2002–03 Arsenal L.F.C. season

Arsenal Ladies
2002–03 season
Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Manager	Vic Akers
Stadium	Clarence Park
Premier League	Third Place
FA Cup	Semi finals
Premier League Cup	Runners up
UEFA Cup	Semi finals
Community Shield	Runners up
London County Cup	Semi finals
Top goalscorer	League: Jayne Ludlow (15); All: Jayne Ludlow (31)
Biggest win	11–0 (vs Sheffield Wednesday, Premier League Cup, 13 October 2002)
Biggest defeat	1–5 (vs Fortuna Hjørring, UEFA Cup, 27 April 2003)

The 2002–03 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 16th season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, and came into the season as the reigning champions. However, they were only able to finish third this time. behind Doncaster Rovers Belles and newly promoted Fulham, who won the league with an unbeaten campaign.^[1]

They were defeated in the Community Shield and the League Cup Final on penalties by Fulham, and lost at the Semi Final stages of the FA Cup and London County Cup to Charlton Athletic.^[2]^[3]

In Europe, Arsenal reached the Semi Final stages of the UEFA Cup for the first time, but were thrashed 8–2 on aggregate by Fortuna Hjørring, including a disastrous 5–1 home defeat.^[4]^[5] It was the first time since 1995-96 that Arsenal finished a season with no trophies to show for their efforts.

Before the season began, Arsenal declared that they had gone semi-professional.^[6]

Squad statistics

First team squad

Squad statistics correct as of May 2003^[7]

Squad No.	Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	Signed From
Goalkeepers
1	Emma Byrne	(1979-06-14) 14 June 1979	2000	Fortuna Hjørring
13	Jo Price	(1985-06-07) 7 June 1985	2001
	Caroline Collie	(1986-08-11) 11 August 1986	2002	Homegrown
	Jasmine Cripps	(1985-11-04) 4 November 1985	1998	Homegrown
Defenders
2	Kirsty Pealling	(1975-04-14) 14 April 1975	1987	Homegrown
3	Pauline MacDonald	(1975-04-17) 17 April 1975	2000	Cumbernauld United
5	Leanne Champ	(1983-08-10) 10 August 1983	2001	Millwall Lionesses
6	Faye White	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978	1996	Horsham Ladies
11	Clare Wheatley	(1971-02-04) 4 February 1971	1995	Chelsea
12	Julie Fletcher	(1974-09-28) 28 September 1974	2001	Charlton Athletic
15	Yvonne Tracy	(1981-02-27) 27 February 1981	2000	St Patrick's Athletic
17	Hayley Kemp	(1987-06-23) 23 June 1987	1998	Hatfield Youth
18	Anita Asante	(1985-04-27) 27 April 1985	1998	Homegrown
24	Georgie Adams	(1984-11-07) 7 November 1984	1999	Homegrown
30	Carol Harwood	(1965-12-01) 1 December 1965	2002	Southampton Saints
	Eartha Pond	(1983-09-04) 4 September 1983	2002	Chelsea
	Cori Daniels	(1986-06-04) 4 June 1986	2002	Homegrown
Midfielders
4	Jayne Ludlow	(1979-01-07) 7 January 1979	2000	Southampton Saints
7	Sian Williams (captain)	(1968-02-02) 2 February 1968	1990	Juve Siderno
10	Ciara Grant	(1978-05-17) 17 May 1978	1998	St Patrick's Athletic
21	Emma Thomas	(1983-10-17) 17 October 1983	1996	Homegrown
23	Eleri Earnshaw	(1985-05-17) 17 May 1985	2001	Bangor City
	Lisa Burrows	(1985-08-01) 1 August 1985	2002	Bushey Rangers
	Gemma Ritchie		2002
Forwards
8	Angela Banks	(1975-12-23) 23 December 1975	1999	Whitehawk
9	Ellen Maggs	(1983-02-16) 16 February 1983	2000	Homegrown
14	Lianne Sanderson	(1988-02-03) 3 February 1988	2003	Homegrown
16	Alex Scott	(1984-10-14) 14 October 1984	2002	Homegrown
17	Ayshea Martyn		2002
24	Michele O'Brien	(1980-06-28) 28 June 1980	2003	Long Island Lady Riders
	Sheuneen Ta	(1985-07-21) 21 July 1985	1997	Homegrown

