The 2018–19 FA Women's Championship was the first rebranded edition of the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England, renamed from the FA WSL 2 which was founded in 2014. The season ran from 8 September 2018 to 12 May 2019.[1]
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Manchester United |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Goals scored | 394 (3.58 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | 17 goals Jessica Sigsworth, Manchester United |
| Biggest home win | Manchester United 9–0 London Bees (6 January 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Aston Villa 0–12 Manchester United (9 September 2018) |
| Highest scoring | Aston Villa 0–12 Manchester United (9 September 2018) |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
On 20 April 2019, Manchester United won the title, and promotion to the FA WSL, with two games to spare in their debut season after recording a 7–0 victory over Crystal Palace.[2] Tottenham Hotspur subsequently secured second place and promotion following a 1–1 draw at Aston Villa in their penultimate fixture.[3] Millwall Lionesses finished bottom but were spared relegation as the FA sought to expand both of the top two divisions to twelve teams each by 2019–20.
Teams
edit
Eleven teams compete in the league. Following restructuring of the women's game in order to provide for a fully professional Women's Super League (WSL), membership of both the first and second tier is subject to a license, based on a series of off-the-field criteria. Existing WSL teams were first offered the opportunity to bid for licenses,[4] with all applying FA WSL 2 clubs retaining their place in the second tier, except for Brighton & Hove Albion who were offered a place in the WSL.[5] From the second tier, Oxford United and Watford did not apply for licenses.[5]
This left up to two places in the WSL and up to five places in the Championship for applying clubs, of which one place in the Championship was reserved for the winners of the FA Women's Premier League Championship play-off, providing that club met the licensing criteria.[4] Fifteen applications were received for both the top two tiers,[5] and five of these applicants were accepted into the Championship: Manchester United, Lewes, Leicester City Women, Sheffield United as well as Premiership play-off winners, Charlton Athletic.[6]
Sheffield announced on 24 June 2018 that it was withdrawing from the league ahead of the season, due to the financial commitments required by The Football Association proving too onerous.[7] Doncaster Rovers Belles announced similarly on 12 July 2018.[8] A place in the league was subsequently awarded to Crystal Palace.[9]
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2017–18 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | Tamworth | The Lamb Ground | 4,000 | 9th |
| Charlton Athletic | Thamesmead | Bayliss Avenue | 6,000 | 1st, WPL South |
| Crystal Palace | Bromley | Hayes Lane | 5,000 | 3rd, WPL South |
| Durham | Durham | New Ferens Park | 3,000 | 4th |
| Leicester City Women | Quorn | Farley Way Stadium | 1,400 | 2nd, WPL North |
| Lewes | Lewes | The Dripping Pan | 3,000 | 5th, WPL South |
| London Bees | Canons Park | The Hive Stadium | 5,176 | 6th |
| Manchester United | Leigh | Leigh Sports Village | 12,000 | n/a |
| Millwall Lionesses | Dartford | Princes Park | 2,500 | 3rd |
| Sheffield United | Sheffield | Olympic Legacy Park | 2,000 | 3rd, WPL Div 1, Midlands |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Cheshunt | Cheshunt Stadium | 3,000 | 7th |
Table
editFor the inaugural season, the top two teams will be automatically promoted subject to obtaining a licence. There will be no relegation at the end of the campaign with a view to expanding the top two tiers to twelve teams each by 2019–20.[10]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United (C, P) | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 98 | 7 | +91 | 55 | Promotion to the WSL[a] |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur (P) | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 46 | |
| 3 | Charlton Athletic | 20 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 41 | |
| 4 | Durham | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 16 | +21 | 39 | |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 34 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 39 | −9 | 26 | |
| 7 | Leicester City | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 21 | |
| 8 | London Bees | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 23 | 48 | −25 | 21 | |
| 9 | Lewes | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 17 | |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 44 | −30 | 11 | |
| 11 | Millwall Lionesses | 20 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 70 | −56 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:
- ^ Dependent on obtaining a licence.
