Last night, Arsenal were on the South Coast, prepared to take on Southampton in the women’s Continental League Cup. In a nasty group, Saints have been the underdogs throughout this stage, being marked up against 3 WSL teams and another solid Championship side, but never had they faced such a challenge as they did taking on Arsenal. Hopes were high, and with a record crowd at St Mary’s ready and waiting, they had all the support behind them.
Facing Arsenal, one of the heavyweights of the game (accolades can be found here: https://www.arsenal.com/women/honours ), will be an opportunity that hopefully we will get to relive in the near future as we push for promotion into the WSL ourselves, however the discrepancy between them and us is raw. You cannot discredit this abundantly talented Southampton side, however the game was predicted to be a David and Goliath situation. As a crowd of 13,428 gathered, it was the first time attending a women’s match for many, so here is what I think you need to know as we reflect on ultimately, a classy performance despite the result.
While resided to a 2-1 defeat, the saints can be more than proud of what they delivered last night. This was not only one of the biggest tests to date of the player’s abilities, but also one of the biggest tests of their strength and ability to handle pressure. Playing Arsenal is a big deal, no matter who you are – it’s like Real Madrid coming down to play the men on a random Wednesday evening. Yet despite this, these Southampton girls have had a cataclysmic few seasons where they have projected themselves up through the league system to a degree rarely seen in football – and the way they fought through every minute of that match just proves they have no intention of stopping.
Southampton has a squad that is full to the brim of quality, just this week 4 players were called up for the England U23s international fixtures against France and Spain (Kayla Rendell, Ella Morris, Molly Pike and Lucia Kendall), however this squad is still developing and growing as it fights for promotion. Not formed (in its current fashion) until the 2017/18 season where they were admitted into the Hampshire Women’s League Division 1, they have climbed the system at an astonishing rate.
They won this league the first time of asking, and after this in June 2018 rose to the Southern Region Women’s Football League, First Division South. In the following July, former England international Marieanne Spacey-Cale was appointed manager, the same position she still holds today. In the 2018-19 season, they won their league yet again with a perfect record of 18 wins, warranting promotion to the FA Women’s National League, Division One. It was in this season also that the saints also beat Oxford city women in the League Cup to achieve a domestic double.
The next two seasons were where things got harder for the club – despite sitting top of the league both times, the seasons were called off due to the pandemic. The club applied for and was successfully granted promotion into the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division for the 2021–22 season. Once again, they won this first time around, and beat Northern Division winners Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in a promotion playoff.
Now in the Championship, things began to balance out and as the club announced it would become professional, it was a big adjustment. Players were clearly tired, and while performances were still good the gaps became clearer. They finished their first season in a respectable 6th, but over the summer, work needed doing.
That work has most definitely been done, and despite a handful of results not going our way, this season has seen some sensational performances from the team as a whole and from some special individuals. The squad is in form and more determined than ever, last week’s 7 goal thriller against Palace just proving how much grit these girls have.
To take on Arsenal at St Marys, take the lead and keep the game tight (even when they equalised) speaks volumes about this unit and how well they play. They are more of a team than ever before, and their resilience and love for what they do shines through every time they step on the pitch. These girls represent the club in truly the best way possible.
Seeing them start to get the recognition they deserve, the fanbase grow and their identity blossom is truly a magical journey to be a part of, and I really implore that anyone not yet following them does. There are special moments in a club’s history that happen every once in a lifetime, and you can’t help but feel these girls might be the next chapter in the narrative of “you had to be there” moments. Currently sitting third in the championship with one point separating the top three in a particularly strong season, the race for promotion to the top tier in the not so distant future is on – and you won’t want to miss being a part of it. Here on the We March On blog, we are most definitely on the Southampton FC Women hype train.
While of course taking the victory last night would have been the cherry on top, I can’t help but feel it would be nothing short of ignorant to sit and talk about “what went wrong” when really it was a reminder of just how much there is to celebrate. The future of women’s football is so bright, and the future for these girls looks even brighter still. What a time it is to be a saints fan.
Game highlights: click here to watch