2006 FA Women's Cup final

The 2006 FA Women's Cup Final was the 36th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. It was the 13th final to be held under the direct control of the Football Association (FA). The final was contested between Arsenal and Leeds United on 1 May 2006 at The Den in New Cross, London.^[2] Leeds United made its first final appearance. Arsenal entered a seventh final having won the trophy on all six previous occasions.

2006 FA Women's Cup Final

The match programme cover
Event	2005–06 FA Women's Cup
Arsenal Ladies Leeds United 5 0
Date	1 May 2006 (2006-05-01)
Venue	The Den, London
Player of the Match	Lianne Sanderson
Referee	Phil Crossley (Kent)
Attendance	13,452^[1]
← 2005 2007 →

Unbeaten League champions Arsenal entered the match as strong favourites,^[3] in a contest billed as a contrast of styles. The match attracted a crowd of 13,452 and was broadcast live on BBC One.^[4] Goals from Fleeting, Yankey and Sanderson, added to Lucy Ward's early own goal and Kelly Smith's penalty, gave Arsenal an emphatic 5–0 win which secured their seventh FA Cup win and a third "double" in six seasons.^[5][6]

Background

Leeds United legend Allan Clarke presented the women's team with sock tags before the match, similar to those famously worn by the Leeds United male team in their 1972 FA Cup Final victory, in a bid to give the team luck.^[7]

Match

Summary

Arsenal took the lead after three minutes, when Leeds's Lucy Ward – playing out of position at centre-back^[8] – miscued a clearance then headed the resultant corner past her own goalkeeper Gemma Fay. On 34 minutes Julie Fleeting made it 2–0, by running onto Lianne Sanderson's pass and shooting low past Fay. One minute later it was 3–0 as Rachel Yankey's attempted cross^[9] from a free kick from the right wing sailed over the head of Gemma Fay, who misjudged the flight of the ball.^[10]

Fay made several saves to keep the score down, but Arsenal continued to dominate. Leeds manager Julie Chipchase later admitted tactical errors in assigning Nicole Emmanuel a marking job on Kelly Smith and bringing Nat Preston back for her first game since a serious injury in January. Leeds striker Karen Walker was isolated and unable to make an impression in her final game before her retirement.^[11] Leeds's best chances were two speculative efforts from Karen Burke, which failed to trouble Arsenal's goalkeeper Emma Byrne.^[12]

On 73 minutes, Leeds's 16 year old winger Jess Clarke tripped Yankey to concede a penalty kick which Kelly Smith, playing in her first FA Cup final, converted to make it 4–0. Lianne Sanderson then made a solo dribble down the right wing and shot past Fay to make the score 5–0 on 77 minutes. With five minutes remaining Leeds substituted Karen Walker, who left the pitch for the final time to a standing ovation.^[13] Sanderson was named Player of the Match by the BBC television match summariser Marieanne Spacey.^[14]

Details

1 May 2006

13:00 BST

Arsenal Ladies	5–0	Leeds United
Ward   3' (o.g.) Fleeting   34' Yankey   35' Smith   73' (pen.) Sanderson   77'	Report

The Den, London

Attendance: 13,452

Referee: Phil Crossley (Kent)

Arsenal

Leeds United

GK 1   Emma Byrne RB 12   Alex Scott   84' CB 6   Faye White (c) CB 23   Mary Phillip   78' LB 5   Leanne Champ CM 4   Jayne Ludlow   74' CM 18   Anita Asante RW 9   Lianne Sanderson AM 8   Kelly Smith LW 14   Rachel Yankey CF 10   Julie Fleeting Substitutes: DF 15   Cori Daniels   84' MF 11   Rachel McArthur   78' MF 7   Ciara Grant   74' DF 2   Kirsty Pealling FW 20   Gemma Davison Manager:   Vic Akers

GK 1   Gemma Fay RB 5   Mel Cook   52' CB 14   Natalie Haigh   26' CB 10   Lucy Ward LB 17   Alex Culvin RM 7   Nicole Emmanuel   65' CM 6   Natalie Preston (c)   85' LM 4   Karen Burke RW 12   Jessica Clarke CF 9   Karen Walker   85' LW 8   Sue Smith Substitutes: MF 18   Sophie Walton   52' FW 11   Sarah Owen   85' FW 16   Tania Panesar   85' DF 3   Julie Grundy DF 15   Sophie Clough Manager:   Julie Chipchase

Player of the match Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal) Match officials^[14] Assistant Referees: S.T. Rubery (Essex) S.W. Tincknell (Hertfordshire) Fourth Official: P.N. Gibbs (Birmingham)

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

References

1. Etoe, Catherine (2 May 2006). "Arsenal capture a third Double". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
2. "01/05/2006 - Leeds - Pre-season Friendly - Ladies - H". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
3. "Leeds United in FA Cup final!". BBC Radio Leeds. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
4. "Arsenal Ladies v Leeds United Ladies". BBC. 1 May 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
5. Association, The Football. "Women's FA Cup Final history". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
6. "Arsenal Ladies in the FA Cup". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
7. "Leeds Ladies Look For Lucky Omen". The F.A. TheFA.com. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2006.
8. Dunn, Carrie (30 March 2021). "'No excuses for Leeds' - Lucy Ward talks career, regrets and why Whites must have women's team". Leeds Live. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
9. "Yankey delighted by Cup final win". BBC Sport. 1 May 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
10. Wood, Nick (2 May 2006). "Big day turns into nightmare". Yorkshire Evening Post. from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
11. . Women's Soccer Scene. 3 May 2006. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
12. Denise Terry (2 May 2006). . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
13. . Women's Soccer Scene. 2 May 2006. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
14. Slegg, Chris; Gregory, Patricia (6 May 2021). A History of the Women's FA Cup Final. The History Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0750996594. Retrieved 9 January 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Report at WomensFACup.co.uk