The 2016 Women's FA Cup final was the 46th final of the Women's FA Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. The showpiece event was the 23rd to be played directly under the auspices of the Football Association (FA) and was named the SSE Women's FA Cup Final for sponsorship reasons. The final was contested between Arsenal Ladies and Chelsea Ladies on 14 May 2016 at Wembley Stadium in London. The match was the second FA Women's Cup Final to be held at Wembley.
Chelsea, managed by Emma Hayes, went into the match as defending champions, having won the 2015 FA Cup, while Arsenal, managed by Pedro Martínez Losa, had won the competition on thirteen previous occasions. But Chelsea were favourites to lift the trophy as Arsenal had enjoyed only moderate success since their victory at the 2014 Cup Final, and had been beaten by Chelsea in a match earlier in the 2016 season of the Women's Super League. Arsenal won the match 1–0, with a first-half goal from Danielle Carter scored in the eighteenth minute, and securing the team their fourteenth FA Cup victory. Carter was also named Player of the Match. The match was attended by a crowd of 32,912, an increase on the 30,710 who attended the 2015 final.
The match was refereed by Sarah Garratt of the Birmingham Football Association, whose appointment was announced by the Football Association on 5 May. The match saw Garratt taking charge of her first FA Cup Final.
Match details
GK 13 Sari van VeenendaalDF 2 Alex Scott (c)DF 5 Casey StoneyDF 22 Josephine HenningDF 3 Emma MitchellMF 8 Jordan Nobbs MF4 Fara WilliamsMF 6 Vicky LosadaMF 9 Danielle CarterFW10 Kelly SmithFW24 Asisat OshoalaSubstitutes:DF20 Dominique JanssenMF21 Daniëlle van de DonkMF14 Leah WilliamsonGK 1 Emma Byrne FW 7 Natalia Pablos Manager: Pedro Martínez Losa GK 1 Hedvig LindahlDF 3 Hannah BlundellDF4 Millie BrightDF 5 Gilly FlahertyDF 16 Ana BorgesMF24 Drew SpenceMF 17 Katie Chapman (c)MF 7 Gemma DavisonMF 10 Ji So-yun FW8 Karen CarneyFW 14 Fran KirbySubstitutes:FW 15 Bethany England DF6 Niamh FaheyFW9 Eniola AlukoGK 12 Rebecca SpencerDF 11 Claire RaffertyManager: Emma Hayes
Player of the match Danielle Carter (Arsenal)
Assistant referees: Lisa Rashid Lindsey Robinson Fourth official: Lucy OliverMatch rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Five named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions.
References