2019–20 Liverpool F.C. Women season

The 2019–20 Liverpool F.C. Women season was the club's 31st season of competitive football and its 10th season in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid, having been one of the league's foundation clubs.[1] Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Liverpool
2019–20 season
Head CoachVicky Jepson
StadiumPrenton Park, Birkenhead
FA WSL12th (relegated)
FA CupFifth round
League CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Rachel Furness (4)
All: Rinsola Babajide (8)
Highest home attendance23,500
(vs. Everton, 17 November)
Lowest home attendanceLeague: 540
(vs. Chelsea, 15 December)
All: 215
(vs. Durham, 11 December, League Cup)
Average home league attendance4,604 as of 13 February 2020

On 13 March 2020, in line with the FA's response to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced the season was temporarily suspended until at least 3 April 2020.[2][3] After further postponements, the season was ultimately ended prematurely on 25 May 2020 with immediate effect.[4] Liverpool sat bottom of the table at the time and were relegated on sporting merit after The FA Board's decision to award places on a points-per-game basis.[5][6]

Squad edit

As of 23 January 2020.[7][8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   GER Anke Preuß
3 DF   ENG Leighanne Robe
4 MF   WAL Rhiannon Roberts
5 DF   IRL Niamh Fahey (vice-captain)
6 DF   ENG Sophie Bradley-Auckland (captain)
7 FW   ENG Jessica Clarke
8 MF   ENG Jade Bailey
9 FW   ENG Courtney Sweetman-Kirk
10 MF   SCO Christie Murray
11 MF   ENG Melissa Lawley
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 GK   CAN Rylee Foster
14 FW   ENG Ashley Hodson
17 FW   ENG Niamh Charles
18 GK   ENG Fran Kitching
19 MF   ENG Amy Rodgers
20 FW   ENG Rinsola Babajide
22 DF   ENG Becky Jane
23 DF   ENG Jemma Purfield
24 FW   ENG Kirsty Linnett
27 MF   NIR Rachel Furness

Pre-season edit

Liverpool spent part of their preseason on tour in the United States in conjunction with the men's team.[9]

18 July 2019 Friendly Cleveland Ambassadors   2–2 Liverpool South Bend, Indiana
Report Stadium: Alumni Stadium
28 July 2019 Friendly Coventry United 2–4 Liverpool Coventry
14:00 Report
Stadium: Cryfield Sports Pavilion
31 August 2019 Friendly Liverpool 8–1   Rangers Birkenhead
14:00 Report
  • Robertson  
Stadium: Prenton Park

FA Women's Super League edit

Results summary edit

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
14 1 3 10 8 20  −12 6 0 3 3 5 8  −3 1 0 7 3 12  −9

Last updated: 23 February 2020.
Source: FA WSL

Results by matchday edit

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
GroundHAAHAHAAHHAAHAHAAHHHHA
ResultLLLDLLLLDDLWLLCCCCCCCC
Position1011121112121212121112111112
Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results edit