Appearances and goals

No.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		PL Cup		LC Cup		Comm Shield		UEFA Cup		Total
No.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Emma Byrne	18	0	4	0	5	0	‡	‡	1	0	6	0	34	0
13	Jo Price	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Caroline Collie	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Jasmine Cripps	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	Kirsty Pealling	15	2	4	0	4	0	‡	‡	1	0	5	0	29	2
3	Pauline MacDonald	10	2	4	0	3	0	‡	‡	1	0	3+1	1	21+1	3
5	Leanne Champ	18	0	4	0	4	0	‡	‡	1	0	4+1	0	31+1	0
6	Faye White	4+1	1	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	1	0	3	1	8+1	2
11	Clare Wheatley	18	0	4	0	5	0	‡	‡	1	0	6	2	34	2
12	Julie Fletcher	14+3	0	4	0	3	0	‡	‡	0+1	0	6	0	27+4	0
15	Yvonne Tracy	12+1	0	4	0	5	0	‡	‡	0	0	3+2	0	24+3	0
17	Hayley Kemp	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
18	Anita Asante	1+4	0	0+1	0	1+1	0	‡	‡	0	0	2	0	4+6	0
24	Georgie Adams	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	Carol Harwood	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Eartha Pond	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Cori Daniels	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
4	Jayne Ludlow	18	15	4	6	5	6	‡	‡	1	0	6	4	34	31
7	Sian Williams (captain)	14+3	0	1+2	0	3+2	0	‡	‡	1	0	5	0	15+3	0
10	Ciara Grant	16	7	3	1	5	2	‡	‡	1	0	6	2	31	12
21	Emma Thomas	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	Eleri Earnshaw	0	0	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Lisa Burrows	0	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
	Gemma Ritchie	0+1	0	0	0	1	1	‡	‡	0	0	0+1	0	1+2	1
Forwards
8	Angela Banks	18	14	4	2	5	3	‡	‡	0	0	5	4	32	23
9	Ellen Maggs	16+1	5	2	0	3	3	‡	‡	1	2	6	3	28+1	13
14	Lianne Sanderson	2+3	4	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0+1	0	2+4	4
16	Alex Scott	1+10	0	0+3	1	1+3	0	‡	‡	0	0	0+3	1	2+19	2
17	Ayshea Martyn	2+8	1	2+2	1	1+3	1	‡	‡	1	0	0+2	0	6+15	3
24	Michele O'Brien	1+5	1	0	0	0	0	‡	‡	0	0	0+1	0	1+6	1
	Sheuneen Ta	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	‡	‡	0	0	0	0	0+1	0

‡ = No match report data has been sourced for the London County Cup matches from this season. Only the score-lines are known.

Goalscorers

Rank	No.	Position	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	PL Cup	LC Cup	Comm Shield	UEFA Cup	Total
1	4	MF	Jayne Ludlow	15	6	6	‡	0	4	31
2	8	FW	Angela Banks	14	2	3	‡	0	4	23
3	9	FW	Ellen Maggs	5	0	3	‡	2	3	13
4	10	MF	Ciara Grant	7	1	2	‡	0	2	12
5	14	FW	Lianne Sanderson	4	0	0	‡	0	0	4
5	Own Goals			1	1	2	‡	0	0	4
6	17	FW	Ayshea Martyn	1	1	1	‡	0	0	3
6	3	DF	Pauline MacDonald	2	0	0	‡	0	1	3
7	16	FW	Alex Scott	0	1	0	‡	0	1	2
	2	DF	Kirsty Pealling	2	0	0	‡	0	0	2
	6	DF	Faye White	1	0	0	‡	0	1	2
	11	DF	Clare Wheatley	0	0	0	‡	0	2	2
8	24	FW	Michele O'Brien	1	0	0	‡	0	0	1
8		MF	Gemma Ritchie	0	0	1	‡	0	0	1
Total				53	12	18	7	2	18	110

Clean sheets

Rank	No.	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	PL Cup	LC Cup	Comm Shield	UEFA Cup	Total
1	1	Emma Byrne	5	3	3	‡	0	3	14
Total			5	3	3	‡	0	3	14

Transfers, loans and other signings

Transfers in

Announcement date	No.	Position	Player	From club
July 2002		MF	Gemma Ritchie	Southampton
2002	17	FW	Ayshea Martyn	Bangor City
2003	24	FW	Michele O'Brien	Long Island Lady Riders

Transfers out

Announcement date	Position	Player	To club
2002	GK	Aman Dosanj	Lee University
2002	DF	Kelley Few	Retirement
2002	MF	Nicky Grant	Glasgow City
2002	FW	Megumi Ogawa
2002	DF	Eartha Pond	Charlton Athletic
2002	FW	Marieanne Spacey	Fulham
2002	DF	Casey Stoney	Charlton Athletic
2002	GK	Toni-Anne Wayne	Southampton
2002	DF	Sarah Woolliscroft
July 2002	DF	Jessica Wright	Fulham
2002	FW	Emma Moore
2002		Jo Gardner

Club

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: O2.

