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
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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] It was the first time since 1995-96 that Arsenal finished a season with no trophies to show for their efforts.

Squad Statistics

First team squad

Squad statistics correct as of May 2018[5]

Squad No.	Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	Signed From
Goalkeepers
1	Emma Byrne	(1979-06-14) 14 June 1979 (age 45)	2000	Fortuna Hjørring
13	Jo Price	(1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 39)	2001
	Caroline Collie	(1986-08-11) 11 August 1986 (age 38)	2002	Homegrown
	Jasmine Cripps	(1985-11-04) 4 November 1985 (age 39)	1998	Homegrown
Defenders
2	Kirsty Pealling	(1975-04-14) 14 April 1975 (age 49)	1987	Homegrown
3	Pauline MacDonald	(1975-04-17) 17 April 1975 (age 49)	2000	Atlanta Classics
5	Leanne Champ	(1983-08-10) 10 August 1983 (age 41)	2001	Millwall Lionesses
6	Faye White (captain)	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 46)	1996	Horsham Ladies
11	Clare Wheatley	(1971-02-04) 4 February 1971 (age 53)	1995	Chelsea
12	Julie Fletcher	(1974-09-28) 28 September 1974 (age 50)	2001	Charlton Athletic
15	Yvonne Tracy	(1981-02-27) 27 February 1981 (age 43)	2000	St Patrick's Athletic
17	Hayley Kemp	(1987-06-23) 23 June 1987 (age 37)	1998	Hatfield Youth
18	Anita Asante	(1985-04-27) 27 April 1985 (age 39)	1998	Homegrown
24	Georgie Adams	(1984-11-07) 7 November 1984 (age 40)	1999	Homegrown
30	Carol Harwood	(1965-12-01) 1 December 1965 (age 59)	2002	Southampton
	Eartha Pond	(1983-09-04) 4 September 1983 (age 41)	2002	Chelsea
	Cori Daniels	(1986-06-04) 4 June 1986 (age 38)	2002	Homegrown
Midfielders
4	Jayne Ludlow	(1979-01-07) 7 January 1979 (age 46)	2000	Southampton Saints
7	Sian Williams	(1968-02-02) 2 February 1968 (age 56)	1990	Juve Siderno
10	Ciara Grant	(1978-05-17) 17 May 1978 (age 46)	1998	St Patrick's Athletic
21	Emma Thomas	(1983-10-17) 17 October 1983 (age 41)	1996	Homegrown
23	Eleri Earnshaw	(1985-05-17) 17 May 1985 (age 39)	2002	Bangor City
	Lisa Burrows	(1985-08-01) 1 August 1985 (age 39)	2002	Bushey Rangers
	Gemma Ritchie		2002
Forwards
8	Angela Banks	(1975-12-23) 23 December 1975 (age 49)	1999	Whitehawk
9	Ellen Maggs	(1983-02-16) 16 February 1983 (age 41)	2000	Homegrown
14	Lianne Sanderson	(1988-02-03) 3 February 1988 (age 36)	2003	Homegrown
16	Alex Scott	(1984-10-14) 14 October 1984 (age 40)	2002	Homegrown
17	Ayshea Martyn
24	Michele O'Brien	(1980-06-28) 28 June 1980 (age 44)	2003	Long Island Lady Riders
	Sheuneen Ta	(1985-07-21) 21 July 1985 (age 39)	2002

Appearances and goals

No.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		PL Cup		LC Cup		Comm Shield		UEFA Cup		Total
		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 (captain)	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	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
	Own Goals			1	1	2	‡	0	0	4
6	17	FW	Ayshea Martyn	1	1	1	‡	0	0	3
	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 (captain)	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
		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		FW	Sheuneen Ta
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	No.	Position	Player	To club
2002		DF	Kelley Few	Retirement
2002		MF	Nicky Grant	Glasgow City
2002		FW	Megumi Ogawa
2002		DF	Eartha Pond	Charlton Athletic
2002		FW	Marianne 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: Fly Emirates

