Im going, havent been to a game for a while but no fixtures for me this weekend due to cups.

Come and say hi Carly!x

She won't, she's shy

We can't afford to lose

Charlton Athletic's Katie Chapman
is hoping to improve her FA Nationwide Women's Premier League Cup fortunes
when she lines up against rivals Arsenal this Sunday - >article here<

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Premier League Cup final preview >here<

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Charlton women's team manager Keith Boanas:
"We don't fear Arsenal" >here<

The score after the first half: Charlton 2 Arsenal 0, both by Aluko.

Fleeting scored in the second half, but Charlton won the game 2-1.

Agent Smith reporting

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(where was kelly's touch of magic when you needed it??????)

REPORT FROM Arsenal'S WEBSITE

Arsenal's hopes of a domestic clean sweep bit the dust on Sunday as two cool finishes from Eniola Aluko won the League Cup for Charlton and denied Vic Akers' side a ninth triumph in the competition.

Aluko latched onto Casey Stoney's lofted pass, nodded the ball past Mary Phillip and executed a perfect lob over Emma Byrne to give Charlton the lead after 28 minutes. It was a goal to marvel at, albeit against the run of play.

Arsenal raised the tempo but the real hammerblow arrived deep into first-half stoppage time. Sarah-Jane Snare robbed Alex Scott as she dallied in possession, a precise pass put Aluko through again and this time she found the bottom corner.

The holders huffed and puffed in the second half and Julie Fleeting scored with 14 minutes left to set up a grandstand finish. However, their late onslaught was in vain.

Charlton held on to avenge their defeat in last season's Final, but Arsenal have a chance to make amends when the London rivals go head to head in the FA Cup and the Premier League before the end of the season.

In the build-up to this game Akers noted the importance of a "good start". Arsenal certainly looked more threatening in the opening exchanges with Kelly Smith at the hub of their better moves.

The England star was denied an early goal by two last-ditch challenges. After six minutes, Julie Fleeting capitalised on sloppy defending to square the ball to Ludlow. She found Smith but Katie Chapman's well-timed tackle smothered the England star's shot. Smith wreaked havoc with a mazy run three minutes later but once again she was closed down in the nick of time.

Arsenal's best chance of the half came and went after quarter-of-an-hour. Lianne Sanderson turned sharply on the halfway line, spotted Ludlow's marauding run and played her through with a beautifully-weighted pass. The Wales international might have picked out Fleeting at the far post but instead sliced a shot high and wide of the near post.

Charlton's only effort of note by this stage was Jo Potter's powerful but inaccurate effort from long range. However, that seemed irrelevant when Aluko outpaced the Arsenal defence to score in style just before the half-hour mark.

Stung by the goal, Arsenal tried to raise the tempo. Smith, inevitably, looked the most likely to level matters. In one run she jinked past four Charlton defenders and was cynically chopped down on the edge of the area. Smith attempted to extract maximum punishment from the free-kick but could only shoot low into the wall.

After 37 minutes Sanderson found space in the Charlton area. She fired in a powerful shot but Pauline Cope got well behind it and parried the ball to safety. Then Yankey fired a dipping volley just over the crossbar.

The pressure was mounting on Charlton but, deep into first-half stoppage time, they snatched a second. Scott dawdled on the ball and lost possession, Snare found Aluko in the right-hand channel and she gave Byrne no chance.

That knocked the stuffing out of Akers' team. They looked flat at the start of the second period and, if anything, Charlton could have stretched their lead before the hour mark. Amanda Barr met Potter's cross with a venomous volley which flew just wide of the post. Then Stoney saw Byrne off her line and fired a 30-yard effort just over the bar.

Gradually, Arsenal regained their momentum. Fleeting miscued a shot into Yankey's path but she couldn't keep her volley down. Then Cope saved well as Fleeting got her head to Yvonne Tracy's excellent cross.

Smith found a way through the well-drilled Charlton defence with 20 minutes left but Karen Hills' challenge was enough to put her off and Cope was able to gather the ball again.

However, the Charlton goalkeeper was given no chance when Ludlow picked out Fleeting in the penalty area six minutes later. The Scotland striker fired low past Cope to register a goal in successive League Cup Finals.

It was the lifeline Arsenal needed and set up a barnstorming finish. Michelle Hickmott made a vital intervention as Sanderson raced onto a lofted pass and Fleeting had a loud appeal for a penalty turned down.

Try as they might, Arsenal could not find an equaliser. But the Double is still on.

TEAM: Emma Byrne, Rachel Yankey, Yvonne Tracy, Jayne Ludlow, Mary Phillip, Faye White, Anita Asante, Kelly Smith, Lianne Sanderson, Julie Fleeting, Alex Scott

CHARLTON WEBSITE:

In a great advert for the women's game, which attracted a record crowd for the league cup competition, Charlton were deserved winners at the Causeway Stadium.

And they can take confidence into their Premier League and FA Cup campaign, where they will again meet Arsenal in the semi-finals.

