Liverpool retained the Women’s Super League yesterday on goal difference despite starting the day in third — after Chelsea succumbed to defeat and Birmingham were held at home.
The Reds started the day in third, three points behind leaders Chelsea but their 3-0 victory over Bristol and the Blues 2-1 away defeat to Manchester City capped off a stunning day for manager Matt Beard.
Second-half goals from Natasha Dowie, Lucy Bronze and a penalty from Fara Williams clinched the title.
Chelsea needed to avoid defeat to win their first league title but their day started terribly when goalkeeper Marie Hourihan was injured 10 minutes into the game and Clare Farrow was brought on for her debut.
But it was a debut to forget as mid-way through the first half, Jill Scott opened the scoring for City when her bouncing shot beat the goalkeeper at the near post.
Ten minutes later, Toni Duggan doubled the lead with arguably the goal of the season, as she chested the ball down inside the Chelsea box and fired in a volley which left the goalkeeper no chance and made winning the title very difficult for the away side.
Gilly Flaherty’s bullet header gave Chelsea a small glimmer of hope with 20 minutes to go, which increased when City’s Abbie McManus was shown a straight red card for elbowing Yuki Ogimi, but despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the home goal they could not find the equaliser to win the title.
With the Liverpool match finishing before Chelsea’s, it was a nervous wait for Beard’s players but once news filtered through that Chelsea had lost and Birmingham had only managed a 2-2 draw with Notts County, the jubilant celebrations began.
“I’m over the moon,” said Beard. “The players deserve so much credit. They have dug deep.
“Our second-half performance, we dominated to get three goals. The other scores put pressure on us.”