1997–98 Arsenal L.F.C. season

Arsenal Ladies
1997–98 season
Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Manager	Terry Howard
Stadium	Hayes Lane
Premier League	Second Place
FA Cup	Winners
Premier League Cup	Winners
London County Cup	Runners Up
Biggest win	0–12 (vs Canary Racers, FA Cup, 11 January 1998); 0–12 (vs Clapton, London County Cup, 08 October 1997)
Biggest defeat	3–1 (vs Everton, Premier League, 16 November 1998)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 11th season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, finishing in second place, behind Everton, who lifted the League title after Arsenal could only draw 3–3 with Croydon.^[1] They won the Premier League Cup and the FA Cup by defeating Croydon in both finals, but lost to Millwall in the London County Cup Final.^[2]

Terry Howard took over as manager of the team at the start of the season after Vic Akers took up the job of kit manager with the Arsenal Men's Team.^[3]

Squad Statistics

First team squad

Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	Signed From
Goalkeepers
Lesley Higgs	(1965-10-25) 25 October 1965 (age 59)	1997	Wembley
Sarah Reed	(1980-05-12) 12 May 1980 (age 44)	1996	Wembley
Sara King
Defenders
Kirsty Pealling	(1975-04-14) 14 April 1975 (age 49)	1987	Homegrown
Faye White	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 47)	1996	Horsham Ladies
Clare Wheatley	(1971-02-04) 4 February 1971 (age 54)	1995	Chelsea
Carol Harwood	(1965-12-01) 1 December 1965 (age 59)	1997	Wembley
Kelley Few		1991	Watford
Kim Jerry-Silver	(1977-10-06) 6 October 1977 (age 47)	1996	Wembley
Jenny Canty	(1976-03-22) 22 March 1976 (age 49)	1997
Tammy Scrivens		1997
Vicki Slee	(1973-03-09) 9 March 1973 (age 52)	1991
Michelle Curley	(1972-04-30) 30 April 1972 (age 52)	1987
Midfielders
Sian Williams (captain)	(1968-02-02) 2 February 1968 (age 57)	1990	Juve Siderno
Tina Mapes	(1971-01-21) 21 January 1971 (age 54)	1997	Croydon
Emma Coss	(1979-05-09) 9 May 1979 (age 45)	1992	Homegrown
Tina Mapes	(1971-01-21) 21 January 1971 (age 54)	1997	Croydon
Linda Watt		1995
Sharon Barber
Forwards
Marieanne Spacey	(1966-02-13) 13 February 1966 (age 59)	1993	Friends of Fulham
Rachel Yankey	(1979-12-01) 1 December 1979 (age 45)	1996	Homegrown
Natasha Daly	(1979-11-29) 29 November 1979 (age 45)	1996
Nina Downham	(1980-12-31) 31 December 1980 (age 44)	1998	Millwall Lionesses
Sheuneen Ta	(1985-07-21) 21 July 1985 (age 39)	1997	Homegrown
Emma Hastings		1995
Kara Lee Reynolds		1996
Unknown
Lizzy Benham		1995
Shaznay Lewis^[4]	(1975-10-14) 14 October 1975 (age 49)

Transfers, loans and other signings

Transfers in

Announcement date	Position	Player	From club
1997	DF	Carol Harwood	Wembley
1997	MF	Tina Mapes	Croydon
1997	GK	Lesley Higgs	Wembley
1997	DF	Jenny Canty
1997	DF	Tammy Scrivens
1998	FW	Nina Downham	Millwall Lionesses

Transfers out

Announcement date	Position	Player	To club
1997	MF	Joanne Broadhurst	Croydon
1997	FW	Kelly Smith	Seton Hall Pirates
1997	DF	Gill Wylie	Croydon
1997	DF	Lisa Spry
1997		Pat Pile
1997		Laura Ray
1997		Yvette Reen

Club

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: JVC^[5]

Home

Away

Competitions

FA Women's Premier League

07 September 1997 1	Arsenal	2–2	Everton	Bromley
	Spacey 40' (pen.), 75'	Report	Halfpenny Marley 85'	Stadium: Hayes Lane

14 September 1997 2	Bradford City	1–3	Arsenal
		Report	Scrivens 30' Daly 49'

28 September 1997 3	Tranmere Rovers	2–4	Arsenal
		Report

05 October 1997 4	Arsenal	3–0	Liverpool	Bromley
		Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

08 October 1997 5	Arsenal	1–0	Millwall Lionesses	Potters Bar
		Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

02 November 1997 6	Doncaster Belles	2–1	Arsenal
	55' 89'	Report	Spacey 21'

16 November 1997 7	Everton	3–1	Arsenal
	Thomas 18' Burke 44', 88'	Report	Harwood 20'

03 December 1997 8	Berkhamsted Town	1–7	Arsenal	Berkhamsted
19:45 GMT	Burton	Report	Spacey Yankey Daly	Stadium: Broadwater

