The Pies at Wembley
Chelsea Ladies V Notts County Ladies
1st August 2015
So then, who had a quid on ever being able to say "I'm off to Wembley to watch Notts County in the FA Cup Final....." I wished I had because on the glorious 1st August, the bookies would have had to pay out. I could say it was only Notts Ladies rather than the men's side but that might be a little patronising considering that they were fourth in their Premier League and also competing in the Continental Cup at that stage of the season whereas the blokes...ok lets not go there again. Anyway, suffice it to say the club got there and we had a big day out. We didn't win it but 1-0 when your keeper is injured and you're up against the endless cash of Chelsea was not a bad result. And we got there...we didn't just hop on a tube and cross town, we had to make the effort. And in the end The Pies came in their thousands and we had a good presence. We made a noise, we lost, we went home. Nothing new then but we had a grand day out. Here's a few pics to mark the occasion.
The Kit
A cup final....and not just any cup final but an FA Cup final.....at Wembley! It wasn't since the early 90s that Wembley Way was filled with the black and white stripes of Notts County and of course, the eternal optimism that Notts fans generate even in the face of adversity. Although the team lost 1-0, they did the club proud in getting there and the game itself, broadcast on BBC1, was a showcase for the quality and excitement that women's football has to offer.
It was also the first opportunity to see a Notts team in the new home kit for the season (it having not been ready for the men's team the previous evening as the men also lost - in a pre-season friendly against Scunthorpe). The Wembley kit had the ladies sponser on (Go Outsourcing instead of Ladbrookes) so no red and just for the final, special embriodery on the front under the cabrini badge on the left side. Just as with last season, the ladies shirt was available for sale in the club shop and following the successful World Cup campaign for England women, there was an increased demand. Crowds were up too with 30,000 at Wembley and increasing numbers in the Notts home crowd. This led to higher saes of replica shirts and more people were now wanting the shirt which names and numbers on. As with the men's kit, there is no difference between the replicas and player versions, apart from a lack of WSL and 'Respect' sleeve badges which weren't publically made available (although some fans found them from other sources). Unlike the kit with the men's first team, the new ladies shirt will not only be used for the second half of the WSL season but also the first half of the next which starts in April!
The only example of the special ladies FA Cup Final kit, this shirt went through the roof when advertised on the official Notts site as up for auction. Although it was described as a 'replica' it wasn't. There were no replicas and the unique embroidery on the top shows it was an unused shirt made for the players on the day but not needed .Still, signed by the squad, it went far higher than any men's kit has to date.
