The Last Word

A COLLEAGUE at work summed it up nicely.

“It’s always nice to see Clarke scoring for Leeds against Arsenal in an FA Cup final.”

I was gutted.

It was a great line.

I wish I’d thought of it myself.

Leeds United Ladies were no doubt gutted when the ref blew for full time on Monday and the realisation hit that their FA cup dream was over.

But they shouldn’t be too hard on themselves.

They, and their travelling fans, did the city proud in Nottingham - and the party atmosphere was a joy to experience first hand.

Young striker Jess Clarke must have felt particularly pleased to have emulated the feat of her illustrious namesake Allan in heading the ball past a diving Arsenal goalkeeper.

Not that she’ll remember his winning goal in the Centenary Cup Final - the England Under-19 regular wasn’t even born when Clarke beat Geoff Barnett 26 years ago to bring the trophy back to Elland Road.

The Women’s FA Cup Final was played, fittingly, in bright sunshine.
Sensible ticket pricing meant a near capacity crowd of 25,000 watched Leeds fall to the country’s best women’s team.

The atmosphere was jovial and good natured - like a Rugby League match - and it was a far cry from the air of menace that often surrounds the men’s game.

The crowd had their say but there was nothing sung that you couldn’t allow to be broadcast on primetime telly - none of the X-rated, moronic chanting that passes for “wit” on the terraces of the Premier League, say.

When the ref made an error she was booed, like a pantomime villain, rather than subjected to a torrent of carefully co-ordinated abuse.

And the appearance, in the second half, of a streaker (it was a hot day after all) was greeted with laughter all round.

It was, it has to be said, a female streaker which, by and large, will always prove more aesthetically pleasing than the male variety.

And since we’re making gender comparisons here, let’s take a look at the issue of money that has so enchained the heart and soul of the beautiful (men’s) game.

Arsenal Ladies, as cup winners on Monday, will receive a cheque for £5,000.

As runners up, Leeds United Ladies will get the princely sum of £1,000 to add to the £2,500 each club received for winning their semi-finals.

In the men’s game, a nondescript team winning the third qualifying round - before, even, the first round proper - gets £5,000.

Each winning semi-finalist gets £900,000 - with a cool £1m awaiting the winners of Saturday’s Portsmouth v Cardiff battle.

In a game awash with money you’d think that the fat cats of the FA might pour the cream with a little more generosity into the bowl of the women’s game to help develop it.

There is no doubt that women’s football is growing in popularity every year and that players of increasing talent are being discovered.

But the game’s custodians still appear to be barricading the boardroom doors against true progress for the women’s game despite the clamour from the hallway outside.

It is a mindset, you might argue, that is stuck in 1972 - along with the “other” Clarke’s memorable winner for Don Revie’s United legends.

By Nigel Scott, reproduced courtesy of the Yorkshire Evening Post.