Lesley Lloyd started 9 May in the same way that many late nineteenth century FA Cup finalists had prepared for the biggest matches of their careers, by travelling down to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Except it was 1971, and as captain of Southampton, she was about to become the first woman in history to lift the trophy.
The FA’s diktat football was “quite unsuitable for females”, with clubs instructed “to refuse the use of their grounds for such matches”, had lasted since 1921. Its reversal precipitated the inaugural edition of the women’s competition, just two years after the country’s women had forged their own Football Association.
Another 50 years on, Arsenal and Chelsea will contest the 50th final at Wembley in arguably the most high-profile showpiece in the female game yet. Yet it has not been hard for successive occasions to surpass that first final in 1971 in that regard. Afterwards, Lloyd recalls, Southampton did not even have a picture taken with the cup on the day.
“There wasn’t even a photograph, no champagne, nothing, we all went our separate ways,” Lloyd told i. “We zipped our tracksuits up, took our boots off, and that was it. [A photo] happened a week later at Southampton and we had to put our shirts back on.”
The Saints ran out 4-1 winners thanks to a Pat Davies hat-trick against Stewarton Thistle (now Kilmarnock), but so little publicised were their Scottish opponents that they knew few of their players – with the exception of Rose Riley, who would go on to win Mundialito (a precursor to the Women’s World Cup) with Italy, because the ban on women’s football in Britain precluded her from playing for her native Scotland.
In turn, Southampton could boast Sue Lopez, 22-cap England international, who soon headed for her own stint in Italy with Roma. Such contemporary stars did not necessitate proper conditions; Southampton spent most of the build-up, Lloyd points out, “playing next to a pond”, using a “hose from the tap” to wash in the changing rooms.
Barring an appearance from the Secretary for Sport’s wife to present the trophy, even the final itself was fairly devoid of grandeur. “It was where the men played cup finals early in the 1900s, so we thought ‘great,” Lloyd said. “But we didn’t think ‘great’ when we got there and saw the grass. It was too long, and the manager exploded. He said ‘they’ve forgotten to cut it!’ But it was our Wembley, we knew the significance of the game. Walking onto the pitch I could feel my legs shaking.
“I got there, we walked into Crystal Palace High Street, had coffee and cake – which was naughty – then got back to the ground and sat on the bank and I had cheese and pickle sandwiches. When you compare it, dieticians would go mad nowadays. The girls nowadays have nothing to worry about, with coaches, physios. We trained twice or three times a week for an hour and that was it. We all had full-time jobs and we had to pay for everything we did.”
Southampton’s triumph did not kickstart a revival of British women’s football alone – in fact, it was only mentioned briefly on the BBC news and did not receive any coverage in the national press – but 1971 marked the beginning of a new era back to which days like Sunday’s final can be traced.
It is hard to map the exact trajectory of attendances, which have not always been recorded and which have fluctuated over the years. Covid uncertainty, and the fact this year’s match takes place in December with temperatures between 4-6°C could deter Arsenal and Chelsea fans in a season when crowds have been under scrutiny in the Women’s Super League (WSL) too.
How to watch the FA Cup final
- Date: Sunday 5 December
- Kick-off: 2pm GMT
- Venue: Wembley Stadium
- TV/live stream: BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Coverage starts at 1.30pm. BT Sport 1 will also be showing the game.
What is clear, however, is the upwards trend since finals like the one between Arsenal in Croydon in 1998, for which there is no record of how many people were at the New Den. It was Faye White’s first of 10 FA Cup finals – the Arsenal legend won nine – and to the former England defender, the number of eyes on the game wasn’t important.
“The FA Cup final was so special, I’d played on TV for England and I loved the feeling, but the FA Cup was the only domestic game when all the media and fans were there,” White told i.
“How I felt about it, lifting the trophy, whether it was three people or a full stadium it would have felt the same. Even if you win the league, the FA Cup was the one you wanted to be part of.
“For me, it was a dream of trying to be a role model that young girls could dream of playing in a cup final, because I didn’t grow up with that.”
Arsenal, who have won the competition a record 14 times overall, can add to that haul on Sunday against Chelsea, who are in search of their third trophy – both their previous cups came under Emma Hayes, in 2015 and 2018.
White was instrumental in the Gunners’ domination of the tournament in the 2000s, despite admitting she never foresaw her career progressing to that level.
“Until I started to play the game at 14 and joined Arsenal at 17, I didn’t really know about the top leagues and cups or the England team,” she added. “I wanted to change that, so young girls could dream about lifting the FA Cup – and now they can dream about lifting it at Wembley.”
Tickets for the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final on Sunday 5th December are available from £20 for adults and £2.50 for children and fans can still purchase tickets for the Final by visiting ticketing.thefa.com.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3GgBHpU
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