutes left but the initiative seemed to be back with Blackburn after Chelsea Weston then saw a second yellow card.

The Belles kept going, however, and clinched a last minute victory thanks to a penalty from Vicky Exley.

The other game played also saw an away victory as Birmingham City left Leeds Carnegie with the points after a 2-1 win.

Jo Potter opened the scoring from a corner early on as Birmingham had the better of the first half but Leeds hit back strongly after the break following the introduction of Ellen White as substitute.

This was White's first appearance for Leeds following her move from Chelsea last summer due to a serious injury and she looked eager to make up for lost time with a series of efforts on goal which eventually resulted in an equaliser as her corner managed to squeeze through a ruck of players and into the net.

Instead of boosting Leeds for a grandstand finish this goal seemed to revive Birmingham who quickly won a corner of their own which was forced home by Maz Gauntlett.

Disappointment then for White on her return to action but it is certainly good to see her back.

In the Northern section Sunderland warmed up for the biggest game in their history, this Sunday's FA Cup semi final against Chelsea, with a 5-0 hiding of Preston North End in which Kelly McDougall scored twice while Barnet kept their promotion hopes alive in the South by winning 4-2 at Brighton, Holly Sandow getting a brace.

Elsewhere the European qualifying groups for the 2011 World Cup have been made with England coming out of the hat with Spain, Austria, Turkey and Malta.

That doesn't look too bad but with only one team going through to the play offs there will be no room for slip ups and Hope Powell will no doubt be especially wary of Spain who gave us an almighty scare in our recent European Championship qualifying campaign.

Expect two more tough encounters and watch out for Laura Del Rio who was magnificent when England went to Spain for their final group game and who will be honing her skills in America along with the likes of Kelly Smith in the upcoming WPS League.

Thursday, March 12
England Win Tournament

England will return home from Cyprus as champions of the mini tournament they have taken part in over the past eight days. The Cyprus Womens Cup is never likely to rate too highly on the list of international tournaments but you can't do any better than win whatever the occasion might be.

Given the eight teams taking part England always looked capable of winning this trophy and they will have certainly have set themselves that target. To have achieved that aim will have given the whole squad a boost and while we did not have to face the strongest nations to claim victory the tournament does seem to confirm that England are emerging from the middle ranking teams in world football as possible challengers to the established elite.

England were grouped together with South Africa, France and Scotland needing to top the section to take part in the final. The toughest test was obviously going to be France in the second game but in the end it was goal difference that proved vital after that game ended in a draw.

England made an emphatic start to the tournament with a 6-0 drubbing of South Africa. Fara Williams, Lianne Sanderson and Kelly Smith were on target before half time with Steph Houghton increasing the lead after the break.

Two late goals by Katie Chapman then gave England a significant advantage as they headed into the game against the French.

This was as tough and tight an encounter as might have been expected with France taking the lead in both halves. On both occasions England responded quickly, however, with goals by Karen Carney and Casey Stoney good enough to earn the draw that maintained England's advantage.

Despite picking an unfamiliar line up for the final group game against Scotland a comfortable 3-0 victory was enough to send England into the final. Eni Aluko, Emily Westwood and Jess Clarke all found the target as Hope Powell's fringe players were able to make a good impression.

The final saw England proving themselves too strong for a spirited Canada side that actually took the lead after 15 minutes when Christine Sinclair lobbed a smart finish over Rachel Brown.

England responded in fine style in the run up to half time and went in at the break with a two goal advantage after a three goal blitz.

Sanderson headed England level after a searching ball into the box by Stoney, Kelly Smith drilled a typically clinical low drive into the corner from the edge of the box and then Fara Williams smashed home a fierce free kick right on the stroke of half time.

Fara seems to be trying to copy the Ronaldo toe bunger technique with her free kicks and she seems to be far more adept at it than the supposed master.

At least Fara's efforts can be reasonably expected to avoid the wall whereas 99% of Ronaldo's still smash straight into it.

Canada battled to the end and had the better of the second half but England, in truth, looked comfortable as they held on for victory and the trophy.

Winning this cup is nothing to get too excited about but the exercise was certainly worthwile, with more at stake than the usual friendlies at this time of year, and undoubtedly represented a job well done.

Back at home Nottingham Forest are now breathing right down Liverpool's neck after grabbing a late winner against doomed WFC Fulham at the weekend.

Forest started in confident fashion and should probably have scored straight from the kick off. As chances went begging and a goal was disallowed they slowly became more edgy in their play and, with conditions deteriorating, the second half became an increasing slog.

Just when it seemed as though the afternoon would be one of total frustration, however, Beth Bailey stepped forward to hook home a precise winner after the Fulham keeper could only punch a centre to the edge of the box under pressure.

Forest are now only one point behind Liverpool and have two games in hand. Liverpool would appear to have the better run in but the pressure is now definitely on them to start collecting points.

Blackburn Rovers enjoyed a good 4-1 win over Birmingham City in the other Premier League game to take place with Katie Anderton once again their chief goalscorer with a hat trick.

In the northern section OOH Lincoln suffered a big blow as they look to put pressure on Sunderland as they could only manage a goalless draw with Newcastle.

In the south there were vital wins for Keynsham Town and Millwall Lionesses as they look to overhaul Charlton Athletic.

Keynsham's 2-1 win at Brighton leaves then three points behind The Addicks with one game in hand while Millwall are nine points adrift with five games in hand after a fine 3-0 win at Portsmouth.

With the FA now accepting applications for their proposed 2010 summer league it is uncertain exactly how much is at stake in the current relegation and promotion issues but those involved will no doubt be giving it their all in any case.

Tuesday, March 3
Everton Retain Perfect Record

Everton Ladies are hoping to usurp Arsenal’s standing as Premier League champions this season and they know that this will not happen if they drop any points against the other teams in the league. On Sunday they faced perhaps their toughest remaining test, apart from the games with Arsenal themselves of course, when they took on Chelsea for the second time this season.

Everton had registered a surprisingly emphatic victory when they travelled to meet Chelsea earlier on in the season but this time the game was much closer and there were a lot of relieved faces among the Everton camp when the final whistle blew to confirm their 1-0 victory.

Siobhan Chamberlain produced a couple of good early saves that helped Chelsea to settle and after that there was very little between the two sides. Half time came with the game goalless but the crucial breakthrough came soon after the break when Toni Duggan was fouled inside the box and Fara Williams stepped up to put away the penalty.

Hard work for Everton but all that matters from now until the end of the season are results and this one keeps them up with Arsenal’s pace. The first of the two league meetings between the title hopefuls is in two weeks time with Everton having the home advantage.

Elsewhere Nottingham Forest clawed another point back on Liverpool to keep the relegation issue in doubt. Having beaten their rivals in distress the previous week Forest came away from a see-saw game against Bristol Academy with a point.

Bristol scored first in this one but Forest were looking at another three points after goals from Natalie Clarke and Andi Bell put them into the lead. They ended up having to settle for just the one, however, as Bristol grabbed a draw through Jemma Rose’s late goal.

Forest will be growing in confidence thanks to their last two results, however, and will feel that they could also get a positive result from their visit to Blackburn this weekend.