Results
editTop goalscorers
edit- As of 11 May 2019
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jessica Sigsworth
|
Manchester United | 17 |
| 2 | Rianna Dean
|
Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
 Elizabeta Ejupi
|
Charlton Athletic | ||
| Lauren James
|
Manchester United | ||
| Ella Toone
|
Manchester United | ||
| 6 | Mollie Green
|
Manchester United | 13 |
| 7 | Kit Graham
|
Charlton Athletic | 12 |
| 8 | Katie Zelem
|
Manchester United | 10 |
| 9 | Beth Hepple
|
Durham | 8 |
| Jodie Hutton
|
Aston Villa | ||
| Jade Pennock
|
Sheffield United |
Awards
editPlayer of the Month
editResults of Player of the Month voting as polled by FA Women's Championship. Number of nominations in brackets.
| Month | Winner | Nominated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Player | Club | |
| September[11] | Lauren James
|
Manchester United | Rebecca Carter
|
Lewes |
| Jessica Sigsworth
|
Manchester United | |||
 Sarah Wiltshire
|
Tottenham Hotspur | |||
| October[12] | Rianna Dean
|
Tottenham Hotspur | Rosie Axten
|
Leicester City |
| Kit Graham
|
Charlton Athletic | |||
| Sarah Wiltshire (2)
|
Tottenham Hotspur | |||
| November[13] | Mollie Green
|
Manchester United | Sophie Barker
|
Sheffield United |
| Abi Cottam
|
Durham | |||
| Katie Startup
|
Charlton Athletic | |||
| December[14] | Beth Hepple
|
Durham | Elizabeta Ejupi
|
Charlton Athletic |
| Lily Agg
|
Charlton Athletic | |||
 Emma Beckett
|
London Bees | |||
| January[15] | Sarah Wiltshire (3)
|
Tottenham Hotspur | Rianna Dean (2)
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
 Zoe Ness
|
Durham | |||
| Evie Clarke
|
Millwall Lionesses | |||
| February[16] | Ella Toone
|
Manchester United | Angela Addison
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
| Gemma Bryan
|
Crystal Palace | |||
| Evie Clarke (2)
|
Millwall Lionesses | |||
| March[17] | Katie Zelem
|
Manchester United | Jade Pennock
|
Sheffield United |
| Kit Graham (2)
|
Charlton Athletic | |||
| Maddy Cusack
|
Sheffield United | |||
| April | Ashleigh Neville
|
Tottenham Hotspur | Danielle Cox
|
Sheffield United |
| Charlie Devlin
|
Manchester United | |||
| Lauren James (2)
|
Manchester United | |||
LMA Manager of the Month
editResults of Manager of the Month as awarded by the League Managers Association. Number of awards in brackets.
| Month | Manager | Club |
|---|---|---|
| September | Karen Hills
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
| October | Lee Sanders
|
Durham |
| November | Casey Stoney
|
Manchester United |
| January | Karen Hills (2)
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
| February | Casey Stoney (2)
|
Manchester United |
| March | Carla Ward
|
Sheffield United |
| April | Casey Stoney (3)
|
Manchester United |
See also
edit- 2018–19 FA WSL Cup
- 2018–19 FA WSL (tier 1)
- 2018–19 FA Women's National League (tier 3)
References
edit- ^ "Fixtures". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ Man Utd Women 7–0 Crystal Palace Ladies: Women's Championship title sealed by win, from BBCSport.co.uk.
- ^ Record attendance for Women’s FA Cup final expected at Wembley, from the guardian.com.
- ^ a b "Women's Pyramid Restructure: Q&A With Katie Brazier". The FA. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ a b c "Women's Super League: 15 clubs apply for WSL and Women's Championship licences - BBC Sport". bbc.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Manchester United get Women's Championship licence; West Ham join top flight". 28 May 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Club Statement". Sheffield FC Ladies. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Club Statement". Doncaster Rovers Belles. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ "CLUB STATEMENT: FA Women's Championship". Crystal Palace Ladies FC. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ "Women's Super League: New full-time, professional era - all you need to know". 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
- ^ "Man Utd's Lauren James named player of the month". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ "Rianna Dean wins player of the month award". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ "Mollie Green wins player of the month award". Twitter.
- ^ "NEWS: Hepple Scoops Player of the Month". durham.fawsl.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ "Sarah Wiltshire wins Player of the Month award". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
- ^ "Stoney wins Manager of the Month award". www.manutd.com. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
- ^ "Zelem wins March POTM prize". www.manutd.com.