Chelsea might be one of the most dominant forces in English football on the men's side, but the Chelsea
Ladies Football Club had never won an FA Women's Cup title until Saturday. Arsenal and Southampton have been the big winners in the tournament over the years. Arsenal have been particularly dominant, winning nine of their 13 titles since the year 2000. The Gunners were also the two-time reigning champions, having clinched consecutive FA Cup events in 2013 and 2014. Southampton, meanwhile, had early success in the soccer tournament, but haven't won since 1981. But now Chelsea Ladies win first ever FA Cup title in monumental year for women's football.
An Unpredictable Turn of Events
This year was unusual in that, regardless of what happened in the championship match, there was going to be a new winner in the annals of the FA Women's Cup. Southampton exited the tournament in the preliminary round, Chelsea eliminated Arsenal in a quarterfinal away match, and Notts County beat another recent victor (2009 2010 champs Everton) in the semis.
Those surprising turns paved the way for one of the more exciting and unpredictable FA Women's Cup finals in recent memory. As the Blues donned the Chelsea home jersey 2015 2016 on Saturday to take the pitch at London's Wembley Stadium, no one quite knew what to expect. Notts County had never even participated in an FA Cup final, while Chelsea had lost the championship match in 2012, losing to Birmingham City in a penalty shootout. Would the 2014 2015 FA Women's Cup see a similarly ultra-competitive narrative?
Ji So-Yun Scores a Beauty
Ultimately, the August 1st FA Cup final ended on better terms for Chelsea than their close-but-no-cigar run in 2012. 37 minutes into the game, Chelsea LFC forward Eniola Aluko created a glorious opportunity for midfielder Ji So-Yun, putting the ball in the box and letting So-Yun nudge it over the goal line. Notts County goalkeeper Carly Telford nearly got the save, but So-Yun kept her head in the scuffle and earned Chelsea a 1-0 lead before halftime.
That goal would be the only one either side would score throughout the 90-minute match. Despite the low-scoring nature of the game, though, this wasn't the competitive soccer fixture that Chelsea faced in 2012 against Birmingham City. Instead, the wearers of the Chelsea home jersey 2015 2016 outplayed their Notts County competitors from every angle.
Eniola Aluko deservedly earned "Woman of the Match" distinction for consistently being a thorn in Notts County's side. She created the opportunity for So-Yun to score, and her deft, quick-footed play made her a threat for the rest of the match as well. Notts County, meanwhile, hardly created any threatening attacks at all, and looked a good deal sloppier than they had in May, when they beat Everton 3-0.
The First Win at Wembley
While Chelsea's Ladies Football Club might have secured their first-ever FA Women's Cup on Saturday, they do have one bragging right that not even 13-time winners Arsenal will never be able to claim: they won the first female FA Cup final ever held at Wembley Stadium.
In the past, the FA Women's Cup final has been held at smaller venues, but the event has never really established a home. Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace FC, was a popular venue for the game around the turn of the century, while Nottingham Forest's City Ground has also hosted the championship fixture.
This year, for the first time ever, the FA Women's Cup ended at Wembley Stadium. Wembley has been the go-to venue for the men's FA Cup final for many years. The event was held at Millennium Stadium in Wales for a period last decade, as construction was completed on the new Wembley Stadium, but the FA Cup has always called England's largest stadium its home.
The move to Wembley also brought a bigger audience for the 2014 2015 FA Women's Cup. 30,710 people were on hand to watch the clash between Chelsea and Notts County-breaking the previous record of 24,582, set in 2008 at City Ground. 30,000 is still a far cry from what the men's final draws-89,283 people were reportedly in the stands to watch Arsenal beat Aston Villa in the spring-but it shows a growth in appreciation for women's soccer.
