FA Women’s Cup Final: Arsenal 3-0 Bristol Academy

A report on the FA Women’s Cup final at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster on 26 May, where Arsenal beat Bristol Academy 3-0 before 4,988 spectators to claim a twelfth title. Steph Houghton’s header in only the second minute finished a fine move and Arsenal never looked back. Bristol rallied briefly after half time but lost Lucy Staniforth to a nasty knee injury, and Jordan Nobbs doubled the lead on 72 minutes with a back-post header of her own before Ellen White added the third in time added on. Shelley Kerr said expectations inside the club were as high as those outside and that her players were magnificent, dominating for long periods. Mark Sampson dismissed talk of Arsenal being on the slide as rubbish, calling them a brilliant team. Siobhan Chamberlain and Natasha Harding feature in the pictures.