Liverpool, on the other hand, will be feeling far less secure after Leeds Carnegie became the latest team to come away from Merseyside with three points. Liverpool haven’t won a home league game all season and were unable to end that sorry statistic despite taking a fourth minute lead in this one through Ally Hastie.

Two goals from Steph Houghton had given Leeds the advantage by half time and a nice goal from Sue Smith early in the second half sealed the points.

WFC Fulham are surely doomed after their latest defeat, a 2-0 reverse away to Watford who struck twice in quick succession just before half time through Holly Miles and a Sally Wade penalty.

OOH Lincoln continue to put pressure on Sunderland in the Northern section after two Jodie Michalska goals helped them to a 4-2 win at Preston while the position in the South simply refuses to become any clearer.

None of the leading sides won at the weekend. Leaders Charlton could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Cardiff but all their potential challengers dropped points as well.

Barnet and Keynsham Town shared the points after a 2-2 draw while Portsmouth fared even worse, losing at home to Colchester 2-1.

Millwall Lionesses have looked the most likely side to emerge from the pack but their 0-0 draw at home to West Ham leaves them with a big ask. Fixture congestion is bound to be an issue as Millwall still have fourteen games to squeeze in having managed to play only eight so far.

Thursday February 26, 2009; Womens League Cup Final.

Arsenal Ladies 5 Doncaster Rovers Belles 0

Arsenal: E.Byrne, A.Scott, C.Grant, L.Bassett (G.Flaherty 81), N.Fahey, J.Ludlow, K.Little, K.Chapman, G.Davison (S.Grant 77), K.Smith (L.Bruton 88), R.Yankey.

Doncaster: N.Hobbs, C.Weston, C.Utley, N.Hughes, V.Leat, A.Turner, V.Exley, V.Stevens (N.Shaw 77), E.Heckler, R.Williams, E.Johnson (N.Chadwick 88).

Anybody giving serious and honest consideration to this cup final beforehand would have been concerned that the game would not provide the sort of spectacle anyone would really want to see from one of the showpiece occasions in the domestic womens' football calendar.

As feared the game was not really an even contest, with Arsenal running out easy winners, but the occasion turned sourer than anybody could have predicted beforehand leaving a bad taste in the mouth that will linger for some time to come.

There were natural concerns that The Belles would be embarrassed in defeat by an Arsenal side obviously superior in perhaps every department but it was expected that Arsenal would provide the sort of rich, vibrant attacking display in claiming victory that would at least showcase their outstanding qualities.

We weren't really treated to that, however, despite the emphatic final scoreline.

Arsenal only really approached their best in bursts while Doncaster gave about as good an account of themselves as could be expected with a weakened team.

The fact that Arsenal, not at their best, won 5-0 against a team playing just about to potential merely serves to highlight the hopeless task that The Belles were faced with going into the game.

While it was possible to feel a little disappointed with Arsenal for the fragmented nature of their attacking display this was nothing to the outright unpleasantness of their first half defensive display which centred around the concerted, apparently systematic, abuse of the Doncaster centre forward, Rachel Williams.

The Arsenal team appeared to be taking it in turns to kick lumps out of the impressive Williams and, with the help of a disgusting refereeing performance by Steve Rowntree, they had succeeded in reducing Williams to a limping virtual passenger by half time.

This is not a knee jerk reaction or sensationalism. One of the best things about womens' football is the fact that tackling is an accepted part of the game by players and officials alike and there is seldom any histrionic reactions if a challenge is mis-timed. People generally seem willing to accept this as part and parcel of the game and simply get on with it.

This is the way most people would want to see football being played and long may it continue.

What Arsenal got away with in this game, however, had nothing to do with good, old fashioned competitiveness. It was nasty, underhand and brutal. It was the sort of uncontrolled aggression that football could well do without.

What on earth was going through the referee, Rowntree's, mind as he continually blew for the fouls but neglected to brandish cards is anyones' guess.

Perhaps he had turned up with the frame of mind that they were only women and did not need to be treated as seriously as men. Perhaps he had turned up in "cup final mode" and did not want to spoil the occasion by dishing out cards.

His performance did remind me of Roger Milford's in the cup final when Paul Gascoigne was allowed to cripple himself by the smiling, laissez-faire official. This time there was no poetic justice in the consequences, however.

A referee's first duty, his most important duty, is his duty of care towards the players under his control. Rowntree singularly failed in his duty of care to Rachel Williams in this game and he should be truly embarrassed by his performance.

Nobody wants to see yellow and red cards being flashed but they are in the referee's pocket for a good reason. This game was one in which both the yellow and the red should have been seen on more than one occasion.

Doncaster started brightly enough as they looked to be positive despite their obvious standing as huge underdogs. The selection of Rachel Williams, usually The Belles' midfield driving force, at centre forward looked a strange one but, along with Emily Heckler, she was prominent in the opening minutes as the Arsenal defence came under some pressure.

Some neat, purposeful approach play brought only one, speculative, overhead attempt that dropped straight into the arms of Emma Byrne before Arsenal took a fifth minute lead in their first real attack, however.

It was alarming to see the Doncaster defence completely beaten by a simple chip through the middle that left both Kim Little and Kelly Smith clean through on goal.

Little took the ball wide of the advancing Nicola Hobbs and Smith looked like she was allowing the shot to roll in until the presence of a recovering defender forced her to touch the ball home herself.

The first hint of Arsenal nastiness came in the shape of a late challenge from behind by Laura Bassett, who comes across more and more as just a thug every time I see her play, which brought the Belles a free kick but no card for the defender.

The fragile nature of the Doncaster defence was then highlighted again as Arsenal contrived to miss a gaping chance to double their lead. Smith played Gemma Davison in behind the defence on the right wing and her squared ball presented Rachel Yankey with an open goal.

The winger lofted her shot carelessly over the bar, however.

Next came the worst moment of the night.

Doncaster broke quickly from an Arsenal corner and the powerful Williams set off straight at the heart of the Arsenal defence. Having burst past one defender the Doncaster player was crudely taken out at the knee by a horrible, studs up, stamping challenge by Niamh Fahey.

This was the most obvious red card offence imaginable yet the hapless Rowntree still only saw fit to punish the assault with a free kick.

Williams initially tried to carry on but it was no surprise to see her collapsing to the floor moments later. After prolonged treatment the game forward returned and continued to carry the attack to Arsenal throughout the first half but the damage done was obvious.

Despite the best efforts of Williams and, more infrequently, Heckler the real goal threat was still carried by Arsenal. Hobbs made a fine, very brave, double save to deny Kelly Smith after a swift Arsenal break and Smith was then inches away from connecting with a wicked Yankey centre as she dived in at point blank range. Alex Scott also had the Doncaster keeper worried with a dipping shot from distance that ended up clearing the bar by a couple of feet.

All this time Rachel Williams continued to be the victim of serial Arsenal fouling which reached its' peak when Jayne Ludlow dived into three dangerous late challenges in quick succession and still, miraculously, escaped without seeing a card.

Just past the half hour Arsenal scored again and any semblance of doubt concerning the final outcome of the game was removed. This was Arsenal near their best as a slick passing move involving Yankey, Little and Ludlow ended with Kelly Smith biding her time inside the box before burying her finish into the far corner.

To their credit Doncaster rallied to produce their best spell of the game and they created the chances to get back into the game. None of these were taken, however.

