The Ricoh Arena was the venue for this years showpiece event in the women's footballing calender as the stadium played magnificent hosts to a 2-0 triump for Arsenal Ladies over their Bristol Academy counterparts.
Over 13,000 fans filled the sky blue seats of Coventry City's stadium on a day that saw the sun peer over the clouds just in time for the last few minutes to tick by as Arsenal regained the trophy that they had given up 12 months ago.
Much of the noise in the ground came from the South Stand where a group of young, enthusiastic and vocal fans voiced their support for Bristol Academy, faces painted blue all the while, and not even the two first half Gunners strikes could dampen their fanaticism.
A tuneful pre-match build up started with X-Factor finalist Paije Richardson giving the crowd a rendition of 'I'm A Believer' and continued on in a similar vein, eventually ending with the crowd standing for the national anthem, the fan next to me taking great pride in belting out the lyrics.
The game kicked off with Academy winning an early corner, but that was about as good as it got for the West Country side as the Gunners kicked themselves into life. They were given a helping hand by some wasteful passing and control from Bristol but their own movement and slick distribution of the ball wreaked havoc upon their opponents back line, Vixen's full backs Grace McCatty and Alex Culvin being given a torrid time by the pace of Arsenal wingers Rachel Yankey and Ellen White.
Arsenal were contesting everything in the centre of the park, often getting to all the loose balls first and it was one aerial battle inside the Bristol half that lead to the ball breaking to Kim Little on the edge of the area. She moved forward, jinked inside one defender and slammed the ball past England international goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain, and Bristol's hope of putting in a quick reply were hampered when the lead was doubled thirteen minutes later.
Rachel Yankey took a quick throw-in to the feet of full back Niamh Fahey who whipped in a superb cross that found the head of the on-rushing Julie Fleeting to bullet the ball into the back of the net and at that moment, on the first half displays alone, the game looked as good as over. The nerves seemed to have gotten to the Bristol side as they struggled to retain the ball in the centre of the park for any substantial amount of time but the application of the Gunners was top notch, pressing all over the pitch and working hard to win the ball back. A head injury to Academy's instinctive midfielder Jess Fishlock did little to change the flagging morale of her team mates, the Welsh capped player being substituted at half time with what was later confirmed as a concussion.
Her replacement was striker Lillie Billson and the former Arsenal player gave a fine account of herself in the second half, chasing every ball and working both channels but there was still little in the way of end product from the girls in blue. Winger Helen Bleazard almost produced what would have been a superb goal, crashing a free kick back off of Emma Byrne's crossbar and with that rebounded effort went any real hope of an Academy comeback.
Despite the Vixen's spirited second half performance Arsenal continued to press into the later stages and could have had another goal if it weren't for some excellent shot stopping by Chamberlain but all in all they deserved their win, their eleventh in the final of the Women's Cup. The victory will send the Gunners into the WSL mid-season break on a high and they will look to carry that into the second half of the inaugural championship to take the fight to table topping Birmingham.
Bristol Academy meanwhile can look back on a proud day in their clubs history, a first ever FA Cup final, hopefully one of many, and the chance to showcase themselves on national television. Many of the players found themselves in the media spotlight during the games build up and they will certainly not want to drop out of the public eye, though with a Champions League spot being won for reaching the final they will certainly be names to follow during the coming months. They will look to continue their good WSL form and consolidate that into a commendable top half finish.
Though the final attendance of 13,000 wasn't as good as was expected by The FA, it was hoped that the game would see the largest ever attendance for a modern women's game in England, the fans inside the ground were certainly entertained and Sky Sports live coverage will do women's football the world of good. Both 'Arsenal Ladies' and 'Bristol Academy' were trending on Twitter, a testimony to the potential the game has to take off nationwide.
Atmospherically the game is very different to the typical men's affair. There are no verbal barrages aimed in the direction of the referee, the players are not berated every time they take a step out of line and there is no need for segregation. Invariably a few chants were struck up by the fans, mainly the girls supporting Bristol Academy, and there was an overall family friendly feel to the game, the crowd being made up of young children and their parents, the odd die hard supporter of each side and a splattering of inquisitive local fans and with the most expensive ticket on offer being £5 there was excellent value to be had for a game of excellent technical quality.
This summer provides an excellent platform for the women's game in England to take off. The Super League is up and running, England are in this years World Cup, all their games being broadcasted live by the BBC, and a showpiece FA Cup Final that highlighted the quality of the women's game. This is just the beginning.