The North Londonders have dominated the game for many years, but with Charlton's name engraved on the first piece of silverware up for grabs this term, manager Keith Boanas and his team can now start to threaten the Gunners crown.

Just as she was the hero for the Addicks in last year's FA Cup final win over Everton, it was Aluko who stole the show with two fantastic goals.

The first, in the 29th minute, was a superb lob over the keeper's head, while she also showed great composure to slot the second, seconds before the half-time whistle into the bottom corner.

It was end-to-end action in the first half, although it was Arsenal that had the better of the chances and it was the experience of Pauline Cope in goal and poor finishing that went against them.

Lianne Sanderson had only the keeper to beat and shot wide and Rachel Yankey's long-range effort was just over the crossbar.

Julie Fleeting, who has been the Achilles heel of the Addicks in the past, including scoring in last year's 3-0 defeat in this competition, was lively but her finishing lacked the quality shown by Aluko.

It was just before the half-hour mark that Aluko made her mark.

Captain Casey Stoney took possession in the centre circle and picked out the advancing Addicks striker with a looping ball. The England forward showed great control, nodding the ball down into the path of her feet, taking her past the lonely Gunners defender, and she expertly lofted the ball over the Arsenal keeper's head and into the back of the net.

The crowd erupted as the tune Valley fans usually sing for first-team defender Talal El Karkouri rang out in celebration.

With the lead secured, however, Boanas' side began to sit back and invited pressure from the Gunners attackers, much to the manager's dissatisfaction.

Arsenal were awarded a free kick just outside the area when Sanderson was fouled by Hills. Captain Faye White hit straight into the wall and Charlton were able to clear the danger.

With 38 minutes gone, Charlton had goalkeeper Cope to thank for preserving their narrow lead.

The ex-England international made two great stops in quick succession, driving to her right to stop Fleeting's close-range strike and with outstretched fingertips she prevented Sanderson from scoring what looked certain to be an Arsenal equaliser.

On the stroke of the 45th minute, Alex Scott surged forward unchallenged but her solo effect was an easy take for the Charlton number one.

At the other end of the pitch it was a different story.

In first-half injury time Aluko doubles the Addicks' lead. But it was thanks to the persistent battling of Sarah Snare, who set up the goal.

The forward showed great physical strength and a reluctance to give in, when she hassled the ball away from Scott just inside the Gunners half.

Aluko, who now has 15 goals this season, was the obvious target and Snare's pass was perfectly weighted for the Charlton hotshot on the right, who drove low and across the face of goal, the ball nestling right in the bottom corner.

Seconds later the referee signalled for half-time.

The Charlton players emerged from the tunnel buoyed by the perfect timing of their second goal.

Three minutes in and the female Addicks were on the attack again. Jo Potter's crossfield pass was perfect for Amanda Barr on the right, but her powerful shot was just wide of the post.

In the 56th minute Stoney almost made it three in fantastic fashion.

The skipper was some 25 yards from goal wide on the right, but decided to test the Arsenal keeper Emma Byrne. Her long-range effort dipped as it flew towards the goal but not enough and it whistled over the crossbar.

Potter's free-kick was snatched away from the head of Katie Chapman, who worked tirelessly in midfield, by the Gunners stopper in the 64th minute.

Charlton had to be at the top of their game when it came to defending with Arsenal refusing to lie down.

Karen Hills was a rock at the back with Maria Bertelli, playing out of position in defence, also playing her part.

Fleeting was again thwarted by Cope when her close-range effort somehow squeezed through two defenders, but the Charlton stopper was quick to make the save.

In the 69th minute Jayne Ludlow wasted a golden opportunity to pull one back, with only Cope to beat, but the midfielder could not muster a shot on target.

Seconds later Sanderson burst into the area but her lacklustre finish went straight into the arms of the keeper.

But, in the 75th minute, Charlton switched off at the back and allowed Fleeting to get into another good position. This time she made no mistake from about eight yards.

Arsenal immediately made a substitution, sensing they could mount a comeback in this final perhaps, and a frantic period ensured for the South-East Londoners.

The frustration showed when Stoney's lunging tackle on Sanderson a yard or two behind the 18-yard line that earned her a booking and the Gunners a dangerous free kick.

But Sanderson's free-kick into the area was headed away by Snare, back to help her teammates defend.

Yvonne Tracy could have levelled it, but Cope read the danger and averted disaster.

In the 82nd minute Boanas decided to bring off two-goal Aluko, who looked to have been feeling the effects of a hamstring strain. But the look on her face as she exited the Causeway pitch said it all...

The substitution, with Ashlee Hincks coming on, had the desired effect and Charlton started to take back some control.

With the clock ticking as desperate Arsenal, fearing they would have to give up their trophy, continued to push forward.

Snare set Hincks away on the counter-attack though, but with the Addicks reluctant to commit bodies forward her run was cut short.