Emily Heckler blazed over the bar from close range after the ball had broken her way following another storming run by Williams and then Williams burst through the Arsenal defence onto Heckler's pass only to finish weakly with her left foot.

The Belles then produced their best move of the night with a flowing series of passes from left to right that ended with Chelsea Weston coming forward to put in a wonderful first time centre that picked out Heckler, involved throughout the move, but the header was sent frustratingly over the crossbar.

Arsenal responded and Ludlow was close to increasing their lead on the stroke of half time with a smart volley, under pressure, from the edge of the box but the attempt was just too high.

Half Time: Arsenal Ladies 2 Doncaster Belles 0

The second half started in mundane fashion with neither side able to put any attacking moves together. Arsenal remained patchy in their attacking play and Doncaster, with Williams perhaps feeling her injuries more than ever after the half time break, unable to mount any sort of threat.

The only consistent source of danger was established between Kelly Smith and Kim Little. When either of these players got involved in the final third there was danger for Doncaster and when they combined the threat was doubled.

Little created a spell of pressure with a darting run away from three defenders and when her teasing centre was not properly cleared Smith was on hand to belt Arsenal's third into the near post from just outside the box, duly completing a hat trick in her farewell Arsenal appearance.

The Belles were quickly making more trouble for themselves as they gave the ball away on the edge of their own box and a tremendous drive by Yankey looked goalbound only to poleaxe Natasha Hughes en route.

On sixty six minutes Alex Scott, strangely subdued for the most part, came forward to add her own farewell goal to the Arsenal tally. Smith turned provider with a superb pass inside Vanessa Leat and Scott was able to finish with some comfort thanks to the dubious positioning of Hobbs in the Doncaster goal.

Hobbs was more obviously at fault as she allowed Katie Chapman, at an angle, to shoot into a gaping goal minutes later but this time The Belles were reprieved by an erroneous offside flag.

Emma Byrne, possibly bored by this stage, then presented Doncaster with the chance of a consolation when she was caught dawdling with the ball beyond her area but Heckler confirmed the theory that it was not going to be her night by shooting inches wide of the far post.

Chelsea Weston, who came out of the game with real credit, saved Doncaster from conceding another goal with a superb last ditch interception after a good break by Alex Scott and then the Arsenal full back sent a drive inches wide of Hobbs' right hand post.

Arsenal were not to be denied a fifth goal, however, as Little produced a sublime pass to release the substitute Susanne Grant to score comfortably and the match ended in farcical circumstances as Referee Rowntree finally brandished a yellow card in the face of Jayne Ludlow for something and nothing deep into stoppage time.

"Unbe-spunking-lievable" is what I think I said at the time and it still seems appropriate.

Arsenal, therefore, ended up the clear winners they were fully expected to be but this victory certainly hadn't enhanced their reputation one bit.

Full Time: Arsenal Ladies 5 Doncaster Rovers Belles 0

Star Player: Rachel Williams

Kelly Smith signed off with a hat trick and confirmed yet again what a quality player she is but on this occasion I felt it was genuinely questionable whether she could have performed as well for the other team as one of their players had done.
Rachel Williams, who has been outstanding all season in midfield for The Belles, stepped into the gap left by Liz Hansen's injury at centre forward and was truly outstanding.
Running at the opposition with pace, power and purpose she gave a good imitation of Smith herself and was able to stretch the Arsenal defence consistently in basically a lone role.
It is also hard to imagine that Smith would have been able to control herself if she had been subjected to the terrible punishment that Williams suffered at the hands of Bassett, Fahey, Ludlow and company.
Hope Powell was in the crowd and might just have noticed this performance but she might have been too busy watching her usual suspects.
Williams is only on standby for England's forthcoming trip to Cyprus. It's a pity she's not making the trip. I would have thought it would be worthwhile to give this truly dynamic player an opportunity in the Jill Scott role in the England team.
Of course she might not have been fit enough to take up the invitation even if she had been selected.

Wednesday, February 25
League Cup Final Preview

Before looking forward to tomorrow's League Cup final between Arsenal and Doncaster Belles let's have a quick look back at last weekends' action which came predominantly in the FA Cup.

The quarter finals of the FA Cup saw expected victories for Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea but promotion chasing WFC Sunderland were able to defeat Premier League Bristol Academy in the other tie.

Arsenal were pushed hard by Leeds Carnegie, in a repeat of last years' final, but were always firm favourites after Carly Telford conceded the opening goal making a hash of an inswinging corner. Jayne Ludlow quickly extended that lead by heading home to cap a fine move but thoughts of an Arsenal landslide were checked when Jade Moore scored with a header of her own minutes later to keep the tie alive.

The second half was particularly hard fought but Leeds were unable to force themselves level and Arsenal finally sealed victory through a Gemma Davison goal with just over ten minutes remaining.

Everton always looked comfortable at Blackburn and progressed to the last four without alarm after Fara Williams and Natasha Dowie struck in quick succession during the first half of their tie.

Fara was left feeling pleased with herself after one of her ambitious free kicks' found the target and she was soon showing the more reliable part of her game as she created the chance for Dowie to extend Everton's lead.

Chelsea were less impressive in seeing off the challenge of OOH Lincoln and were extremely grateful to reach the interval level after seeing their lower ranked opponents snatch an early lead and then threaten to add to it on several occasions.

Perhaps the loss of their manager, Steve Jones not Big Phil Scolari, during the week affected Chelsea but there was no excuse for Siobhan Chamberlain's mistake that literally handed Jodie Michalaska with Lincoln's fifth minute opener.

Having survived several close calls after this Chelsea gained a massive boost on the stroke of half time when Eni Aluko was on hand to score after a Lianne Sanderson effort was parried by the keeper and they took this momentum into the second half with Dunia Susi shooting them ahead from a narrow angle shortly after the break.

Bizarrely Susi was then immediately sent off after a mild fracas with a Lincoln defender on her way back to the centre circle and thoughts of an upset were immediately back on the agenda.

Lincoln had missed their chance before the break, however, and were unable to really take advantage of their extra player as Chelsea stepped up the pace by several yards in the second period.

Aluko confirmed victory with a fine solo goal on 65 minutes and also provided her team-mates with an obvious reminder of what they will be missing when she jets off shortly to the States for the WPS.

Aluko's progress in America will be interesting to chart. She is a pacy, dynamic and hugely exciting striker who is capable of scoring great goals when she is playing with confidence but has never been able to produce the goods while playing for England.

In terms of making it at the very highest level I think this could well be a make or break move for Aluko.

Finally everyone at Football England would like to wish Casey Stoney well as she steps into the managers' role with Chelsea Ladies.

The appointment has only been made on a temporary basis at the moment but Stoney comes across as a person who is well equipped to be a successful manager if she wants to follow that path.

She knows womens' football inside and out, is a leader on the pitch and a real competitor. It was also encouraging to see her being brave enough to introduce a different tactical approach to her first game in charge and then astute enough to go back to Plan A at half time when things weren't going as expected.

A few fresh ideas and a little bit of invention would not go amiss at the top level of the ladies game.

The real drama certainly came at Sunderland, however. There had been a crisis before the drama with the home side struggling to find a venue for the fixture but Sunderland FC themselves sorted that situation out by allowing the ladies the use of their academy training facility.

