'New ground' and a 'sea change'
[Getty Images] With Bournemouth's men halfway through a three-week spell without a first-team fixture, it was the chance for the women's team to take centre stage at the weekend. Loftus Road has not traditionally been a happy hunting ground for the Cherries men, who did not win there in 14 attempts between 1959 and 2021, although that sequence finally ended with a gritty 1-0 win in the Championship in 2021-22, followed by a 3-2 FA Cup success there in 2024. However, on Saturday, the Shepherd's Bush location was the neutral venue for the Women's National League (WNL) Cup final, a competition contested by the 72 teams in the third and fourth tiers of the women's pyramid, with Bournemouth taking on WNL Southern Premier Division promotion rivals Plymouth Argyle.
And it was the Cherries who struck early, with Bermuda international Kenni Thompson netting directly from a corner, emulating Marcus Tavernier's 'Olimpico' for the men's team against Nottingham Forest in October. While the lack of a second goal to kill the game off meant a nervy last few minutes, with goalkeeper Katie Scadding repelling attempts to puncture her clean sheet, Bournemouth held on to lift their fifth trophy in four years, after their WNL Division One South West title and WNL Plate double last season, and back-to-back Hampshire Senior Cups in 2023 and 2024. It also completed a remarkable sequence of eight games in this season's WNL Cup – three in the group stage, and five knockout ties – without conceding a single goal in the competition.
The final can still be viewed in full on BBC iPlayer for another 26 days. While a pair of recent defeats – Bournemouth's first league losses since March 2023 – have left them trailing second-placed Plymouth, who occupy the promotion play-off position, by six points, the Cherries still have two games in hand as they chase promotion to WSL 2. And while such a promotion would likely mean a sea change in terms of moving towards full-time contracts, the Cherries have already broken new ground by handing boss Helen Bleazard a fresh three-year contract to become the club's first ever full-time women's head coach.