With Halloween weekend here, and fireworks night on the way, there is plenty to be excited about this week – and that includes looking back at a huge week of women’s football. WSL and WSL2 both had a full round of fixtures last weekend, with FAWNL teams playing midweek. Here we look back at all the big numbers before previewing this weekend’s WSL games (with WSL2 teams being involved in Subway Players Cup action, and Tier 3 sides having FAWNL Cup and Plate fixtures).
Winning streaks put to the test
Going into last weekend each of the top 3 tiers of the women’s football pyramid played host to one team who had won all their games – Manchester City, Newcastle United and Oxford United – with all 3 hoping to continue that run. Manchester City made the short trip across Manchester hoping to make it seven wins out of seven this season, with the six wins so far this season being part of a run of eight league wins in a row stretching back to the end of last season. Their hosts, Manchester United went into the game on a run of 3 league wins in a row, and 6 wins in all competitions, having seemingly found their form under Eva Olid. The game was an even affair in many ways – a 50/50 possession split, with the blue side of Manchester having 6 shots on target to United’s 5, and both teams even equally sharing the 4 yellow cards awarded – a number that both sets of fans seemed to feel could have been higher in what was a lively derby atmosphere. It looked like Shaw’s 66th minute goal was going to be enough to separate the teams and continue City’s run, but an 89th minute equaliser from Terland put an end to a brilliant run from City.
Earlier in the day Nottingham Forest had put an end to Newcastle United’s 5 game winning streak in WSL2, securing a 2-2 draw at home. It is perhaps not a surprise that the 2 teams in the league with the highest average shots on target per match produced plenty of goals, but that Forest scored with their only 2 shots on target in the game was perhaps more surprising against a team who had only conceded once in the league up to that point. Ultimately, with Forest having put themselves 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes Newcastle will have been relieved to come away with a point which still kept them 2 points clear of second place.
These results meant that Oxford United went into their midweek fixture in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division as the only team in the top 3 tiers to have won all their games – looking unstoppable, with 26 goals scored and just 1 conceded in those 8 games. This record looked under threat from the start with Real Bedford going ahead within the opening 5 minutes. Whilst Oxford United had a 2-1 lead of their own by the 25th minute, Real Bedford equalised before half time, with the game ultimately finishing 2-2. The result put an end to a 9 game winning streak in the league which stretches back to April when they drew … also 2-2 … also against Real Bedford!
Rounding up the rest
In the WSL, Arsenal went into last weekend without a league win since the opening day – a run of 5 games where they missed out on maximum points. With Tottenham also having had a poor run – having conceded six in both of their last 2 league games – it was a high stakes North London Derby. Whilst it was Spurs who first took the lead, Arsenal were successful in securing 3 points courtesy of a 1-2 win where they had 60% possession and almost three times as many shots as Tottenham Hotspur, as well as 5 shots on target to Spurs’ one.
Chelsea went into last weekend as the only other WSL team (with City) unbeaten in the league this season – with that run now being 14 games long, having not lost in the league since February. Although Palace scored first, a brace from Melvine Malard and a 90th minute penalty secured a 1-3 victory and a 15th league game undefeated. It was no less than they deserved, having dominated with 70% possession and 26 shots – more than 5 times the amount their opposition created. It also put them top of the WSL at the end of a gameweek for the first time this season.
At the bottom of the table Birmingham City hosted Charlton Athletic, with both teams in search of their first WSL win of the season. Birmingham dominated possession and had 20 shots with 5 on target, and hit the woodwork twice, ultimately taking the 3 points with a 1-0 victory.
In WSL2 Ipswich and Sunderland faced off with both teams unbeaten in their first 5 fixtures, with the away side, Sunderland, ahead on points courtesy of one more win. It was the visitors who opened the scoring in a first half that ended 1-1, with Sunderland having significantly more of the ball, but Ipswich doing more with the possession they did have, with 4 shots on target against the visitors’ 1. However Sunderland found themselves down to 10 within 3 minutes of the restart which helped Ipswich on their way to a 3-1 lead, even though the depleted visitors created more chances than their opponents in the second half.
In a goal-filled weekend for WSL2, 3 of the other fixtures saw the winning team score 4 goals, with Sheffield United, Bristol City and Watford all securing wins. 9th placed Sheffield and 10th placed Watford both securing wins against the 2 teams below them means Burnley and Durham are starting to find the gap between those relegation spots and the teams above them is increasing. Whilst it will be of little consolation, Burnley went into the game as the lowest scorers in the top 3 tiers, with only 1 league goal to their name, so one positive they can take is that they scored 3 (with a full time score of 3-4), with their 8 shots on target being a significant improvement on their season average of 3 shots on target per match.
