2020 FA Women's League Cup final

2020 FA Women's League Cup final
Event2019–20 FA Women's League Cup
Arsenal Chelsea
1 2
Date29 February 2020 (2020-02-29)
VenueCity Ground, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
Player of the MatchAnn-Katrin Berger
RefereeHelen Conley
Attendance6,743
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The 2020 FA Women's League Cup final was the ninth final of the FA Women's League Cup, England's secondary cup competition for women's football teams and its primary League Cup tournament. It took place on 29 February 2020 at the City Ground, and was contested by Arsenal and Chelsea.[1]

Arsenal had competed in all but one (2016) of the previous finals, winning five. Chelsea made their first appearance in a League Cup final having been a losing semi-finalist at the hands of Manchester City in each of the last two seasons.[2][3]

Route to the final

[edit]
Round Opposition Score
GS London City Lionesses (A) 5–0
GS Charlton Athletic (H) 4–0
GS Brighton & Hove Albion (A) (p) 0–0 (p)
GS Bristol City (H) 7–0
GS London Bees (H) 9–0
QF Reading (H) 1–0
SF Manchester City (H) 2–1
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue.

Arsenal

[edit]

Arsenal topped their League Cup Group for the second consecutive season, doing so by winning four of their five games; against second-tier teams London City Lionesses, Charlton Athletic and London Bees as well as FA WSL relegation battlers Bristol City. The only team to stop Arsenal from winning in the Group Stage was fellow WSL side Brighton & Hove Albion who earned themselves a goalless draw before the Seagulls also took the extra available point by winning the ensuing penalty shootout 4–2. Arsenal finished the Group Stage without conceding a goal.

The quarter-finals saw Arsenal drawn at home to Reading as their strong defensive record continued, seeing off the midtable WSL side 1–0 thanks to a late Kim Little strike. The semi-final matched Arsenal against defending League Cup champions and fellow WSL title-challengers Manchester City. A 2–0 Arsenal lead at half-time was halved in the 60th minute as Gemma Bonner scored the first goal Arsenal had conceded in the competition but the Gunners held on for the win, sending them to their third consecutive final.

Round Opposition Score
GS West Ham United (H) 2–0
GS Crystal Palace (A) 3–0
GS Lewes (A) 2–1
GS Tottenham Hotspur (H) 5–1
GS Reading (A) (p) 1–1 (p)
QF Aston Villa (H) 3–1
SF Manchester United (A) 1–0
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue.

Chelsea

[edit]

Chelsea topped their League Cup Group for the third consecutive season, and, like Arsenal, progressed with 13 points after winning four of the five games and drawing a fifth before losing the penalty shootout. They beat two WSL teams and two second-tier teams by way of West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Lewes before Reading forced a 1–1 draw. The Royals won the extra point 4–2 on penalties.

In the quarter-finals, Chelsea were drawn at home to Aston Villa, one of two Championship teams to progress to the knockout stage. Chelsea ran out comfortable 3–1 winners. The Blues' place in their first League Cup final was ultimately assured by a sole Maren Mjelde goal as Chelsea once again narrowly beat newly-promoted Manchester United 1–0 in the semi-final, a repeat of the scoreline when the teams had first met in the league in November 2019.

Match

[edit]

Details

[edit]
Arsenal1–2Chelsea
 Report
Attendance: 6,743
Referee: Helen Conley
Arsenal
Chelsea
GK 1 Austria Manuela Zinsberger
DF 16 Republic of Ireland Louise Quinn
DF 17 Scotland Lisa Evans
DF 22 Austria Viktoria Schnaderbeck
DF 15 Republic of Ireland Katie McCabe Yellow card 81'
MF 6 England Leah Williamson
MF 14 Netherlands Jill Roord
MF 7 Netherlands Daniëlle van de Donk
MF 8 England Jordan Nobbs (c)
FW 11 Netherlands Vivianne Miedema
FW 19 Australia Caitlin Foord
Substitutes:
GK 18 France Pauline Peyraud-Magnin
MF 20 Germany Leonie Maier
MF 26 England Ruby Grant
MF 27 England Melisa Filis
DF 30 England Ruby Mace
Manager:
Australia Joe Montemurro
GK 30 Germany Ann-Katrin Berger
DF 18 Norway Maren Mjelde
DF 4 England Millie Bright
DF 16 Sweden Magdalena Eriksson (c) Yellow card 59'
DF 25 Sweden Jonna Andersson
MF 5 Wales Sophie Ingle
MF 10 South Korea Ji So-yun downward-facing red arrow 75'
MF 11 Norway Guro Reiten
FW 9 England Bethany England
FW 20 Australia Sam Kerr downward-facing red arrow 90+3'
FW 22 Scotland Erin Cuthbert Yellow card 77'
Substitutes:
GK 28 England Carly Telford
DF 2 Norway Maria Thorisdottir upward-facing green arrow 75'
DF 3 England Hannah Blundell
MF 7 England Jessica Carter
DF 21 England Deanna Cooper
FW 23 Switzerland Ramona Bachmann
MF 24 England Drew Spence upward-facing green arrow 90+3'
Manager:
England Emma Hayes

Player of the match:
Ann-Katrin Berger

Match officials

Assistant referees:
Helen Edwards
Magda Golba


Fourth official:
Stacey Pearson

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Conti Cup final comes to The City Ground on Saturday". www.nottinghamforest.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Chelsea Women v Arsenal Women: Continental League Cup final". BBC Sport. 28 February 2020.
  3. ^ Aluko, Eni (27 February 2020). "Continental Cup final gives an unloved competition a fascinating climax". The Guardian.
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