I've seen other womens' teams playing at the mens' training venues before and the upshot has always been the same. The players get to perform on a beautiful pitch but the wide open spaces mean they are completely at the mercy of the elements and usually battling a gale force wind.

This was exactly the case in this game as the teams took it in turns to play with a fierce wind at their backs.

Bristol had the advantage first and were two goals to the good at half time. In fairness to Sunderland they coped pretty well in general but struggled to deal with the wind assisted set pieces. Both goals came in this manner with Gwennan Harries swinging a corner straight into the net and then firing home a splendid free kick.

The response from a young Sunderland side was outstanding as they dominated the second half and even shrugged off the disappointment of a missed penalty by Kelly McDougall to bring themselves level with goals from Demi Stokes and Sophie Williams.

The momentum was definitely with Sunderland going into extra time and, having held out against the wind in the first period, they clinched a famous victory with two further goals in the second.

Williams produced her second classy finish of the game by chipping home to put Sunderland ahead and Lucy Bronze was on hand to seal victory in the very last minute.

The semi final draw has pitted Arsenal with Everton and Sunderland with Chelsea. While the two favourites will do battle at Bishops Stortford the game between the two underdogs will be held in the imposing surroundings of Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

In the league Nottingham Forest scored an important victory over Liverpool to keep their survival hopes alive, a full report follows below, while a late Heather Scheuber goal gave Birmingham City a 2-1 win at Watford.

The other top flight game played saw the bottom club WFC Fulham hold Doncaster Rovers Belles to a goalless draw which was hardly the morale boosting result or performance Donny would have been hoping for ahead of tomorrows' League Cup final against Arsenal.

Arsenal always go into these games as favourites but never more so than on this occasion. Doncaster's passage to the final was obviously eased by the fact that Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea and Leeds all came out in the other half of the draw and it would look like The Gunners have done the hard work already by putting out Everton and Chelsea.

It would also seem as though The Belles are limping into this game having lost the vibrant form that marked their performances before Christmas. They will also be hindered badly by the loss of striker Liz Hansen to injury and Precious Hamilton from their midfield due to suspension.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will be at near full strength ahead of the departure of Kelly Smith, Karen Carney and Alex Scott to America.

None of this bodes well for Donny and I think it is safe to say that The Three Musketeers will be especially eager to sign off in style.

Jesus, should I go on? I'm beginning to really fear for The Belles.

If The Belles are looking for positives they can take some comfort from the fact that they have actually given Arsenal some of their best league games over the past year or so and have managed to wreak some havoc amongst The Gunners defence with their pacy attacking threat.

Without Hansen and Hamilton the chances of Donny causing Arsenal significant problems looks slim, however, and it is impossible to believe that their defence will be able to cope with the Arsenal attack.

If Doncaster are to emerge from this game with credit, and unfortunately that is the best I think they can hope for, then it is important that they try to be as positive as possible. They still have pace up front and power in their midfield and it is vital that they carry some kind of threat to Arsenal.

This is obviously a massive stage for the Doncaster players and hopefully people such as Rachel Williams and Emily Heckler, who have been consistently impressive this season, can enhance their reputations. The experience of Vicky Exley will also be vital and the former England stalwart will need to be at her very best if she is to have any chance of collecting the silverware her years of service deserve.

As ever the real question is how can the Arsenal attack be blunted? Looking at the Donny rearguard there are no obvious answers to that vexing question. It is also easy to imagine that the Rovers' midfield will be sucked into a totally defensive mindset as they look to protect their back four.

I really don't have a good feeling about this one as everything seems to be running right for Arsenal going into the game and everything is stacked against Donny.

Even if that situation had been reversed I would still fancy Arsenal to win. As it is I would be surprised if Doncaster keep the deficit down to five.

Not only do I expect Smith, Carney and Scott to be pulling out all the stops to provide a lasting memory of their time with Arsenal before heading off to the States I think the relative newcomer Kim Little will be eager to show a wider audience her talents as she enjoys an outstanding first full season with The Gunners.

Do I need to make a prediction? Not on the result but if pressed to guess Arsenal's score I would probably say seven. In fact that's one less than I was going to say but I don't want to sound too harsh on The Belles.

Let's hope I'm totally wrong and The Belles can make it a final to remember. Anyone wanting to watch the game will be able to buy tickets on the day (kick off 7pm at Scunthorpe United's Glanford Park) or tune in to Setanta Sports 2.

Sunday February 22, 2009; National Premier League.

Liverpool Ladies 1 Nottingham Forest Ladies 2

Liverpool: N.Davies, S.Chappell, J.Traynor, C.Charlton, V.Jones, K.Jones, G.Donnelly (L.Topping 60), L.Mathison, G.Hart, C.Foster, D.Sheen (A.Hastie 60).

Notts Forest: C.Wallhead, C.Stainthorpe, N.Staneff, B.Bailey, E.Gilliatt (L.Cresswell 65), K.Finley, R.Thomas, T.Byrne (E.Simpkins 75), A.Bell (K.Robson 70), N.Clarke, L.Penny.

Despite having three games in hand on Liverpool going into this game Nottingham Forest would have been well aware that the fixture represented a last chance saloon for their hopes of survival.

Forest desperately needed the three points on offer to cut the deficit between themselves and their relegation rivals to five points if they were going to retain any hope of avoiding the drop.

The opening exchanges were scrappy in the extreme as both teams struggled to put any passes together on a bare pitch that was especially difficult to adapt to because of a strong wind.

Liverpool seemed to have the wind mainly at their backs in the first half but this was no help to them as any attempted through balls simply ran harmlessly away from the intended target.

Gradually it was Forest who gained in confidence as the half progressed and any cohesive, constructive football on offer came from the visitors.

Some neat build up play was generally spoiled by a lack of cutting edge around the edge of the penalty area, however, and when Beth Bailey, Levi Penny and Reanne Thomas combined in one sweeping move a general reluctance to shoot meant the Liverpool goal remained unthreatened.

Forest were clearly the better side as the first half reached its' midway point despite being unable to fashion a clear chance. Tammy Byrne, against her former club, was becoming increasingly influential in midfield and, with the help of Reanne Thomas, was dictating play in the central areas.

Up front Forest were also coming to life with Andi Bell and Levi Penny taking people on out wide and Natalie Clarke dropping deeper to link up the play cleverly.

The Liverpool defence was looking pretty resolute, however, with Sam Chappell, the youngest looking player I've ever seen, tackling anything that moved down the Liverpool right and Jo Traynor levelling Bell with a thunderous, but perfectly fair, challenge.

The breakthrough that Forest badly needed during this spell of dominance duly arrived after the award of a free kick in a central area some forty yards or so from goal. Byrne whipped in a fine ball that Nicky Davies decided to come for but the keepers' solid punch only connected with Kelly Jones and as the ball looped up Beth Bailey was on hand, amidst the carnage, to nod into the empty net.

Forest continued to look the more constructive side and Penny would have had a good chance to increase the lead had her touch been better after a good pass from Clarke.

Liverpool had created nothing but were suddenly offered the chance to equalise after Bailey played Claire Wallhead into trouble with a woeful back pass and the keepers' attempted clearance went straight to Gill Hart forty yards from goal.

Hart shot for the unguarded goal but saw her effort drop agonisingly onto the roof of the net.

