2017–18 FA WSL Cup
Football tournament season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2017–18 FA WSL Cup was the seventh edition of the FA WSL's league cup competition. It was sponsored by Continental AG, who sponsored the competition from its creation, and was officially known as the FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup. All 20 teams of the two divisions of the WSL took part in the competition - the largest field in its history.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Dates | 11 October 2017 – 14 March 2018 |
| Teams | 20 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Arsenal |
| Runners-up | Manchester City |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 47 |
| Goals scored | 180 (3.83 per match) |
| Attendance | 22,859 (486 per match) |
| Top goal scorer |  Fran Kirby Chelsea (7 Goals) |
Manchester City were the defending champions; only they and Arsenal had won the cup in the previous six seasons it was contested in.
Format changes
After a one-year experiment with a pure knockout formula, the WSL Cup returned to a format featuring a group stage. Four groups of five teams each, with an approximately even split between the two divisions, competed for two qualification spots for the knock-out round in each group, with each team playing every other team only once. Similarly to previous iterations, the groups had a geographical split, with two "Northern" groups and two "Southern". Another new implementation for the season was an automatic penalty shoot-out for all games tied after 90 minutes, with a bonus point awarded for the team who emerged victorious afterwards.[1]
After the group stage, the remaining eight teams contested a non-seeded standard knock-out format as in the 2015 season.[1]
Group stage
Group One North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SUN | LIV | SHE | AST | DUR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 10 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | — | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 8 | — | — | 6–0 | 5–1 | — | ||
| 3 | Sheffield | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 5–1 | ||
| 4 | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 5 | — | — | 2–2 | — | 3–2 | ||
| 5 | Durham | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
| Durham | 0–0 | Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 2–3 | ||
| Sunderland | 3–1 | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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| Sheffield | 1–1 | Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
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| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 | ||
| Sunderland | 1–0 | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group Two North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MCI | EVE | BIR | DON | OXF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 12 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | — | |
| 2 | Everton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 9 | — | — | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Birmingham City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | — | — | — | 3–2 | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | Doncaster Rovers Belles | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 3 | 2–3 | 0–3 | — | — | — | ||
| 5 | Oxford United | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | −18 | 0 | 0–6 | — | — | 1–5 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
| Doncaster Rovers Belles | 0–3 | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| Report Box Score |
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| Oxford United | 0–6 | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Manchester City | 2–1 | Everton |
|---|---|---|
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| Oxford United | 1–5 | Doncaster Rovers Belles |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
Group One South
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | REA | ARS | WAT | MIL | LON | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 12 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | — | 4–0 | — | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Arsenal | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 4 | +15 | 9 | 1–2 | — | — | — | 7–0 | ||
| 3 | Watford | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 4 | — | 0–6 | — | 1–0 | — | ||
| 4 | Millwall Lionesses | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 3 | 0–5 | 2–5 | — | — | — | ||
| 5 | London Bees | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 2 | — | — | 1–1 | 3–4 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
| Millwall Lionesses | 2–5 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| London Bees | 3–4 | Millwall Lionesses |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
| London Bees | 1–1 | Watford |
|---|---|---|
| [citation needed] |
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| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
Group Two South
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CHE | BRI | BHA | TOT | YEO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | +15 | 12 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | — | — | 4–1 | 8–0 | |
| 2 | Bristol City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | — | — | ||
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 6 | 0–3 | — | — | — | 4–2 | ||
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 6 | — | 2–0 | 1–4 | — | — | ||
| 5 | Yeovil Town | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 0 | — | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 4–2 | Yeovil Town |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Bristol City |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
| Yeovil Town | 1–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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Knock-out stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| Everton | 1 (3) | ||||||||||||
| Reading (pen.) | 1 (4) | ||||||||||||
| Reading | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Arsenal | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Arsenal | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Sunderland | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Arsenal | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Chelsea | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Liverpool | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Chelsea | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Bristol City | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 2 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
| Chelsea | 0–1 | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nadim  19' |
Final
| Arsenal | 1–0 | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Top goalscorers
- As of 18 December 2017.[14]
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fran Kirby |
Chelsea | 7 |
| 2 | Chloe Kelly |
Everton | 5 |
| 3 | Melissa Johnson |
Sheffield | 4 |
 Christie Murray |
Doncaster Rovers Belles |