Winners

It’s been a while since I’ve made it to a cup final, so it was good to have the opportunity to see the resolution of the West Riding FA Women’s County Cup at their headquarters in Woodlesford.

The game was contested by Brighouse Town and Leeds United (unfortunately Bradford City having been knocked out at the semi-final stage.) Brighouse are currently the higher ranked team, playing in the third tier of women’s football, while Leeds are in the fourth. 

Brighouse took an early lead and dominated the first half but didn’t add any further goals. Leeds came back into it more as the game went one, and with late drama were awarded a penalty deep into added time. They converted, bringing the game level at full-time.

There was no extra time, so it was straight to a penalty shootout. Brighouse converted all their kicks while Leeds had two saved, so it was Brighouse who emerged cup champions.

It was a good game in front of an appreciative crowd of 845, including lots of youngsters - a good showcase for women’s football in the county and hopefully inspiring the next generations at the same time.