This was an isolated interruption to Forest's overall superiority and they came storming back with a superb turn and centre from near the right hand corner flag by Bell but Byrne was unable to bundle the ball home at the far post.

The resulting corner also brought a presentable chance but Natalie Staneff could only scoop her effort over the bar when the ball dropped invitingly at her feet ten yards out.

Staneff would make no such mistake minutes later, however, when Byrne picked her out from a generously awarded free kick down the left hand side of the penalty area. This time the centre half buried a free header low past Davies from close range as the Liverpool defence stood looking at one another.

Half time came with Forest fully deserving their two goal lead and the relegation battle looking very much alive.

Half Time: Liverpool Ladies 0 Nottingham Forest Ladies 2

The second half began in much the same vein with Forest looking, if anything, even more in control than before half time. They continued to dominate in midfield while Penny and Clarke posed problems up front and they were even now prepared to attack from the back with Ellie Gilliatt particularly keen to get forward from left back.

Tammy Byrne, who had been outstanding, showed magnificent control as she led a thrilling attack down the right wing which was let down by a weak final pass by Penny. There was still half a chance as the Liverpool clearance dropped to Clarke twenty five yards out but her effort was always too high.

Forest's next sweeping move, a real beauty, came down the left hand side and should have seen them wrapping up the points. Byrne linked with Andrea Bell who fed Beth Bailey galloping forward down the left wing and the centre halves' cross was perfect for Penny but, from eight yards out, she could only thump her header against the face of the bar.

Slightly unlucky, perhaps, but this was a chance that should have been taken.

It seemed unlikely to matter at this stage but the usual bout of substitutions began on the hour mark and these would profoundly affect the course of the game.

Forest made all three changes in a ten minute spell while Liverpool contented themselves with a double change on the hour mark.

Whereas Liverpool's switch immediately boosted their attacking threat Forest appeared weakened by all three of their changes losing most of their pace, purpose and control in the process.

To be fair to Forest their changes seemed driven by injuries but the loss of Bell, Gilliatt and, in particular, Byrne saw them lose their grip on proceedings.

Ally Hastie, one of the Liverpool replacements, immediately announced her arrival by breaking through a couple of tackles on the edge of the area for a low cross shot that looked a goal all the way only for Wallhead to make a fine reflex save with her right foot.

Wallhead also had to react sharply to keep her goal intact when Stainthorpe sent the ball towards the top corner of her own goal from a testing Gill Hart centre.

Lisa Topping was also making an impact from the bench for Liverpool and she seemed to have got Hart in on goal but Lauren Cresswell, a Forest replacement, did just enough to prevent her from getting a shot in on goal.

With Liverpool now throwing players forward there was the occasional chance for Forest on the break and Kirsty Robson looked odds on to wrap things up having held off the challenge of Caroline Charlton but could then only shoot against Davies from point blank range.

Robson then turned provider by teeing up Penny after a pacy break but the shot was again straight at Davies in the Liverpool goal.

With time ticking away Liverpool finally clawed their way back into contention following a corner. Topping saw her effort hit the bar but Charlton was on hand to turn in the rebound to set up a dramatic finish.

There were only a couple of minutes of normal time remaining but a generous amount of added time could be expected given the usual quota of substitutions and the unusual quota of injury stoppages, mainly to Forest players.

This quota was then added to when Emily Simpkins produced an ugly lunge on Vicky Jones and was extremely fortunate only to see a yellow card. The Liverpool captain was just about able to finish the game after lengthy treatment.

Liverpool, with Traynor thrown forward from centre half, now launched everything they had at Forest in search of an equaliser and had a good penalty claim when Kelly Jones was cleaned out in the act of shooting but again the referee was lenient to Forest.

The final act of the game saw Gill Hart looping an ambitious overhead attempt towards the far corner and the effort probably had Wallhead panicking as she desperately back-pedalled but, in truth, the ball was always drifting over the angle and Forest were able to celebrate the win they so badly needed.

It was a win they also certainly deserved despite the fact that they were hanging on in the closing minutes. Overall they had dictated play for long periods and undoubtedly played the better football on the day.

Full Time: Liverpool Ladies 1 Nottingham Forest Ladies 2

Star Player: Tammy Byrne

Byrne was excellent as she returned to her old stamping ground, controlling midfield with a measured display. Rarely wasting possession she kept Forest moving forward for the most part and her set pieces ultimately proved the difference between the two sides.

Tuesday, February 17
Football England Considers The WPS

Arsenal and Everton Ladies maintained their perfect league records with comfortable away wins at the weekend as they head towards an almighty showdown later on in the season.

Arsenal were never in any danger at Blackburn and ran out 4-0 winners with Kelly Smith scoring twice. Everton had to come from behind at Bristol after an early Gwennan Harries goal but Natasha Dowie had the title hopefuls level by half time and went on to complete a hat trick after the break as Everton ran out 3-1 winners.

Due to the games between the big two originally being scheduled for cup weekends we are no nearer knowing when the two decisive clashes will take place at the moment but the delay will probably suit Everton more.

With Karen Carney, Kelly Smith and Alex Scott all signed and sealed, I think, for an imminent move to America and professional football Everton will be happy for their meetings with Arsenal to be delayed at the moment.

By the way, has nobody across the pond ever heard of Fara Williams? I find it bizarre that her name has never seemed to get a mention in relation to the forthcoming WPS.

I would have fancied getting Emily Westwood on board as well if I was a coach Stateside but it would appear as though the Everton squad is going to remain intact.

As yet I've not really mentioned the WPS as things are still a little sketchy even with the league set for kick off in less than two months time.

Basically, however, I think it is a great thing for the womens' game and the fact that some of our top talent is going to be lured from these shores is not really of any regret given the state of play here at the moment.

While it will be a shame for the handful of people who do attend womens' football matches in this country to be denied the chance to see Scott, Smith and Carney in action it is hard to feel anything other than real pleasure for the players themselves that they will be going to a country and a league where they will be taken seriously as footballers, fully appreciated for their ability and also rewarded financially.

A quick flick through the WPS website is an interesting venture. Check out the stadiums, they certainly put Borehamwood and Marine into sorry perspective. The selling of season tickets is another clear indication that womens' football in America is a completely different thing to womens' football here.

As well as the obvious financial inducements I would have thought that the simple prospect of playing in a seriously run, properly organised league, with and against most of the best players in the world, would have been enough to tempt any of our players offered the chance to hot foot it across the Atlantic without a second thought.

It seems as though there is still some reluctance on the part of our women footballers to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that are open to them for fear that they might either compromise their standing as serious footballers or, in this case, be looked upon as some kind of traitor to our game.

Quite honestly I can't see that English football has given the top players that much and it certainly isn't in a position to demand any massive degree of loyalty from them.

Kelly Smith, for instance, has surely given the game in this country far more than it has given her and if she can make some decent money from playing in the States, while challenging herself to perform at a level English domestic football certainly cannot set her, then I say good luck to her.

I wish all the British girls who end up playing in the States all the best and hope they are successful on the pitch and have a wonderful experience off it as well.

If this league is a big success and if our girls star in it then it could end up being the best thing that ever happened to our football as well. Nobody seems to be prepared to take womens' football seriously in this country but if it proves to be a success elsewhere then attitudes will change pretty quickly.