Home

Away

Third

Competitions

FA Women's Community Shield

8 August 2002 Final	Arsenal	2–2 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p)	Fulham	Leyton Orient
	Maggs 8', 73'	Report	Duncan 1' Chapman 11'	Stadium: Brisbane Road
	Penalties
	Ludlow Whealtey Champ White

FA Women's Premier League

31 August 2002 1	Arsenal	6–0	Tranmere Rovers	St Albans
	Banks Ludlow Grant Maggs	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

8 September 2002 2	Leeds United	3–6	Arsenal
	Thorpe (pen.) Burke	Report	Maggs Ludlow 51' Champ

11 September 2002 3	Arsenal	5–0	Birmingham City	Finchley
	Ludlow 7' 60' Grant 27', 83'	Report		Stadium: The Harry Abrahams Stadium

6 October 2002 4	Arsenal	3–2	Everton	St Albans
	MacDonald 11' Banks 16' Maggs 58'	Report	Szyluk 3', 25'	Stadium: Clarence Park

20 October 2002 5	Arsenal	4–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	St Albans
	White 28' Banks 40' (pen.) Maggs 70' Ludlow	Report	Wayne	Stadium: Clarence Park

23 October 2002 6	Birmingham City	1–0	Arsenal
	Ward	Report

7 November 2002 7	Arsenal	1–2	Fulham	St Albans
	Martyn 84'	Report	Moore 44', 83'	Stadium: Clarence Park

8 December 2002 8	Arsenal	3–1	Doncaster Belles	St Albans
	Maggs 44' Grant 58' MacDonald 70'	Report	Exley 2'	Stadium: Clarence Park

16 February 2003 9	Everton	0–1	Arsenal
		Report	Banks 50'

2 March 2003 10	Arsenal	1–0	Southampton	St Albans
	Banks 73'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

12 April 2003 11	Arsenal	4–1	Leeds United	Potters Bar
	Grant 12' Maggs Pealling Ludlow	Report	Daniel	Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

15 April 2003 12	Fulham	4–1	Arsenal	Carshalton
	Yankey 7', 84' Haugenes 52' Champ 83' (o.g.)	Report	Sanderson 90+3'	Stadium: War Memorial Sports Ground

20 April 2003 13	Tranmere Rovers	1–7	Arsenal
	Preston	Report	Banks Grant Ludlow Sanderson

23 April 2003 14	Brighton & Hove Albion	1–5	Arsenal
	Whitton	Report	Banks Ludlow Maggs Sanderson

30 April 2003 15	Southampton	1–3	Arsenal
	Bell 30'	Report	Ludlow 48' O'Brien 56' Banks 67'

4 May 2003 16	Doncaster Belles	1–1	Arsenal
	Walker	Report	Pealling

8 May 2003 17	Arsenal	1–2	Charlton Athletic	Highbury
	Banks	Report	Barr Walker	Stadium: Highbury

11 May 2003 18	Charlton Athletic	0–1	Arsenal
		Report	Banks

Partial league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Fulham (C)	18	16	2	0	63	13	+50	49^[a]	Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round
2	Doncaster Belles	18	13	2	3	34	19	+15	41
3	Arsenal	18	13	1	4	53	21	+32	40
4	Charlton Athletic	18	10	4	4	44	20	+24	34
5	Birmingham City	18	6	3	9	26	31	−5	21

Source: FA WPL
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ Deducted 1 point for fielding ineligible player (Jess Wright) against Charlton Athletic on October 23, 2002.

Results Summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	13	1	4	53	21	+32	40	7	0	2	28	9	+19	6	1	2	25	12	+13

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	A	A	H	A
Result	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	L	W
Position	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 2018. Source: FA WSL
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Women's Cup

5 January 2003 Fourth Round	Arsenal	2–0	Tranmere Rovers	St Albans
	Grant 14' Ludlow 90'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

26 January 2003 Fifth Round	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–4	Arsenal
		Report	Ludlow Banks

26 January 2003 Quarter Finals	Arsenal	6–0	Aston Villa	St Albans
	Banks 10', 54' Pealling 18' Ludlow 33', 78' Scott 83'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

23 March 2003 Semi Finals	Charlton Athletic	1–0	Arsenal	Charlton
	Lorton 80' (pen.)	Report	Pealling 86'	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 3,031

FA Women's Premier League Cup

13 October 2002 First Round	Arsenal	11–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Borehamwood
	Ludlow Banks Maggs Ritchie (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park

10 November 2002 Second Round	Arsenal	3–0	Leeds United	Potters Bar
	Britton 7' (o.g.) Grant 18' Maggs 60'	Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

1 December 2002 Quarter Finals	Arsenal	1–0	Tranmere Rovers	St Albans
	Martyn 17'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