Three minutes of injury time was announced and the crowd began to get anxious. Stoney fed Hincks with the chance to put it out of sight for Boanas' team, but she was adjudged to be offside.

Fleeting collapsed in the area with a last-ditch penalty surely in mind. The referee spotted the dive but there was no booking, despite Cope's protests.

Soon after, arms were thrust into the air as Charlton realised their aim. They had regained the league cup trophy, but perhaps more importantly, they had beaten Arsenal to do it

TEAM: Cope, Stoney, Hickmott, Bertelli, Hills, Chapman, Snare, Pond, Aluko (Hincks 82), Barr, Potter

It didn't seem to work today
It's hard to make your magic touch work when your own team mates refuse to co-operate with you
and you have to win every ball for yourself, I guess.

All I can say about today's game is that I have never seen Arsenal Ladies play THAT bad
Wrong passes, nothing worked like it should and they were TOO SLOW!
Plus Emma Byrne
When Eniola Aluko is runnig at you with the ball, stay in the [beeeeeeeeep]ing goal and save it!
Do not expect Eni to stop and kick the ball in your hands
Two horrible mistakes and we were down 0:2

You could tell how frustrated the players were when they started to yell at each other
- Jayne Ludslow was yelling at Faye White telling her what she did wrong
when she couldn't quite find herself on the pitch herself?!

We blew a lot of good opportunities today,
only Julie Fleeting somehow managed to find the gap between Charlton defenders and the game ended 1:2.

The only player who deserves to be praised today though, was Mary Phillip
- good job in the defence Mary, John Terry wouldn't have done it better!
Unfortunatelly she wasn't able to save all the balls

I admit we played badly, there was no TEAM work and we didn't deserve to win,
so congratulations Charlton

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Nice atmosphere at the stadium though
3506 people attended

Interview with Arsenal Ladies' Manager:



I do agree that we seemed to be in control for most of the game
but so what if we blew so many shots on goal!
Arsenal Ladies were not able to find the gap between Charlton defenders
- I have never seen them miss so many times

As for the penalty situation, I have recorded it and watched a few times,
it was a bad call indeed (although Charlton goalie nearly jumped on the ref,
shouting, convinced that nothing's happened)

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And a short quote from the FA site's article:



This is what I'm always talking about - Emma Byrne can be really brilliant when she has a good day.
BUT: she leaves the goal far behind, and you're not allowed to do that,
having faster than the wind Eniola Aluko as an opposing striker!
Stay in the goal and let the defence do their job!
Byrne makes a few brilliant saves
and then she makes an error that just makes your jaw drop on the floor.
I will be surprised if she will still be here next season.

I haven't seen Arsenal ladies play that often, but this was definitely the worst I've seen them play. They had most of the possession, but really did nothing constructive when they had the ball - a few passes at best, then a shoddy one to give the ball away.
When the defence had to deal with anything, they generally failed to clear properly, and just made it easy for Charlton to take advantage, which they did with the two goals they scored.
If Mary Phillip had not been on the field, I dread to think what the score might have been

They never really looked like scoring for much of the game, despite the amount of possession they had, and the shoddy defence meant that Charlton always had a chance on the break. The goal, when it came, led to a flurry of activity which might have led to an equaliser, but the win was no less than Charlton deserved.

Just hope that things improve by the FA cup semi-final

Yes! Let's forget this game, after all NOBODY cares about the League Cup, do they?

Bring on the FA Cup semis!

Come on Arsenal !!!

In the end I did decide to go and it was no fun I tell ya sitting with a load of Charlton fans who looked like they had won the lottery , but as it's the only major trophy Charlton are gonna win this season they can have there fun .

I did wonder if I was watching the right team , worst game I've seen all season. The defence left a lot to be desired and Charlton certainly deserved the win , their defence was solid all game ( Arsenal take note! ) and Copey had a good game.

As Agent Smith said bring on the FA Cup semi's

Game over.

I used my magic mod wand and this thread is not sticky anymore
so it can sink and we can forget about it faster

PS: Sorry about your trip with the happy Charltonians, Smithy

Im only shy as i dont know you, next time ill say Hi!
When you know me im the least shy person in the world! HAHA!

I didnt go yday in end, ended up watching an ex-team mates team play.

Unlucky for Arsenal! Must be hard for them to lose as doesnt happen often!

OK Carly, I get your point




Yes, they didn't look happy at the end when Charlton were jumping and laughing,
running around the pitch with the cup
I just hope I won't have to see them this way again
Can't wait till March 19th

Wasn't too bad they adopted me for the afternoon . Did try and look for Twm but couldn't find him . wouldn't do it again though but got to see the game so that was the main thing .

Here we go again - our favourite game: Where were you sitting Smithy?

Despite not getting the result wanted it sounded like a great game x

It is true, whenever Kelly was at the ball,
2-3 opponents were tackleing her,
she was forced to give the ball away quickly
and those were not always good passes...

Very clever of Charlton, they knew exactly whom they had to "guard"