8 September 2019 1 Liverpool 0–1 Reading Birkenhead
14:00
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 1,435
Referee: Samuel Barrott
15 September 2019 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Liverpool Canons Park
12:00
Report
Stadium: The Hive Stadium
Attendance: 996
Referee: Ryan Atkin
28 September 2019 3 Manchester United 2–0 Liverpool Leigh
12:00
Report
Stadium: Leigh Sports Village
Attendance: 2,813
Referee: Lucy Oliver
13 October 2019 4 Liverpool 1–1 Bristol City Birkenhead
12:00
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 924
Referee: Martin Woods
27 October 2019 5 Birmingham City 2–0 Liverpool Solihull
14:00
Report Stadium: Damson Park
Attendance: 1,056
Referee: Lisa Benn
17 November 2019 6 Liverpool 0–1 Everton Liverpool
14:00 Report
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 23,500
Referee: Amy Fearn
24 November 2019 7 Arsenal 1–0 Liverpool Borehamwood
14:00
Report Stadium: Meadow Park
Attendance: 2,017
Referee: Elizabeth Simms
1 December 2019 8 Manchester City 1–0 Liverpool Manchester
14:00
Report Stadium: Academy Stadium
Attendance: 2,293
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
8 December 2019 9 Liverpool 1–1 West Ham United Birkenhead
14:00
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 566
Referee: Peter Gibbons
15 December 2019 10 Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea Birkenhead
14:00
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 540
Referee: Louise Saunders
5 January 2020 11 Brighton & Hove Albion 1–0 Liverpool Crawley
14:00
Report
Stadium: Broadfield Stadium
Attendance: 947
Referee: Amy Fearn
12 January 2020 Liverpool P–P Manchester United Birkenhead
12:00 Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Postponed due to waterlogged pitch
19 January 2020 12 Bristol City 0–1 Liverpool Filton
15:00
Report
Stadium: Stoke Gifford Stadium
Attendance: 1,007
Referee: Savvas Yianni
2 February 2020 Liverpool P–P Birmingham City Birkenhead
14:00 Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Postponed due to waterlogged pitch
9 February 2020 Everton P–P Liverpool Liverpool
12:30 Stadium: Goodison Park
Note: All WSL games postponed due to adverse weather conditions[10]
13 February 2020 13 Liverpool 2–3 Arsenal Chester
19:00
Report
Stadium: Deva Stadium
Attendance: 660
Referee: Rebecca Welch
Note: Moved from Prenton Park[11]
23 February 2020 14 West Ham United 4–2 Liverpool Romford
15:00
Report
Stadium: Rush Green Stadium
Attendance: 1,877
Referee: Matthew Russell
22 March 2020 15 Liverpool Cancelled Manchester City Birkenhead
14:00 Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
25 March 2020 16 Everton Cancelled Liverpool Liverpool
19:00 Stadium: Goodison Park
Note: Rescheduled from 9 February 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
29 March 2020 17 Reading Cancelled Liverpool High Wycombe
14:00 Stadium: Adams Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
5 April 2020 18 Liverpool Cancelled Tottenham Hotspur Birkenhead
14:00 Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
22 April 2020 19 Liverpool Cancelled Birmingham City
Note: Rescheduled from 2 February 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
26 April 2020 20 Liverpool Cancelled Brighton & Hove Albion Birkenhead
12:00 Stadium: Prenton Park
3 May 2020 21 Liverpool Cancelled Manchester United
Note: Rescheduled from 12 January 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic
16 May 2020 22 Chelsea Cancelled Liverpool Kingston upon Thames
Stadium: Kingsmeadow
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
8 West Ham United 14 5 1 8 19 34 −15 16 1.14
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 16 3 4 9 11 30 −19 13 0.81
10 Bristol City 14 2 3 9 9 38 −29 9 0.64
11 Birmingham City 13 2 1 10 5 23 −18 7 0.54
12 Liverpool (R) 14 1 3 10 8 20 −12 6 0.43 Relegation to the Championship
Source: FA WSL, BBC
Rules for classification: Initially: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. After abandonment of season: 1) Points per game
(R) Relegated

Women's FA Cup edit

As a member of the top two tiers, Liverpool entered the FA Cup in the fourth round, beating Championship side Blackburn Rovers in their opening fixture.[12] Following a series of postponements at EFL League One ground Prenton Park, the game was moved to Blackburn's home ground at Bamber Bridge although Liverpool remained the designated home team.[13]

26 January 2020 Fourth round Liverpool 8–1 Blackburn Rovers Bamber Bridge
Report
Stadium: Irongate
Attendance: 563
Referee: Richard Aspinall
Note: Moved from Prenton Park[13]
17 February 2020 Fifth round Chelsea 1–0 Liverpool Kingston upon Thames
19:00 Reiten   26' Report Stadium: Kingsmeadow

FA Women's League Cup edit

For the League Cup group stage, Liverpool were drawn as the only FA WSL team in a group that otherwise contained five FA Women's Championship teams.