2 February 2003 Semi Finals	Doncaster Rovers Belles	1–2	Arsenal
	Walker 67' (pen.)	Report	Ludlow 3', 23' Champ 65'

30 March 2003 Final	Fulham	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	Arsenal	Swindon
14:00 BST	Yankey 88'	Report	Grant 90'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,220
	Penalties
	Pedersen Spacey Yankey Unitt McArthur Jerray-Silver		Banks Wheatley Fletcher Pealling Williams Maggs

London County Cup

28 January 2003 First Round	Arsenal	7–0	Crystal Palace	Potters Bar
				Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

19 March 2003 Semi Finals	Arsenal	0–2	Charlton Athletic	Edgware
				Stadium: White Lion Ground

UEFA Women's Cup

Group Stage

24 September 2002 1	Arsenal	6–0	Gömrükçü Baku	St Albans
	Wheatley 5', 84' Banks 21', 40' Grant 45' Ludlow 86'	Report	Milchevskaya 90+3'	Stadium: Clarence Park

26 September 2002 2	Arsenal	2–1	Levante UD	Bishop's Stortford
	Maggs 11' Ludlow 26' Wheatley 40' White 62' Champ 88'	Report	Prieto Ibáñez 15' Castillo 49' Nohalez 79'	Stadium: Woodside Park

29 September 2002 3	Arsenal	7–0	Eendracht Aalst	St Albans
	Ludlow 40', 57', 88' Maggs 59', 70' Grant 58' Scott 65'	Report	Migom 59' Goossens 65'	Stadium: Clarence Park

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	ARS	LEV	GBA	EEN
1	Arsenal (H)	3	3	0	15	1	+14	9	Advance to quarter-finals	—	2–1	6–0	7–0
2	Levante	3	2	1	11	3	+8	6		–	—	2–1	–
3	Gömrükçü Baku	3	1	2	9	8	+1	3		–	–	—	–
4	Eendracht Aalst	3	0	3	0	23	−23	0		–	0–8	0–8	—

Source: RSSSF^[5]
(H) Hosts

Quarter Final

2 November 2002 First Leg	CSK VVS Samara	0–2	Arsenal	Samara
	Dyatchkova 80'	Report	Petko 5' (o.g.) MacDonald 14'	Stadium: Metallurg Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Geja Mulder (Netherlands)

28 November 2002 Second Leg	Arsenal	1–1 (3–1 agg.)	CSK VVS Samara	St Albans
	Maggs 17'	Report	Kremleva 26' Djarbolova 42'	Stadium: Clarence Park Attendance: 450 Referee: Lale Orta (Turkey)

Semi Final

5 April 2003 First Leg	Fortuna Hjørring	3–1	Arsenal	Hjørring
	Knudsen 35' Black 42' Forman 49' Bonde 66'	Report	Banks 68'	Stadium: Hjørring Stadium Attendance: 2,384 Referee: Christine Frai (Germany)

27 April 2003 Second Leg	Arsenal	1–5 (2–8 agg.)	Fortuna Hjørring	Barnet
	Champ 29' Maggs 37' Tracy 47' Banks 68' Ludlow 90+1'	Report	B. Christensen 6' Bonde 47' (pen.), 61' Black 63' M. K. Christensen 90'	Stadium: Underhill

References

^ "Fulham stun Arsenal in 2003 title race".
^ "TheFA.com - Shield win is spot on for Fulham". 10 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^ "Fulham win dramatic shoot-out". 30 March 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^ UEFA.com. "History: Arsenal 1-5 Fortuna | UEFA Women's Champions League 2002/03". UEFA. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b Duret, Sébastien (10 July 2003). "UEFA Club Championship (Women) 2002/03". RSSSF. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^ "Banks stays with semi-pro Gunners". 15 May 2002. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
^ "Arsenal Ladies". 2003-04 Arsenal Handbook: Pages 78-79.

External links

Official website

[table_hth_FUL0.4935308753017-8] Deducted 1 point for fielding ineligible player (Jess Wright) against Charlton Athletic on October 23, 2002.

[1] "Fulham stun Arsenal in 2003 title race".

[2] "TheFA.com - Shield win is spot on for Fulham". 10 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

[3] "Fulham win dramatic shoot-out". 30 March 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

[4] UEFA.com. "History: Arsenal 1-5 Fortuna | UEFA Women's Champions League 2002/03". UEFA. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

[rsssf-5] Duret, Sébastien (10 July 2003). "UEFA Club Championship (Women) 2002/03". RSSSF. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

[6] "Banks stays with semi-pro Gunners". 15 May 2002. Retrieved 1 February 2025.

[7] "Arsenal Ladies". 2003-04 Arsenal Handbook: Pages 78-79.

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[a]

Arsenal W.F.C. seasons
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