2018–19 FA Women's Championship

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]

FA Women's Championship
Season2018–19
ChampionsManchester United
Matches played110
Goals scored394 (3.58 per match)
Top goalscorer17 goals
Jessica Sigsworth, Manchester United
Biggest home winManchester United 9–0 London Bees
(6 January 2019)
Biggest away winAston Villa 0–12 Manchester United
(9 September 2018)
Highest scoringAston Villa 0–12 Manchester United
(9 September 2018)

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
Location of clubs for the 2018–19 season

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]

TeamLocationGroundCapacity2017–18 season
Aston VillaTamworthThe Lamb Ground4,0009th
Charlton AthleticThamesmeadBayliss Avenue6,0001st, WPL South
Crystal PalaceBromleyHayes Lane5,0003rd, WPL South
DurhamDurhamNew Ferens Park3,0004th
Leicester City WomenQuornFarley Way Stadium1,4002nd, WPL North
LewesLewesThe Dripping Pan3,0005th, WPL South
London BeesCanons ParkThe Hive Stadium5,1766th
Manchester UnitedLeighLeigh Sports Village12,000n/a
Millwall LionessesDartfordPrinces Park2,5003rd
Sheffield UnitedSheffieldOlympic Legacy Park2,0003rd, WPL Div 1, Midlands
Tottenham HotspurCheshuntCheshunt Stadium3,0007th

Table

For 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[lower-alpha 1]
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
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.
Notes:
  1. Dependent on obtaining a licence.

Results
Home \ Away AST CHA CRY DUR LCW LEW LON MNU MIL SHU TOT
Aston Villa — 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–3 0–12 2–0 5–1 1–1
Charlton Athletic 2–0 — 2–1 2–2 4–0 4–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–0 2–3
Crystal Palace 1–3 1–4 — 0–2 0–2 0–3 1–0 0–5 3–1 0–1 1–2
Durham 2–2 2–2 2–0 — 0–2 5–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–2 0–2
Leicester City 1–1 0–4 2–3 1–1 — 4–0 4–2 0–7 3–2 1–2 0–3
Lewes 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 4–3 — 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–3 1–3
London Bees 1–5 1–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 3–2 — 0–5 2–1 2–0 0–3
Manchester United 5–0 3–0 7–0 0–0 6–1 5–0 9–0 — 8–0 3–0 4–1
Millwall Lionesses 1–3 0–8 1–1 1–5 1–2 0–3 3–1 0–5 — 1–1 2–3
Sheffield United 4–1 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–0 3–2 4–1 0–4 6–0 — 1–2
Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–6 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–5 8–0 1–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2019. Source: FA WSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers
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

Player of the Month

Results 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 Milwall Lionesses
February[16] Ella Toone Manchester United Angela Addison Tottenham Hotspur
Gemma Bryan Crystal Palace
Evie Clarke (2) Milwall 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

Results 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

References
  1. "Fixtures". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  2. Man Utd Women 7–0 Crystal Palace Ladies: Women's Championship title sealed by win, from BBCSport.co.uk.
  3. Record attendance for Women’s FA Cup final expected at Wembley, from the guardian.com.
  4. "Women's Pyramid Restructure: Q&A With Katie Brazier". The FA. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. "Women's Super League: 15 clubs apply for WSL and Women's Championship licences - BBC Sport". bbc.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. "Manchester United get Women's Championship licence; West Ham join top flight". 28 May 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
  7. "Club Statement". Sheffield FC Ladies. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  8. "Club Statement". Doncaster Rovers Belles. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  9. "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.
  10. "Women's Super League: New full-time, professional era - all you need to know". 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  11. "Man Utd's Lauren James named player of the month". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  12. "Rianna Dean wins player of the month award". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  13. "Mollie Green wins player of the month award". Twitter.
  14. "NEWS: Hepple Scoops Player of the Month". durham.fawsl.com. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  15. "Sarah Wiltshire wins Player of the Month award". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  16. "Stoney wins Manager of the Month award". www.manutd.com. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  17. "Zelem wins March POTM prize". www.manutd.com.
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