‘My claim to fame!’ – Former Chelsea Women star remembers the first-ever WSL match

It may need been ten years in the past, however former Chelsea striker Ashlee Hincks is adamant about one factor.

The Blues didn’t deserve to lose their first-ever FA Women’s Super League match – a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal courtesy of a purpose from Gilly Flaherty.

“I keep in mind vividly we should not have misplaced it,” she informed soccer.london. “There have been large patches of sand in both purpose and the ball dropped, and so they bought it in – however we must always have scored as effectively.

“But it was recreation to open the WSL model!”

Then aged 22, Hincks was excited to be a part of a brand new period of the recreation, and play that first-ever fixture at Imperial Fields. With the majority of gamers then nonetheless semi-skilled, she was lining up alongside the likes of Lionesses Carly Telford and Claire Rafferty in the blue shirt. Opponents in the Gunners facet included now England captain Steph Houghton.

“It’s a very long time in the past now, however that is my little claim to fame,” she stated.

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“It was an enormous factor. We had 1000’s at the recreation. I keep in mind pulling in and there was an enormous queue of individuals. It was so completely different to what we might had beforehand – it was a very good expertise.”

She spent two years in the prime flight with Chelsea. Since then, coach Matt Beard departed, with Emma Hayes appointed in 2012. She has revolutionised the membership, now absolutely skilled, and led her squad to three WSL titles in addition to three Women’s Champions League semi-finals.

Hincks, in the meantime, is now at Crystal Palace, in the Championship, girls’s soccer’s second tier, and appears again on the final ten years with fond recollections.

“I’m not outdated, however I’m nonetheless in that technology the place I’ve nonetheless been part of all the things coming by because it modified,” she stated. “The WSL now, it is an unbelievable league – undoubtedly, I’d say, the finest in the world, 100 per cent, the gamers that we’re attracting, the competitiveness of the recreation.

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“But you’ve got now additionally bought the knock-on impact, the league under now desire a piece of that. ‘Okay, effectively, we would like to stand up there – how can we do this?’ The solely possibility is to go full time. If you need to win the Championship, you do want to go full-time. So it is then having a knock-on impact on the league under.

“Even for those who’re not in that WSL class, you are attracting gamers from overseas, youthful gamers, the likes of myself, enjoying at the Championship degree, you’ve got nonetheless bought the alternative to go full-time if that fits your private circumstances which is wonderful. Go again ten years, that is actually all I’d have needed.”

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