Group stage edit

22 September 2019 Group stage Liverpool 2–3 Sheffield United Birkenhead
12:00
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 687
Referee: Kristian Silcock
20 October 2019 Group stage Coventry United 1–5 Liverpool Coventry
14:00
Report
Stadium: Butts Park Arena
Attendance: 802
2 November 2019 Group stage Aston Villa 2–0 Liverpool Boldmere
19:30
Report
Stadium: Trevor Brown Memorial Ground
Attendance: 355
Referee: Scott Tallis
21 November 2019 Group stage Blackburn Rovers 0–6 Liverpool Bamber Bridge
19:45
Report
Stadium: Irongate
Attendance: 392
Referee: Edward Duckworth
11 December 2019 Group stage Liverpool 3–1 Durham Birkenhead
18:30
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 215
Referee: Dale Baines

Pos Team Pld W WPEN LPEN L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SHU AST LIV DUR COV BLB
1 Sheffield United 5 3 0 1 1 14 8 +6 10 Advance to Knock-out stage 2–2 4–1
2 Aston Villa 5 3 0 1 1 12 8 +4 10 3–1 2–0 5–2
3 Liverpool 5 3 0 0 2 16 7 +9 9 2–3 3–1
4 Durham 5 3 0 0 2 11 8 +3 9 0–4 3–0 4–0
5 Coventry United 5 0 3 0 2 6 14 −8 6 2–2 1–5 1–1
6 Blackburn Rovers 5 0 0 1 4 5 19 −14 1 0–6 1–3
Updated to match(es) played on 11 December 2019. Source: thefa.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head record

Squad statistics edit

Appearances edit

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.

No. Pos Nat Player Total FA WSL FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   GER Anke Preuß 14 0 10 0 2 0 2 0
3 DF   ENG Leighanne Robe 21 0 14 0 1+1 0 5 0
4 MF   WAL Rhiannon Roberts 15 1 9+3 0 0 0 3 1
5 DF   IRL Niamh Fahey 18 1 13 0 2 1 3 0
6 DF   ENG Sophie Bradley-Auckland 20 0 14 0 1 0 5 0
7 FW   ENG Jessica Clarke 12 1 4+3 0 0+2 0 2+1 1
8 MF   ENG Jade Bailey 19 0 13 0 2 0 4 0
9 FW   ENG Courtney Sweetman-Kirk 16 1 7+4 0 0+1 0 1+3 1
10 MF   SCO Christie Murray 10 0 0+6 0 0+1 0 2+1 0
11 MF   ENG Melissa Lawley 19 2 14 1 2 0 3 1
13 GK   CAN Rylee Foster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 FW   ENG Ashley Hodson 20 2 2+11 0 2 0 4+1 2
17 FW   ENG Niamh Charles 19 6 13 2 2 1 3+1 3
18 GK   ENG Fran Kitching 7 0 4 0 0 0 3 0
19 MF   ENG Amy Rodgers 7 0 3 0 1 0 2+1 0
20 FW   ENG Rinsola Babajide 17 8 7+5 1 1 4 4 3
22 DF   ENG Becky Jane 20 0 14 0 1 0 5 0
23 DF   ENG Jemma Purfield 6 0 1+1 0 2 0 2 0
24 FW   ENG Kirsty Linnett 18 4 8+3 0 1+1 1 3+2 3
27 MF   NIR Rachel Furness 6 4 4 4 2 0 0 0
Players away from the club on loan:
21 MF   ENG Missy Bo Kearns 3 1 0 0 0 0 0+3 1

Goalscorers edit

Rank No. Pos. Name FA WSL FA Cup League Cup Total
1 20 FW   Rinsola Babajide 1 4 3 8
2 17 FW   Niamh Charles 2 1 3 6
3 24 FW   Kirsty Linnett 0 1 3 4
27 MF   Rachel Furness 4 0 0
5 11 MF   Melissa Lawley 1 0 1 2
14 FW   Ashley Hodson 0 0 2
7 4 MF   Rhiannon Roberts 0 0 1 1
5 DF   Niamh Fahey 0 1 0
7 FW   Jessica Clarke 0 0 1
9 FW   Courtney Sweetman-Kirk 0 0 1
21 MF   Missy Bo Kearns 0 0 1
Own goal 0 1 0 1
Total 8 8 16 32

