WSL final day deciders are nothing new, but this one could be different
This will be the eighth time the WSL title has gone to the final day, but it's only ever changed hands once in the previous seven, on a crazy day 10 years ago...
For the eighth time, the destiny of the Barclays Women’s Super League title is going down to the final day of the season.
As Chelsea pursue an unprecedented fifth league title in a row in Emma Hayes’ farewell to English football, both the current holders and rivals Manchester City face the prospect of banana skin trips to Manchester United and Aston Villa respectively.
It means there is a genuine chance of some twists and turns come Saturday afternoon, which in the seven subsequent final day deciders hasn’t always been the case.
But given Chelsea have just two days to recover from Wednesday night’s win at Tottenham Hotspur and United come into the game off the back of their FA Cup-winning high, plus the fact they beat Chelsea just last month, it would be no shock to see the trophy change hands.
It would also be no surprise to see it change back either, given Gareth Taylor’s Man City go to one of their bogey teams in Aston Villa, who beat them at Villa Park last season, as well as snatching a point away and knocking them out of the FA Cup.
Had Taylor’s side held onto their 1-0 lead come the 89th-minute against Arsenal 11 days ago, they would need only a point to seal just a second league title and deny Hayes the fondest of farewells she is searching for in front of a bumper Old Trafford crowd come 5pm on Saturday.
Amazingly, this will be the fourth season in a row the title has come down to the final day of the season, with Chelsea coming out on top every time.
Two of those saw them face Reading and win comfortably on both occasions, while sandwiched between those two games was another final day meeting with Manchester United in 2022, where Marc Skinner’s side twice took the lead to put Chelsea’s title in peril, only for the Blues to run out 4-2 winners in the end.
Technically, you could class it as the sixth in a row, given the COVID-19-affected season technically ended with title rivals Manchester City and Chelsea drawing 3-3, a result which no one knew at the time would clinch the league for the away side ,given no more games were played that campaign.
Strangely, the leagues have gone down to the final day when there is less scope for close competition given the league is now contested over 22 games.
When the WSL was created for 2011, just eight teams competed, meaning just 14 games were played across the season, but in 2012 Arsenal ended up eight points clear of nearest rivals Birmingham City after a final day clash between the two.
Had it been the same meeting 12 months previous it may have been a different prospect, with Arsenal sat just a point clear of Birmingham City heading into the final day.
Arsenal won while Birmingham drew, meaning the Gunners took the first two titles of the new era under the guidance of Laura Harvey.
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The final day drama has all come at the early part of latter part of the WSL era, with no final day deciders between 2016 and 2021 except the shortened 2017 Spring Series, and even 2015 saw Chelsea win comfortably on the final day against Sunderland to seal their first WSL title.
2013 certainly had scope to provide drama with Arsenal set to be dethroned by either Liverpool or Bristol Academy for the first time, the latter managed by future England head coach Mark Sampson who would leave for his new role at the end of the season.
As Arsenal and Birmingham City had 12 months previous, the pair met on the final day at Widnes, with just two points between the pair.
It meant if Bristol Academy could pick up three points they would surpass their rivals to win the league, but a penalty from Louise Schillgard and a late strike from Katrin Omarsdottir ensured Liverpool were not overtaken and won the first of their back-to-back titles.
That leaves just 2014, the only time the title has changed hands on the final day of the season.
Chelsea’s investment over the previous seasons had seen them go from bottom to top, sitting on 26 points ahead of Birmingham City who were on 24 and Liverpool on 23, the latter in with a chance with a goal difference of just -2 to Chelsea.
How that final day panned out has gone down in WSL folklore, yet the backdrop to it and the previous weeks of action were equally dramatic and played a huge role in the destiny of the title.
On Saturday 20th September, Chelsea suffered a shock loss to Notts County, opening the door for both Birmingham City and Liverpool who were playing each other a day later.
What unfolded was truly incredible. Liverpool led 1-0 until Hannah Keryakoplis equalised with less than 10 minutes to go.
With the points set to be shared in a big boost to Chelsea’s chances, Fara Williams shot straight from kick-off with the hosts still getting back into position after their celebrations and beat a helpless Becky Spencer to put Liverpool back into the lead, and subsequently seal a huge three points.
On the penultimate weekend, Chelsea hosted already relegated Everton who hadn’t won a game all season, and won comfortably.
Birmingham City though had a tough trip to Manchester City and Liverpool had an equally tough trip to Arsenal. A defeat for both would hand the title to Chelsea with a week to go and take the pressure off Chelsea’s own trip to Manchester a week later.
With minutes to go, Birmingham were drawing 1-1, a result which would have taken them out of the equation, that was until Karen Carney popped up in the 86th-minute to keep the dream alive for Marcus Bignot and David Parker’s side.
Liverpool were in even more trouble, knowing even a draw at Arsenal would only keep their hopes hanging by a threat, and with half an hour to go they were 3-1 down at Kingsmeadow.
After Nicole Rolser made it 3-2, former Gunner herself Gemma Davison scored a superb solo goal in the 93rd minute to ensure a three-way battle heading into the final day.
Liverpool would once again host Bristol City, who without Sampson had slipped to second bottom of the table, Birmingham went to Notts County and Chelsea had to face a resilient Man City who had grown in stature throughout their debut WSL campaign.
Come the 90th minute of the game, the title could still have gone any of three ways.
Chelsea sank to a 2-0 deficit in a first half which saw both Jill Scott and Toni Duggan score, and there was a further twist when Hayes had to bring on substitute goalkeeper Clare Farrow in the 11th-minute, who had only signed as an emergency back-up and what would be her only appearance for the club.
But more drama was unfolding elsewhere, with Birmingham City also trailing 2-0 at home to Notts County, while Liverpool were being held to a 0-0 draw.
The three then started to close in on each other, with Liverpool rushing into a 3-0 lead which suddenly put them top after starting the day in third.
Chelsea pulled a goal back with 20 minutes to go and four minutes later Nick Cushing’s City were down to 10 players when Abbie McManus was sent off, and Birmingham had pulled themselves back to a 2-2 draw.
Chelsea though never found the equaliser which would have sealed the title no matter what happened elsewhere, while Birmingham City did have the chance to win a first league title, but Karen Carney was denied from the spot by Carly Telford with a spectacular double save with the game at 2-1.
All of that meant Liverpool’s players were stood waiting in the centre circle watching the final moments elsewhere on their phone screens, scarcely able to believe what was unfolding.
They had started the day third, three points off the top and with a worse goal difference, yet clinched a second successive league title in dramatic fashion.
10 years on, if Saturday has anything similar in store, it will be a pretty special day.