The charitable side of me wants to suggest they did it to give Portchester a chance of winning something (again) this season.
The realist in me suggests I fully understand the Chairgirls conceding this given how long it would be since their last competitive game etc.
Shame on the CCL
Also, the season starts two weeks earlier, on 16th August. Had they got to the final it would have meant a break of only three weeks, when they need six weeks. That was clearly playing on Carlâs mind in his interview, and I know the players were uneasy about it.
The final Southern Premier league game was played yesterday, Portchester beat Woodley 11-0 at home. Credit to Woodley for playing it, had they conceded another six goals they would have been relegated.
Outcomes for three recently cancelled matches need to be decided, no doubt points will be awarded, so we await the final table but here is how it stands.
This has been the most successful season for many years, certainly since 2008-09 from when we have full records. We cannot say for certain the Chairgirls will be playing at tier 4 for the first time, the womenâs football pyramid started in 1991 and the early history and status of the club is unknown. We know for sure that this is the first competition win since 2014, as a couple of promotions since then were not as champions.
Last season there were three âtopâ teams chasing the title. Although Ascot were champions by a very comfortable margin of 12 points from Wycombe and Portchester, the Chairgirls ran them close in their two games, the only team to take points off them with a home draw, and losing away to a late goal. This season the top group was five strong, with the Flyers and Reading much improved, especially the latter, and relegated Southampton Women were the unknowns who did prove to be competitive.
There is no doubt that the Chairgirls thoroughly deserved the title, they proved they were the best team overall, most goals scored and least goals conceded, but it was close with just one point in it. You could say that 3-2 win at Winchester, coming back from two down at half-time with two goals and an assist from Meira Ashby, was the key match. The other key match, of course, was that 2-2 draw between Flyers and Portchester three weeks ago, with plenty of late drama and watched by several of the Chairgirls. There was nothing fortunate about that game, or this season overall, you make your own luck. Had we not lost key players towards the end of the season, including our top scorer and our top scoring midfielder, I am pretty sure it would not have been so close.
The Chairgirlsâ first league defeat was not until 18 January, halfway through the season, and the ride got a little bumpy after that with control swinging between three teams. In a league table of matches between those top five, Portchester are top with 15 points from 8 games, then Flyers on 13, Chairgirls and Reading on 9 and Southampton on 7. The Chairgirlsâ only victories in that group were against the Flyers, so there is a swing of five points with the Flyers and a remarkable 10 points swing with Portchester, in those other 12 games. The reason for that is that the Chairgirls won all 12 games against the other teams whilst the other top teams dropped points, lots of them. Portchester dropped five points to Beaconsfield and Oxford City each, the latter also taking three points off Winchester.
It was a good season in the cups, four competitions entered, one final and two semi-finals reached. The FA Cup First round was reached for the first time since 2006-07 and a record ÂŁ8500 received in prize money. The two additional midweek cups brought us up against interesting clubs from other leagues and my favourite game of the season was at Haringey in the Isthmian Cup, with a dramatic last minute goal from Melton, assist by Potter. Haringey are a very good team who put us under a lot of pressure in that game, especially in the second half, but the defence stood firm for a memorable win in an unusual London setting. We came up against three higher level teams, beating one 5-2 and only losing on penalties to the other two, after holding them to draws after 90 minutes.
I donât really want to single out any players because it was a fantastic overall team effort, they really were all brilliant, but can I just say how well Axelle played in goal. I had always thought she was an outfield player but she stepped in when needed and put in some great performances.
Goalscorers â all games: Potter (33), Melton (32), Watkins (26), Hill (7), Beaver (6), Hoesli-Atkins (5), Hennessy (4), Wardlaw (3), Ashby (2), Carolan (1), Lynch (1), Schofield (1)
Goalscorers â league only: Potter (19), Watkins (18), Melton (17), Beaver (5), Hill (5), Hennessey (3), Hoesli-Atkins (3), Ashby (2), Kern (1), Schofield (1)
To come, the final youth team results and thoughts on next season for the Firsts, and beyond.
