Cardiff City LFC are in the FA Premier League Cup Final for the second time in three seasons and face Tottenham Hotspur at Kidderminster Harriers FC on Sunday May 8th (ko 2pm).
Cardiff will finish third in the Southern Division after having been serious title contenders for nearly all of the campaign and a victory at Coventry United on May 15th will see them end just four points behind champions Brighton & Hove Albion.
League Double
The Welsh side have come out on top in both league meetings with Spurs in 2015-16, winning their home game 4-0 in October when Tottenham keeper Toni-Anne Wayne received a straight red card and City scored through Kelly Aldridge, Michelle Green, Hope Suominen and Laura Williams.
The return match just over a month ago produced a much closer scoreline, with Alys Hinchcliffe getting the only goal of the game for the Welsh side.
But generally, Gary Green’s side have been prolific in front of goal and may well finish top scorers in their Division and possibly with twice Tottenham’s goal tally.
Pictured – Cardiff in semi-final action at home to Blackburn.
Mixed Results
Spurs, who took sixth spot in the Southern Division, have the experience of playing in two cup finals already this term but with mixed outcomes.
They did lift the Ryman League Cup by defeating Charlton Athletic on penalties, as Katie O’Leary made a dream return to action after a four-month injury absence to slot home the decisive spot-kick in front of 650 fans.
But the recent Capital Senior Cup Final brought them up against the Addicks again, who took revenge by running out 3-0 winners.
Pictured – Tottenham Hotspur after winning the Ryman Cup
How it all began
Spurs began their League Cup campaign with a 5-1 defeat of Lewes back on August 30th, while Cardiff’s Chloe Lloyd was getting the only goal against Enfield Town.
A month or so later and Karen Hills’ side were in the goals again, with a 4-1 result over Plymouth Argyle, while City eliminated Charlton with three first-half goals.
It was a case of goals galore in the next round, an O’Leary hat-trick helping Spurs come through 5-2 at C&K Basildon and no less then eight players on the scoresheet as Cardiff crushed Forest Green Rovers 9-0.
Both teams had impressive quarter-final results, as Tottenham turned over Brighton 1-0 and Cardiff won 4-2 at Stoke City, where Laura Williams was on target twice.
The semi-finals saw Cardiff see off Blackburn Rovers 3-0, with Kerry Barlett and Hope Suominen amongst the goals, whereas there was just a single goal as Spurs won at Nottingham Forest through Aviila Bergin’s strike.
Cup Final thoughts
Some of the Spurs players have taken to twitter to express their thoughts on this Sunday’s final;
Maya Vio: “We’ve been working really hard, we want to make ourselves and the club proud on Sunday.”
Kelley Blanchflower: “This is just a sign of what is to come over the next few years. This is my first season at Tottenham and to have reached this National Final with the girls is extraordinary.”
Lucia Marte: “We all deserve to take this trophy home, will reward us for all our hard work this season.”
Wendy Martin: “A tough game; we have a lot of self-belief & are confident we can bring the Cup back to London. Real energy and excitement amongst the girls – we really can’t wait for Sunday now to hopefully go out there and win the Cup.”
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
