The rise and rise of Notts County
2015 has been a fantastic year for Notts County Ladies. The Lady Pies have made a strong start to the WSL season and go into the summer break 3rd in the table – a point behind Arsenal and just 3 points off leaders Chelsea.
The club also made history last month when it reached its first ever FA Women’s Cup final, overcoming last year’s runners up Everton in the last 4 and booking a place in the first ever final to be played at the national stadium.
Notts County entered the WSL when Lincoln Ladies were rebranded in 2014. County’s debut year in the WSL 1 ended with a mediocre 6th place finish, but this year has seen Rick Passmoor’s side establish themselves as genuine title contenders.
The improvement has been helped in part by a number of quality additions brought in during the winter transfer window. England internationals Rachel Williams and Laura Bassett, both signed from Chelsea, have added experience at either end of the pitch and the biggest gift of all was the return of Ellen White.
The formidable striker missed most of last season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, weeks after signing from Arsenal in December 2013, but so far this campaign White has been in unstoppable form bagging 6 goals in 9 appearances in all competitions.
The forward even took social media by storm recently when she and her County teammates produced one of the cheekiest free kick routines in footballing history.
To top off her spectacular return to the top of her game, White will join her team-mates Laura Bassett, Carly Telford and Alex Greenwood in Canada for the Women’s World Cup this summer.
When County return to league duty in July their title credentials will be put to the test as they face 3 consecutive away games to Sunderland, Liverpool and Arsenal. These matches should prove to be a good warm up for the FA Women’s Cup Final against Chelsea on August 1st.
Speaking to the BBC, Notts’ captain Bassett told of her excitement for the final: “To finally deliver and get ourselves in that final, and to prove that we are a force and club to be reckoned with, is fantastic.
“On the day, we are going to go out and enjoy it and hopefully bring back some silverware to this club.
“The fact that it is at Wembley for the first time in women’s football makes it very special.”