Back to the weekends' action and Liverpool gained another good point as they continue to edge clear of the two relegation places. In fact they ended up disappointed not to have won after conceding a late equaliser at home to Chelsea.

Cheryl Foster, who has been outstanding for The Reds all season, was on target again in the first half and it took a last gasp goal from Rebecca Jane to deny Liverpool a famous victory.

The other Premier League game to take place saw Leeds Carnegie put another nail in WFC Fulham's relegation coffin, goals in either half from Jess Clarke and Jade Moore giving them a 2-0 win.

Just a quick mention of the two games England played the previous week against Finland as part of their annual training camp in the sun.

The first ended in a 2-2 draw after a Kelly Smith penalty and a Lianne Sanderson goal had given them a two goal lead inside the first five minutes. Then a three goal blitz in the five minutes leading up to half time set England on the way to a 4-1 win in the second game.

Faye White, Emily Westwood and Kelly Smith, with another spot kick, scored the goals that broke Finnish resistance with Rachel Yankey grabbing the fourth early in the second half.

It's hard to read any real relevance into these games, however, although I suppose they are important in proving to everybody that the squad aren't simply in the Mediterranean on holiday.

Perhaps there are perks attached to being an England Ladies international after all.

Wednesday, February 4
Bristol Progress On Penalties

When the Womens' FA Cup 5th round draw was made, seemingly an ice age ago, the most evenly matched and difficult to call tie appeared to be the one between Bristol Academy and Birmingham City. On Sunday the game finally went ahead and it was just as tight as anyone could have expected.

Bristol started well and looked to be in control as two Kerry Bartlett goals game them the advantage at half time but Birmingham responded after the break with goals from Becky Hall and a late Danni Bird penalty.

Therefore this game of two halves became a game of four halves as extra time ensued but there were no more goals and the issue had to be settled by penalties. It was Academy who were more assured from the spot and they went through to the quarter finals after winning the shootout 4-2.

From time to time I venture a prediction on these pages so I'm feeling quite pleased with myself at the moment for not sharing my hunch that Birmingham were in for a good cup run this year with you.

Completing the last eight in this years' competition are Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea. Blackburn negotiated a tricky away tie at Millwall Lionesses thanks to a Natalie Preston goal while Chelsea laboured to a 2-0 victory at Derby County courtesy of two Lianne Sanderson penalties.

Both spot kicks were contested by the Derby players who, despite defeat, will take massive confidence from this display as they continue to push for promotion from the Midland Combination.

In the Premier League Everton maintained their 100% record with a 7-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest with Natasha Dowie adding two more to her tally while Doncaster Belles defeated Watford 2-1 thanks to an Emma Johnson effort and an own goal.

In the northern section OOH Lincoln ended any possible challenge by Newcastle with a 3-0 win but Sunderland remain in the best position after drubbing Reading 6-0, Sophie Williams scoring twice.

In the south Charlton continue to lead the way after Kim Holden scored twice on her debut in a 3-0 win over Truro City but the league table in this section continues to need a lot of sorting out.

Tuesday, January 27
One Cup Shock; Sort Of

Five of the eight scheduled ties went ahead this weekend in the Womens' FA Cup and there was one, extremely mild, shock. OOH Lincoln, chasing promotion in the northern section of the Premier League, recorded a 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, a team that looks destined to relegation from the Premier League.

Lincoln always looked to have more firepower and led 2-0 at the break with goals from Sophie Barker and Jodie Michalska, both goals assisted by Amanda Barr.

Forest looked to respond after the break and were back in contention around the hour mark when Andrea Bell scored but this spurred Lincoln into action again and the tie was settled when Mel Cook's speculative effort from distance found the target.

Lincoln will now travel to either Derby or, more likely, Chelsea in the quarter finals.

Elsewhere there were comfortable wins for Arsenal, Everton and Leeds.

Middlesbrough have every reason to be pleased with their rearguard action against Arsenal which saw them reach half time level and the final scoreline of 0-4 was nothing for them to be ashamed about.

Class and fitness was always going to tell in the end, however, and goals from Kim Little, Karen Carney and a Helen Lander double saw the holders through without alarm.

Arsenal will now host Leeds Carnegie in the last eight, a repeat of last seasons' final. Leeds were similarly comfortable in winning 3-0 away to Aston Villa. Carla Cantrell scored twice with a Jess Clarke effort sandwiched in between.

Everton were 4-0 winners away to Manchester City with Jill Scott, Toni Duggan and Michelle Evans (2) the scorers. Everton now travel to either Millwall or Blackburn.

Sunderland made short work of Barnet in their north v. south clash running out 5-0 winners with five different goalscorers; namely Kelly McDougall, Nat Gutteridge, Sophie Williams, Jordan Nobbs and Nicola Devine.

Sunderland will be at home to the winners of the Bristol Academy/Birmingham City tie and that looks to be the most interesting of the quarter final ties.

Away from the pitch the most interesting news of the past couple of weeks has been the appointment of Keith Boanas as manager of the Estonian national team.

This would appear to be a big undertaking for Boanas but the former Charlton and Millwall boss has never been a man to duck a challenge and we wish him well as he ventures into the unknown.

Boanas has made plain his disappointment that this sort of opportunity never came his way in this country and it is obviously sad that one of our top managers is heading abroad at the same time that several of our top players are contemplating a similar migration.

Obviously this would be a good time for the FA to come out with another cheerily, super positive soundbite about the state of the game in this country.

Tuesday, January 20
Arsenal Keep Chelsea In Their Place

Anyone expecting to see a noticeable change in the balance of power between Arsenal and Chelsea Ladies after Anita Asante and Lianne Sanderson moved clubs in the summer will have been disappointed with what they have seen so far.

Having beaten their would be rivals 4-0 in the League Cup earlier on in the season Arsenal ran out 4-1 winners in their first league meeting on Sunday. Last season the teams played each other three times with Arsenal winning each time by scores of 3-0, 3-1 and 4-1.

Pretty much as you were then.

Chelsea set out to contain Arsenal and hit on the break, again pretty much as you were, and remained on terms for almost half an hour before Kelly Smith broke clear of a couple of challengers and strolled through to slot home from point blank range.

Chelsea had had their moments on the break up to this point and would continue to do so but for each chance they created Arsenal fashioned three, four or five of their own.

It was not long before Arsenal had doubled their lead and, effectively, sealed the points. The busy Gemma Davison cut inside from the left before laying the ball off to Karen Carney who curled a delightful finish in off the post from twenty yards.

Siobhan Chamberlain spoiled an impressive performance in the Chelsea goal by spilling an Alex Scott centre into her own net after half time and Scott completed the scoring with an assured finish after good work by Rachel Yankey on the left hand bye-line.

Dunia Susi had pulled it back to 3-1 for Chelsea with a smart poachers goal to take advantage of hesitation from Emma Byrne in the Arsenal goal but there was never any real prospect of a Chelsea fightback after half time.

Arsenal, like Everton, have yet to drop a point and it looks increasingly likely that this seasons' league title will come down to a straight play off between these two clubs as and when they meet. The way the fixtures have been arranged this might even end up being consecutive games at the end of the campaign.

In the mens' game that would be a certainty with both games live on the television but it's unlikely that anyone will have the initiative to make that happen here.