Home

Away

Third

Competitions

FA Women's Community Shield

Main article: 2002 FA Women's Community Shield

Arsenal v Fulham

08 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

Main article: 2003–04 FA Women's Premier League

Arsenal v Tranmere Rovers

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

Leeds United v Arsenal

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

Arsenal v Birmingham City

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

Arsenal v Everton

06 October 2002 4	Arsenal	3–2	Everton	St Albans
	MacDonald Banks Maggs	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion

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

Birmingham City v Arsenal

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

Arsenal v Fulham

07 November 2002 7	Arsenal	1–2	Fulham	St Albans
	Martyn	Report	Moore	Stadium: Clarence Park

Arsenal v Doncaster Rovers Belles

08 December 2002 8	Arsenal	3–1	Doncaster Rovers Belles	St Albans
	44' (o.g.) Grant 58' MacDonald 70'	Report	Exley 2'	Stadium: Clarence Park

Everton v Arsenal

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

Arsenal v Southampton

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

Arsenal v Leeds United

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

Fulham v Arsenal

15 April 2003 12	Fulham	4–1	Arsenal	Carshalton
	Yankey 6' Haugenes Champ 82' (o.g.)	Report	Sanderson	Stadium: War Memorial Sports Ground

Tranmere Rovers v Arsenal

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

Brighton & Hove Albion v Arsenal

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

Southampton v Arsenal

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

Doncaster Rovers Belles v Arsenal

04 May 2003 16	Doncaster Rovers Belles	1–1	Arsenal
	Walker	Report	Pealling

Arsenal v Charlton Athletic

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

Charlton Athletic v Arsenal

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

Partial league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Fulham	18	16	2	0	63	13	+50	49[a]	Champions, to European Cup
2	Doncaster Rovers	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: Arsenal FC Official Yearbook 2003
Notes:

1. 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

Main article: 2003–04 FA Women's Cup

Arsenal v Tranmere Rovers

5 January 2003 Fourth Round	Arsenal	2–0	Tranmere Rovers	St Albans
	Grant 17' Ludlow 90'	Report		Stadium: Clarence Park

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal

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

Arsenal v Aston Villa

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

Charlton Athletic v Arsenal

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

FA Women's Premier League Cup

Main article: 2003–04 FA Women's Premier League Cup

Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday

13 October 2002 First Round	Arsenal	11–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Borehamwood
		Report		Stadium: Meadow Park

Arsenal v Leeds United

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

Arsenal v Tranmere Rovers

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

Doncaster Rovers Belles v Arsenal

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

Fulham v Arsenal

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

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

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

Arsenal v Charlton Athletic

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

UEFA Women's Cup

Main article: 2003–04 UEFA Women's Cup

Group Stage

Arsenal v Gömrükçü Baku

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

Arsenal v Levante UD

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

Arsenal v Eendracht Aalst

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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal Ladies	3	3	0	0	15	1	+14	9
2	Levante	3	2	0	1	11	3	+8	6
3	Gömrükçü Baku	3	1	0	2	9	8	+1	3
4	Eendracht Aalst	3	0	0	3	0	23	−23	0

Source: ^[citation needed]

Quarter Final

CSK VVS Samara v Arsenal

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)

Arsenal v CSK VVS Samara

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

Semi Final

Fortuna Hjørring v Arsenal

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)

Arsenal v Fortuna Hjørring

27 April 2003 Second Leg	Arsenal	1–5	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

1. "Fulham stun Arsenal in 2003 title race".
2. "TheFA.com - Shield win is spot on for Fulham". 2004-10-10. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
3. "Fulham win dramatic shoot-out". 2003-03-30. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
4. UEFA.com. "History: Arsenal 1-5 Fortuna | UEFA Women's Champions League 2002/03". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
5. "ARSENAL WFC". Retrieved August 15, 2018.