Transfers edit

Transfers in edit

Date Position Nationality Name From Ref.
10 June 2019 DF   Becky Jane   Reading [14]
15 June 2019 MF   Melissa Lawley   Manchester City [15]
9 July 2019 MF   Jade Bailey   Chelsea [16]
28 December 2019 MF   Rachel Furness   Reading [17]
23 January 2020 GK   Rylee Foster   West Virginia Mountaineers [18]

Transfers out edit

Date Position Nationality Name To Ref.
24 May 2019 MF   Laura Coombs   Manchester City [19][20]
DF   Leandra Little   Sheffield United [19][21]
15 June 2019 DF   Jasmine Matthews   Bristol City [22][23]
FW   Yana Daniëls   Bristol City [22][24]
19 June 2019 MF   Aimee Everett   Leicester City [25]
22 June 2019 FW   Annabel Blanchard   Leicester City [26]
12 August 2019 MF   Lauren Thomas   Blackburn Rovers [27]
23 January 2020 DF   Ellie Fletcher   Blackburn Rovers [28]

Loans out edit

Date Position Nationality Name To Until Ref.
24 August 2019 DF   Ellie Fletcher   Sheffield United Recalled 10 January 2020 [29][30]
10 January 2020 MF   Missy Bo Kearns   Blackburn Rovers End of season [30]

References edit

  1. ^ "LIVERPOOL LADIES FC CLUB HISTORY". Liverpool Ladies FC. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. ^ Association, The Football. "Decision made to postpone professional football until Friday 3 April at the earliest". www.thefa.com.
  3. ^ Flood, George (13 March 2020). "Women's Super League and Championship suspended due to coronavirus". Evening Standard.
  4. ^ "Statement: FA Barclays WSL and Women's Championship season ended". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  5. ^ "Chelsea named Women's Super League champions, Liverpool relegated". BBC Sport. 5 June 2020.
  6. ^ Association, The Football. "Chelsea Women awarded Barclays FA WSL title and Aston Villa win Women's Championship". www.thefa.com.
  7. ^ "LIVERPOOL FC WOMEN". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  8. ^ Kelly, Andy (5 August 2019). "Niamh Fahey appointed vice-captain of Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Liverpool FC Women to join club's USA pre-season tour". Liverpool FC.
  10. ^ "Storm Ciara forces postponements". BBC.
  11. ^ "WSL: Liverpool v Arsenal on 13 February switched to Chester after Tranmere pitch issues". BBC Sport. 7 February 2020.
  12. ^ Association, The Football. "Women's FA Cup dates". www.thefa.com.
  13. ^ a b "Women's FA Cup: Liverpool switch Blackburn home tie to Bamber Bridge". BBC Sport. 18 January 2020.
  14. ^ "LFC Women agree terms for Becky Jane signing". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Liverpool FC Women sign Melissa Lawley". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Liverpool FC Women sign Jade Bailey". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Liverpool FC Women complete signing of Rachel Furness". Liverpool FC.
  18. ^ "Liverpool FC Women complete signing of Rylee Foster". Liverpool FC.
  19. ^ a b "Laura Coombs and Leandra Little to leave LFC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  20. ^ "City sign Laura Coombs". MCFC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Leandra Little signs for the Blades". www.sufc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Matthews and Daniels leave Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Matthews re-joins City Women". Bristol City. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Yana Daniëls is a Robin". Bristol City.
  25. ^ "Aimee Everett signs for Leicester City Women". Leicester City Women Football Club. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Annabel Blanchard signs for Leicester City Women". Leicester City Women Football Club. 22 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Rovers recruit Thomas". www.rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Fletcher is a Blue". www.rovers.co.uk.
  29. ^ "Ellie Fletcher completes loan move to Sheffield United Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  30. ^ a b Kelly, Andy (10 January 2020). "Missy Bo Kearns signs first professional contract with Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 10 January 2020.