1 Brilliant victories Coach Matt Beard's side showed that they were capable of competing with the league's leading lights as they produced fine displays to defeat eventual FA WSL runners-up Manchester City and third-placed Arsenal. A four-figure crowd at Widnes saw the Reds take an early lead against City thanks to a goal from Nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala. And although on-loan Everton forward Nikita Parris equalised for City, Liverpool Ladies FC claimed maximum points when Oshoala crossed for Norwegian striker Line Smorsgard to head home the winner. Then, after the mid-season break, the Reds went to Arsenal and inflicted the Gunners' first league defeat of the season by claiming a 3-1 victory at Borehamwood. Fara Williams opened the scoring with a stunning strike from 25-yards out before Becky Easton bundled in a second. Spain striker Natalia's delicate chip pulled one back for the hosts, but Asisat Oshoala's lobbed finish secured a fine victory for Matt Beard's side.
2 Fara's World Cup Midfielder Fara Williams, England's all-time record appearance holder, starred at the World Cup finals in Canada as England returned home with the bronze medal. Fara took her cap count to 147 during the tournament and weighed in with three important goals from the penalty spot. She converted a spot kick in Mark Sampson's side's final group game against Columbia to set-up a last 16 tie against Norway. She later scored from 12 yards in the semi-final against Japan which would ultimately end in heart-break for the Three Lionesses. However, the team bounced back to win the third-place play-off as Fara scored the extra-time penalty that saw England edge out Germany.
3 Dowie – goal! For the third consecutive season no9 Natasha Dowie finished as the club's leading scorer with 14 goals including an incredible nine in seven Continental Tyres Cup appearances. “The tournament seems to be my lucky cup and I just want to be scoring and getting chances every game,” she said. “I always want to hit double figures each season. In the league I haven’t scored as many as I would have liked this year but it was good to score a few in the Conti Cup – it was just a shame the goals weren't enough to get us to the final.” Liverpool Ladies FC, missing nine first-team players, were beaten 2-0 by Notts County in the semis.
4 The next generation The Reds youngsters won silverware as they claimed the FA WSL Development League Northern Division title. Manager Matty Campbell says: “From where we started to where we ended up, the season has been really positive. We had the youngest team in the league and most of those players have come through the Centre of Excellence. Out of a squad of 17, thirteen have come all the way through at the club from the ages of nine, ten, eleven to the Development Squad. I think developing that many players to come through the system to compete against some good established female sides full of adult women has been the most pleasing aspect overall.”
5 Teenage kicks Liverpool Ladies FC's season was undermined by an unprecedented injury list that saw 13 senior players ruled out at some stage of the season. The flip-side was that it enabled Matt Beard to hand debuts to a number of players who have come through the youth ranks. Teenagers Maz Pacheco, Shannon Beckwith and Mollie Green all made their first-team debuts in 2015 while their Development Squad teammates Ashley Hodson and Hannah Dale were regular members of the squad having made their bows last season. Beard said: “The Continental Tyres Cup semi-final against Notts County saw us name nine players in the squad who have come through the club's Centre of Excellence and Development Squad. Being honest, I wouldn't have been confident in selecting too many younger players when I first came to the club, so it is testament to all the hard work of the staff that we found ourselves able to do that.”
6 Euro vision For the second successive season Liverpool Ladies FC represented England on the European stage. An injury-ravaged team went down to Italian Cup winners Brescia 2-0 on aggregate after losing both of their UEFA Women's Champions League ties by the only goal. Even so, it was another important step on the learning curve of many members of the young squad. After the second leg, American-born centre-back Satara Murray said: “We threw absolutely everything at them and I can't believe we ended up losing the game. But it was a great experience for us and now we have to dust ourselves down and prepare for the hard grind again ready to try and compete hard next season.”
7 Great Scott Although the news that manager Matt Beard was to leave for a new challenge in the USA with Boston Breakers was disappointing, the club acted quickly to promote from within as Beard's assistant, Scott Rogers, was named as the Reds' new manager. The 29-year-old is excited by the prospect of building on Beard's successes, saying: “I am absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity to manage Liverpool Ladies FC. Having worked under the stewardship of Matt for the past three seasons, I know what a great club this is and cannot wait to get started. We have had a tremendous run and although we were unfortunate with injuries last season we have a young, hungry squad and I am confident we will be competitive again next season.”