07 December 1997 9	Liverpool	0–2	Arsenal
		Report	Harwood Daly

14 December 1997 10	Arsenal	9–1	Wembley	Potters Bar
12:00 GMT	Spacey 15', 18' Daly Yankey Pealling Williams	Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

18 March 1998 11	Arsenal	3–1	Berkhamsted Town	Potters Bar
		Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

01 April 1998 12	Millwall Lionesses	1–1	Arsenal
	70'	Report	Hastings 25'

05 April 1998 13	Wembley	1–3	Arsenal
		Report	Few Williams Downham

08 April 1998 14	Croydon	2–2	Arsenal
		Report	Spacey 65' Yankey 80'

26 April 1998 15	Arsenal	5–0	Tranmere Rovers	Potters Bar
	Williams 14' Mapes 30' Daly 55' Pealling (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

30 April 1998 16	Arsenal	3–3	Croydon	Potters Bar
		Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

08 May 1998 17	Arsenal	4–2	Bradford City	Highbury
	Spacey Jerray-Silver White	Report		Stadium: Highbury

10 May 1998 18	Arsenal	1–0	Doncaster Belles	Highbury
	Spacey 22'	Report		Stadium: Highbury

Partial league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Everton (C)	18	13	4	1	54	14	+40	43	Champions
2	Arsenal	18	12	4	2	55	22	+33	40
3	Doncaster Belles	18	12	2	4	54	18	+36	38
4	Croydon	18	10	5	3	47	14	+33	35
5	Millwall Lionesses	18	8	5	5	37	15	+22	29

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(C) Champions

Results Summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	12	4	2	55	22	+33	40	7	2	0	31	9	+22	5	2	2	24	13	+11

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	H
Result	D	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	W	W

Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 2018. Source: FA WSL
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Women's Cup

11 January 1998 Fourth Round	Canary Racers	0–12	Arsenal
		Report	Spacey Yankey Williams Mapes Gable (o.g.)	Attendance: 400

01 February 1998 Fifth Round	Southampton Saints	0–1	Arsenal
		Report

01 March 1998 Quarter Final	Doncaster Belles	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Arsenal
	Jackson 90+1'	Report	Spacey 70' White 103'

29 March 1998 Semi Final	Arsenal	1–0	Millwall Lionesses	Norbiton
	Yankey	Report		Stadium: Kingsmeadow

04 May 1998 Final	Arsenal	3–2	Croydon	Bermondsey
	Spacey 17' (pen.) Yankey 52' Pealling 82' Harwood 85' Few 90+2'	Report	Broadhurst 10' Wylie 49' Powell 55' Britton 73'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 2,205 Referee: Alan Wiley

FA Women's Premier League Cup

19 October 1997 First Round	Arsenal	6–2	Huddersfield Town	Bromley
	Mapes 13' Spacey 37', 63', 69', 80' Pealling 68'	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

23 November 1997 Second Round	Arsenal	2–1	Millwall Lionesses	Bromley
	Spacey 55' Daly 85'	Report	Chapman 17'	Stadium: Hayes Lane

21 December 1997 Quarter Final	Arsenal	4–0	Berkhamsted Town	Potters Bar
	Daly White Jerray-Silver	Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

25 January 1998 Semi Final	Bradford City	2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)	Arsenal	Guiseley
	20' (pen.) 40'	Report	Yankey 8' Reed 20' Few 70'	Stadium: Nethermoor Park
	Penalties
			Yankey Pealling Williams Spacey

22 March 1998 Final	Arsenal	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Croydon	Barnet
		Report		Stadium: Underhill Stadium
	Penalties
	Slee Williams White Yankey Spacey		Broadhurst Powell Bampton Wylie Davis

London County Cup

20 November 1997 Second Round	Clapton	0–12	Arsenal
		Report

22 February 1998 Semi Final	Wimbledon	1–4	Arsenal
		Report

08 October 1997 5	Arsenal	1–2	Millwall Lionesses	Croydon
		Report		Stadium: Croydon Sports Arena

References

^ Gray, Claire (2 May 1998). "Gunners Gift Blues the Title".
^ "Another trophy for the Gunners". the Independent.
^ "Howard Takes Charge For New Season (page 31)". Arsenal FC. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
^ O'Reilly, Aileen (13 January 1998). "Evening Donau News Op".
^ "Arsenal FC Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-14.

External links

Official website

[1] Gray, Claire (2 May 1998). "Gunners Gift Blues the Title".

[2] "Another trophy for the Gunners". the Independent.

[3] "Howard Takes Charge For New Season (page 31)". Arsenal FC. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.

[4] O'Reilly, Aileen (13 January 1998). "Evening Donau News Op".

[5] "Arsenal FC Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-14.

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