In the other Premier League fixture played Leeds Carnegie also ran out 4-1 winners over a Nottingham Forest side looking increasingly doomed to the drop. Sue Smith opened the scoring from the penalty spot and added a second later on to sandwich goals from Jade Moore and Steph Houghton in a dominant display.

Catherine Lawson got Forest's late reply, also from the spot, but this defeat leaves them seven points from safety and, despite their three games in hand, in big trouble.

There were a couple of major surprises in the northern and southern sections as Newcastle United and Cardiff City suffered setbacks that are likely to prove terminal to their promotion hopes.

Newcastle missed a penalty as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Curzon Ashton, Becky Lee scoring, while Cardiff City, minus a recognised goalkeeper, lost 2-0 at home to Truro City for whom Danni Barr and Leanne Lapham were on target.

Sunderland made no such mistakes with a 4-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers which maintains their status as favourites for promotion from the northern section.

There was also FA Cup action with the most notable clash being the all Premier League fixture between Watford and Bristol Academy.

Bristol, noted cup fighters in recent years, prevailed in this one, winning 3-1, with Kerry Bartlett scoring twice and they will face top flight opposition again in the next round when they take on Birmingham City who drubbed Charlton Athletic 6-0. Jo Potter provided Charlton with an unwelcome reminder of their recent glory days with two of the goals.

Monday, January 12
All A Bit Of A Mess

What with the Christmas break and the horrible weather things have been predictably haphazard in the womens' game over the past few weeks. The plunging temperatures cannot be blamed for all the mess and confusion surrounding womens' football at the moment, however.

After two weeks of trying the FA Cup 4th round is still only partially completed and two of the games that have gone ahead have had their results reversed after clubs were found to have played ineligible players.

Curzon Ashton will be particularly aggrieved after causing a major upset with their 1-0 victory away to OOH Lincoln. It is now Curzon themselves who are majorly upset after it was deemed that Lauren Aldred was ineligible for the fixture.

Lincoln will now face Nottingham Forest who were also reinstated after losing 1-0 against Liverpool, for whom Natalie Holt should not have been taking part.

Apparently Holt was suspended for the game but was selected anyway. That is certainly a new one on me as it's always seemed virtually impossible for anyone to actually get suspended in womens' football. Generally a player can get sent off and still seems to be available the following week no questions asked.

I remember Amanda Barr copped a ban at Blackburn a couple of years back for bouncing the ball off the back of the referees' head at the end of a turbulent cup tie, or some such tomfoolery, so perhaps Holt had also indulged in a practical joke too far. Her sending off against Birmingham before Christmas seemed pretty straightforward but appears to have actually incurred a punishment unlike so many others before it.

Liverpool at least have the consolation of looking increasingly safe from relegation worries after securing a fine 3-2 victory over Doncaster Rovers Belles at the weekend. Cheryl Foster, who had notched the cup winner that never was, scored twice in this one, putting The Reds ahead early on and then putting the seal on victory after The Belles had taken a 2-1 lead.

Doncaster, League Cup finalists, have made a horrible start to the new year having also been knocked out of the FA Cup by Millwall Lionesses from the Premier League South.

Millwall's priority is securing promotion to the National Premier League and a cup run could become an unwanted distraction as they are already several games behind their rivals in the league. Beating higher ranked opponents is always good for confidence, however, and the victory over Doncaster came courtesy of an Emma Whitter goal and a sound defensive display.

There have been the usual ritual slaughters at this stage of the competition with Chelsea leading the way with a 9-1 victory over Rotherham United. Eni Aluko got three of these, Casey Stoney grabbed two and Rotherham contributed two own goals. Perhaps the Chuckle Brothers have a couple of sisters.

Leeds Carnegie hammered Forest Green Rovers 7-0 with Steph Houghton and Sue Smith both on target twice while Arsenal overcame Colchester United by the same scoreline.

Things have certainly been hectic at Arsenal over the festive period with Karen Carney confirming her decision to join the American pro league while Julie Fleeting will miss the rest of the season after becoming pregnant.

Vic Akers has been able to soften these blows by helping himself to Watford's prolific striker Helen Lander. Lander, who signed off for Watford by scoring all four of their goals in a victory over Blackburn before Christmas, was also on target in her Arsenal debut against Colchester although the scoring honours in this one went to Kim Little (3) and Katie Chapman (2).

Next up for Arsenal in the cup are Middlesbrough and you might be as well taking an abacus with you to this one if you are going along to watch.

The inevitable confirmation that the upcoming American league is going to drain some of our top talent brings into sharper focus the FA's plans for a summer league and central contracts for the top England players, the details of which are still to be finalised.

The FA still love to congratulate themselves on the massive improvements they are making to the womens' game while most of us look on in confusion.

Hopefully their vision will end up with a higher profile sport capable of retaining and rewarding the countries' top talent but in the meantime can anybody be surpised at Carney's decision to test herself in America?

John Isaacs wrote in response to this report:

I noticed you said that Karen Carney has confirmed her decision to join the new American pro league in your latest update on womens football. Well at the moment it is not 100 per cent confirmed she will be leaving us.
She wrote a column for Arsenal's programme when the men played Bolton Wanderers at the Emiartes on Saturday, January 10, 2009.

Her column:

"There has been much talk about my future lately and I have to emphasise that I haven't actually signed anything yet regarding a switch to America - I've been talking to Chicago Red Stars but we're still at that stage really and the Christmas break meant that things have not yet moved on definitively. But with there not being a transfer window or deadline as stringent as that in the men's game, the rush to settle things has not been as intense.
As I say, we're still talking - and Vic knows that I am very interested in going there. I would like to experience America - it would be a completely new challenge for a young player, and person, like me and not a financially motivated move. In a way, I've done everything with Arsenal now - and won everything there is to win in my first season here. I'd say things are looking positive about the move but I've not signed on the dotted line and as things stand I am committed to training and playing for Arsenal.
People ask whether the transfer speculation in recent months has got to myself or the other players - it's been a bit hard, of course, with people frequently asking whether I'm leaving, but the fact remains that I am an Arsenal player.
Every time I step out onto the pitch I just want to win and beat whoever is put in front of me - I've got too much respect for my club to let the America situation weigh on my mind when I'm playing for them. Until the situation changes, I'll give everything here and there is plenty to aim for this season. Of course, the American league will be a brand new one and it looks as if there'll be a summer league here next year as well, which is a very positive move. If that was in place now I don't think I'd be considering leaving home, but they're understandably taking their time in making sure they get the setup right and hopefully that will pay off in the long run."

Wednesday, December 17
Birmingham Win Thriller

The weather put paid to most of the top flight action last weekend but the one National Premier League fixture that did go ahead provided entertaiment enough as Birmingham City edged a five goal thriller at Liverpool.

Birmingham, boosted by new signing Jo Potter from Everton, dominated much of the game but nearly paid the price for a host of missed chances.

Birmingham had already seen an effort ruled out for offside before Cheryl Foster drove Liverpool into a tenth minute lead. This setback spurred the visitors on to produce an excellent first half display and they led at the interval thanks to a Danni Bird free kick and a cute Becky Hall finish.

Shelley James equalised for Liverpool shortly after the break only for the ever impressive Heather Scheuber to provide Birmingham with what proved to be the winner.

