This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/12/liverpool-womens-super-league-title-chelsea

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Liverpool retain Women’s Super League title thanks to Chelsea’s defeat Liverpool retain Women’s Super League title thanks to Chelsea’s defeat
(about 20 hours later)
Liverpool have retained the FA Super League title after beating Bristol Academy 3-0 on a final day on which three teams still had a shot at the trophy. Final-day drama: mmm, isn’t it? The finale of the FA Women’s Super League was just about delirious enough to bring out the Ron Manager in all of us. Three teams began the last day of the season still in with a chance of winning the title, with Chelsea leading Birmingham City by two points and Liverpool a single point further back. When the whistles finally blew, it was on what had been thought the least likely outcome: the trophy being dressed in red in Widnes, where Liverpool had retained their title on goal difference with a 3-0 win over Bristol Academy.
Chelsea had started the day three points clear at the top of the table but fell to a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City and will have to make do with a place in next season’s Champions League; Birmingham City do not even have that consolation, despite fighting back from 2-0 down to draw with Notts County. The assumption was that Chelsea, who had looked rampant as they put five past Everton a week earlier, would do enough against a Manchester City side with their eyes on the final of the Continental Cup; the England international defender and club captain Steph Houghton, in danger of missing the match if she picked up a booking today, was among those rested. That feeling was strengthened when Birmingham City quickly went a goal down to Notts County, who have not given up goals easily this season.
The cameras were trained on the action in Manchester as even the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, who has been reluctant to describe her team as contenders let alone favourites, conceded that the title was theirs to lose. But after a frantic start to the game City gradually found their rhythm, scoring two first-half goals and just about surviving sustained Chelsea pressure in the second half – despite conceding a Gilly Flaherty header and then seeing Abbie McManus sent off for throwing an elbow at Yuki Ogimi with more than 10 minutes remaining. By half-time it was precariously poised, with Chelsea still top of the table but two goals down to Manchester City, bringing their goal difference down to match Liverpool’s. Now a single Liverpool goal would see them leapfrog the Londoners, but Lucy Bronze had just sent a header crashing against the crossbar. In Solihull, Birmingham City had fallen two behind but pulled one back and been denied an equaliser by an excellent save from Carly Telford, stopping Karen Carney’s penalty. The table looked the same but everything felt very different.
Jill Scott’s opening goal was nice enough, a low drive from outside the area that beat the substitute goalkeeper Clare Farrow at her near post, but Toni Duggan’s strike was deserving of being the match winner. Collecting Scott’s cut-back on her chest – the move having begun when McManus stopped Ogimi’s header on the line moments earlier – she spun and sent a delightful volley dipping over Farrow’s despairing dive. At the other end Alex Brooks in the City goal was smart off her line to pinch the ball from Eniola Aluko on several occasions but more often than not was able to watch Chelsea’s efforts go high, wide, or into her own midriff. Less than 10 minutes into the second half Natasha Dowie’s neatly side-footed shot through a busy penalty area gave Liverpool the lead in the match and the title race. Hannah Keryakoplis pulled Birmingham City level to remind everyone that they, too, might go on and get three points. When news filtered through to Manchester that Bronze had quickly made it two for Liverpool, a buzz went around the stadium. “They knew when they needed to,” said the Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, of her players. “When you go 2-0 down you need to know results elsewhere.”
Chelsea will still reflect on a successful season under Hayes, however, having jumped from second to bottom last time out to second place. With 20 minutes remaining, Fara Williams’s penalty gave Liverpool a three-goal lead but almost immediately Chelsea dented Manchester City’s advantage when Gilly Flaherty headed in from close range. Even as the clock ticked down in these final minutes, a single goal could have diverted the motorbike carrying the trophy to Widnes back across the M62, and by golly Chelsea looked for it. When Manchester City went down to 10 players it seemed fated, but they defended as if it was they and not Liverpool who would be denied by a Chelsea equaliser.
The game in Manchester was the last to finish and when it did, the Chelsea players’ distress was evident. Katie Chapman stood with her family, hand on hip, and looked grimly across the stadium. Flaherty came over to the stands and was embraced before her shoulders began to heave up and down.
It is a horrible way to finish second, but in time Chelsea will reflect on a season of significant improvement. Having finished second from bottom last time around, they can look forward to a place in next season’s Champions League. “It’s a monumental achievement for us,” said Hayes. “The reality is that some players have never been in this position before, and the occasion, the moment, can get to you. This will help those players get stronger for next time. You can’t console them in this moment, but I’m proud of them, they’ve brought a lot of optimism to the club this year and I look forward to building on it.”
Just under 40 miles away, for the second season in a row, the Liverpool manager Matt Beard and his players were drenched in champagne and drunk on being made to sweat for the Women’s Super League crown. “Honestly, I didn’t think we would win it, I thought it was Chelsea’s,” said Beard. This was a sixth straight match without defeat for Liverpool, but they had needed some luck to mark up that run. Last week’s draw with Arsenal came deep into stoppage time and Birmingham City were only beaten thanks to a goal allowed despite the fact that City had not realised that the referee had restarted play. “I didn’t expect us to win it again,” said Beard. “All we kept focusing on was making sure we got into the top two to qualify for the Champions League. So to win it is an unbelievable achievement.”