In the Northern Premier Division West Bromwich Albion extended their winning streak to 7 games, scoring 4 in a league game for the first time this season as they beat Boldmere St Michaels 4-1. The result marked the 5th team this season that the newly promoted side have conceded 3 or more goals in a league game, and their 3rd successive loss – leaving them 11th in the table.
League leaders Rugby Borough went into the midweek fixtures having only failed to score on one occasion this season. They were hosting a Loughborough Lightning side who have not kept a clean sheet since playing Stoke City in August, and so goals seemed a safe bet. However the game finished 0-0, leaving Rugby Borough with only a 1 point cushion between them and chasers West Brom.
In the Southern Premier Division, one of the biggest numbers of the week was off the pitch, with Cheltenham Town announcing the departure of 3 players – Emily Owen, Courtney Jones and Holly Finch – who had a combined appearance total for the club of over 300 games, with Emily and Courtney being the clubs two highest appearance holders. Whilst details remain limited, comments from the players on social media raise serious concerns about the clubs culture, with the club’s former captain, Emily Owen, stating an individual at the club has created a “psychologically unsafe” environment. Cheltenham told BBC Sport that they treat all such concerns seriously, and hopefully any necessary action will be taken. In the meantime, the remaining players cruised to a 5-1 home victory on Thursday night (only their second win of the season) against a Swindon Town side yet to get a point away from home this season.
Portsmouth continued their steady climb up the table as they beat AFC Bournemouth 0-1, extending their unbeaten run to 7 games as they bid to stay in the race to return to WSL2 at the first time of asking. The result was the third home match in succession that AFC Bournemouth have lost – with all 3 teams above them having taken maximum points in recent weeks. It means the club have lost 3 of their 5 home league games since relocating to Weymouth this summer, already surpassing the two league games they lost at their former Ringwood home across the whole of last season.
Finally, Exeter became the 5th team this season to put 5 or more goals past Plymouth Argyle, securing a 5-1 victory. As a result Exeter City find themselves in 5th place, having secured back to back league wins for the first time since February – also the last time they scored 5 in a league game (scoring 6 past Billericay Town on that occasion).
All eyes on the WSL
With a weekend of cup action ahead, only those teams in the top tier have league fixtures this weekend. With Manchester City having failed to secure maximum points away from home last weekend, another intriguing away fixture is on the cards this weekend as they head to high-flying London City Lionesses, who will be celebrating the news that their landmark summer signing Alexia Putellas this week won the Ballon d’Or Féminin for the third time. The hosts have won all 3 of their home league fixtures so far this season, including against Manchester United on the opening day, and will hope home advantage can give them the edge once again. However, having only kept one clean sheet in the league this season they will surely need to outscore a City side who have scored in all seven of their league fixtures this season – with a goalless draw against Aston Villa in March being the last time City failed to find the back of the net in a league game.
Charlton Athletic’s latest attempt to secure their first ever WSL point sees them host unbeaten Chelsea – the league’s highest scorers with an average of 3 goals per game. With Charlton having scored only 3 goals all season (an average return of 0.4 goals per game), this one feels like it will be a struggle for the hosts.
Tottenham Hotspur looked like they could challenge for the top spots in the opening weeks, however are now on a run of 3 successive league losses – only Charlton have a worse record. They travel to Birmingham City this weekend, who secured their first win of the season on home turf last weekend. Spurs have scored in every league fixture this season, however their recent run of heavy defeats means they have also conceded more than Birmingham City (with an average of 2.2 goals conceded per game) despite the 6 league places that separate the 2 teams. Should Spurs lose again it would represent their longest run of losses in the league since March 2025 and surely heap pressure on the squad and staff.
In the pick of the rest, Arsenal will hope to secure back to back league wins for the first time this season as they host Aston Villa at the Emirates, with the hosts still in search of their first home win of the season, having drawn all 3 home fixtures so far. The visitors meanwhile are unbeaten in all competitions since they parted ways with manager Arroyo at the end of September, although they remain without a clean sheet in the league this season.
With all 3 tiers having been in action over the last week it’s been a tough ask to find the biggest numbers this week, so as always we’d love to hear from you if you think there’s something we’ve missed. Equally let us know if there’s a number we need to be taking a look at next weekend when all 3 tiers will be back in action. Get in touch by dropping us a mention via @WOSODataUK on X or Instagram!
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