That was the end of the scoring but certainly not the drama. Birmingham went on to hit more wood than a lumberjack on piece rate and spurned several clear chances to put the issue beyond doubt before Liverpool were offered the chance to draw level from the penalty spot.

This opportunity was also spurned as Foster sent her shot against the post and the home teams' frustrations were completed as Natalie Holt was shown a second yellow card in a frantic climax.

When the dust had settled the outcome left Birmingham catapulted into 5th place in the table while Liverpool remain looking anxiously over their shoulder hoping Nottingham Forest and WFC Fulham don't start picking up points.

Fulham were unable to take anything from their visit to Chelsea last midweek as goals from youngsters Shelby Hills and Stevie Lamb, who scored twice, helped the home team to a comfortable 4-1 win and maintained their outside hopes of the league title.

Last weekend also saw the 3rd round of the Womens FA Cup but this was also badly affected by the weather. The most notable performances came from Loughborough Students, who produced a commendably dogged display to limit OOH Lincoln to a 2-0 victory, and Ann Marie Heatherston who showed Millwall what they have been missing far this season by scoring the goals that gave them a 2-0 win over West Ham on her belated debut.

The 4th round draw has thrown up three all National Premier League ties. Watford and Bristol Academy, who will both fancy cup runs, face each other as do fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

WFC Fulham, the other team in relegation peril, will probably be able to concentrate on their bid to beat the drop after travelling to face Everton.

Top flight teams in most danger of an upset? League Cup finalists Doncaster Rovers Belles will have to keep an eye on Heatherston as they entertain Millwall while Birmingham face a potentially tricky trip to either Charlton Athletic or Ipswich Town.

Personally I don't foresee any upsets, however.

There has also been news from another cup competition this week as UEFA have announced changes to their womens' club competition.

Basically they have made an effort to bring the womens' competition more into line with the mens'. In some respects this has simply involved changing the name but that was certainly a decent place to start.

I'm not actually sure what the womens' European competition is called at the moment although I have always been happy enough to call it the UEFA Cup. From now on it will be The Womens' Champions League.

Or something like that. I will be calling it the Champions League. Or maybe the European Cup.

You can't really beat the dramatic, evocative simplicity of that name anyway, can you?

Anyway, the major changes to the competition itself will be an increase in participants, with the top eight nations being allocated two entrants each, while the final itself will be a one off game, as opposed to the current two legged affair.

The final will now be tied in with the mens' equivalent, being played in the same week and same city as the mens' showpiece event.

That is certainly a very good idea and will massively increase the profile of the womens' final.

Unlike the mens' equivalent there is no chance of English representation in this seasons' final after Arsenal were rudely thrashed by Umea in the last round and the prospects may remain slender until the FA's vision for the game in this country is finally finalised and implemented.

Until everyone knows where they stand it is hard to see much progress being made on or off the field.

Tuesday, December 9 Favourites Cruise To Final

The League Cup semi finals had two overwhelming favourites and both booked their places in the final without any real fuss. Arsenal proved too strong for the new improved Chelsea while Doncaster Belles were never seriously threatened by their lower league opponents, Preston North End.

Arsenal always looked to be in control away to Chelsea although there was only a Sophie Perry own goal separating the sides at the interval. Arsenal's relentless pursuit of a fifth successive final appearance was confirmed after half time as two poachers goals from Julie Fleeting sandwiched a Jayne Ludlow effort.

Doncaster Belles had all but booked their place in the final within seven minutes as goals from Rachel Williams and Emily Heckler had them two goals to the good.

Preston were probably nervous having never been anywhere near such an occasion before and both goals were the result of indecisive goalkeeping.

The Belles then squandered a host of chances to completely kill the game off, North End's keeper partially redeeming herself, and Anisha Bateman gave the visitors hope before half time with a smart header from a deep free kick.

Doncaster responded immediately at the start of the second half when Suzanne Davies finished a difficult chance clinically and with their two goal cushion restored The Belles had booked their place in the final.

With the usual suspects all coming out in the same half of the draw this year it left a vacancy available in the final and it is fitting that Doncaster, who have been impressive all season, should be the team to take advantage.

Of course the worry now is that the final will be embarrassingly one sided and that is a real possibility. Not only are Arsenal a far stronger side than Doncaster they have all the experience of performing on the big stages that the Doncaster line up is generally without.

The Belles will have to decide whether to try and shut up shop and go for a damage limitation exercise or play to their strengths and try to have a go at The Gunners.

Attempting to play anything like an open game would present its' own dangers as Arsenal's outstanding attacking quality would have more room in which to operate but Doncaster's defence does not look equipped to hold out against Arsenal even if the whole team is employed in a containing operation.

Doncaster's strength this season has been in the form of their midfield and they will need to be at their best in that area to make any sort of a game of it.

If the likes of Vicky Exley, Rachel Williams and Precious Hamilton can compete with the Arsenal midfield in midfield and not simply become auxiliary defenders then they do have the pace up front to cause Arsenal some problems.

Arsenal, of course, have the ability to cause Doncaster problems from all over the field.

Looking ahead I think the best we can hope for is an entertaining, not too one sided, game and a final scoreline of something like 3 or 4-1.

If Arsenal really turn it on then it could easily be six or seven.

Everton are continuing to do their best to make the league title race an interesting one as they came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 and maintain their 100% record in the process.

Emily Westwood headed them into a 1st minute lead but goals from Katie Anderton and Natalie Preston had Rovers surprisingly ahead ten minutes into the second half.

Everton were not fazed by this situation, however, and Michelle Evans quickly had them level again before a Natasha Dowie double clinched the points.

Elsewhere OOH Lincoln put themselves back into promotion contention in the Northern section with a narrow 2-1 win over Sunderland, Carla Ward heading the vital goal with ten minutes remaining.

Tuesday, December 2
Under 20's Succumb To USA Power

England's Under 20's team bowed out of the World Cup in Chile after failing to deal with the power of the United States in their quarter final meeting.

In what was a virtual replica of England's meeting with America in the actual World Cup quarter finals last year the game was goalless at half time before England wilted physically in the second half to concede three unanswered goals.

The first half was extremely tight with Brooke Chaplen curling one good effort just wide of an upright but after America took the lead early in the second half with a header from a right wing cross England rarely threatened to get back into the game.

The scoreline was given perhaps an unfair emphasis as America added two late goals, a header from a right wing corner and a last minute breakaway goal, but overall England could have no real complaints about their exit.

The performances and results managed in this competition represented something like a GCE Grade C pass at O'Level. Just about good enough to stop your parents belting you but certainly nothing to write home about either.

Back at home Arsenal registered another victory although they had to recover from a half time deficit away to Bristol Academy to maintain their 100% record.

Grace McCatty gave Bristol their interval lead with a thumping drive from just outside the box but Arsenal stepped up their efforts after half time to eventually run out comfortable winners thanks to a Faye White goal and a Julie Fleeting hat trick.

There was a vital win for OOH Lincoln in the Northern section as they also came from behind in the second half to win 2-1 at Manchester City through a Jodie Michalaska double.

World Cup Special:
Follow our Girls in China, all the games plus player profiles of all the squad here: England Ladies 2007

Match reports from all the games in China, plus info about the teams e.t.c. here: World Cup Homepage