Thank you Steve and thank you for keeping us updated throughout the season with both the Womenâs football and the Academy team. Excellent work.
Thanks for all the updates and detailed analysis across the season Steve.
Thanks Steve, fantastic work across this season.
AFC Portchest have withdrawn from tonightâs Combined Counties Cup Final against Chatham Town at Cobham, their statement below.
âUnfortunately, AFC Portchester Ladies have made the difficult decision to withdraw from this eveningâs Combined Counties Cup Final against Chatham Town. A combination of injuries, player availability and an intense run of fixtures across both our First Team and Reserves has left us unable to fulfil the fixture competitively. This decision has not been taken lightly and we apologise to Chatham Town, Cobham FC, the competition organisers and our supporters for the disappointment caused. Thank you for your support throughout a demanding season.â
Yesterday evening, AFC Portchester Reserves lost 5-1 to Three Bridges in the Combined Counties Trophy Final. Itâs likely that Portchester would have needed the services of some of their reserves tonight.
Thereâs a bit of chat about this on the CCFL Womenâs Midweek Cup Competitions Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1277647052896462. Chatham Manager Keith Boanas calls the late cancellation ânot acceptableâ.
I agree itâs not acceptable to cancel at such short notice. I bet he went bonanas!
Boanas is a stand-out manager/coach in what will probably be our division next season, an FA Cup winner with Charlton Athletic no less.
We gave Chatham two days notice of our withdrawal, giving notice on the day is disrespectful. Itâs been a bit of a shambolic end to this competition, the league needed to be tougher getting matches played in good time.
Some really bad news from Chloe Melton, she sustained a knee injury in the final training session which has turned out to be an ACL rupture.
She has a gofundme page to fund a private operation for a faster rehabilitation.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chloes-acl-surgery-and-rehabilitation
We all hope her recovery goes well and look forward to seeing her back in action.
May be a bit silly but I would have thought the club would support Chloe
was interesting to read that she also plays for the police team
Not silly @Blue_since_1990. It was the same situation with Danielle Puddefootâs ACL op, self-funded. It would be good if WWFC contributed financially, to operations like this and in general to W3 but Dan, Eduard and, more importantly, Mikheil, appear to have no interest in womenâs football, even though W3 bear their name and wear their colours. W3 represent the WWFC brand and are certainly embellishing it. W3 means âWWâ to outsiders, they would think they are all one club, which is not the case.
I hope the Foundation and Trust can persuade the OG to contribute financially annually, they need a bigger budget this season. I have never been that comfortable with the Trust keeping W3 afloat, their main purpose is as the backstop if WWFC folds, to fund a Phoenix club. The OG have spent millions but W3 need tens of thousands per season. ÂŁ40,000 is a prominent figure in that investor/owner flyer. I wouldnât be surprised if that is the budget W3 would like this season. We know that Reading Women spent ÂŁ45,000 on their womenâs team this season.
So far Chloe has raised ÂŁ1313 on her gofundme page. Danielle raised ÂŁ2360.
An article on a study which is looking at whether boots designed for women can reduce injuries.
Final league tables for the U16s and U18s. Both had very good seasons, both reached cup finals. The U18s played in the top level division.
Latest W3 newsletter
W3 Newsletter - Jan to June.pdf (908.8 KB)
Wycombe Wanderers Women have been placed in the National League South WEST division.
https://x.com/fawnl/status/2062174324455247931?s=46&t=VDDeXp68odXgM42zzSoZ3g
teams we are playing
Abingdon United
Ascot United
Bournemouth Sport
Bridgewater United
Bristol Rovers
Keynsham Town
Maidenhead United
Marine Academy Plymouth
Moneyfields
Torquay United
Iâm disappointed we are not in the South East division, with several local games, but we do have Maidenhead.
Some long old trips there. At least Abingdon, Ascot and Maidenhead are within an hour, the rest look much further afield.
Does anyone know if the fixtures are all released at the start of the season in this division, or are they still drip fed?
