🏅 WSL Awards: Centre-forward special, for better or worse | OneFootball

🏅 WSL Awards: Centre-forward special, for better or worse | OneFootball

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Lewis Ambrose¡7 February 2023

🏅 WSL Awards: Centre-forward special, for better or worse

Article image:🏅 WSL Awards: Centre-forward special, for better or worse

Strikers, strikers, strikers. They score goals, they win you games. But sometimes they don’t. And there is nowhere else to focus after the WSL weekend.


The De-Shaw vu Award

Another week, another goal for Bunny Shaw. And another win for Manchester City as well.


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Shaw had actually failed to score in three of her last four WSL outings, with City drawing twice in that run.


The Curse of the Ex Award

Tottenham have played 11 WSL games this season.

Beth England has played in two of them and is one goal away from being the club’s leading scorer for the campaign. Her second league goal in a Spurs shirt came against former employers Chelsea.

It wasn’t enough for a result but Tottenham do finally appear to have a reliable source of goals.


The Don’t Need One Anyway Award

England’s goal didn’t matter because, frankly, Chelsea can score a few without a striker chipping in.

They netted three without Sam Kerr or Fran Kirby getting involved and none was finer all weekend than Lauren James’ superb solo effort.

Who needs a striker anyway? Well …


The Transfer Regret Award

… with Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead out, Arsenal wanted a striker in January.

They did not get one and the last thing the narrative needed was a 0-0 draw immediately after the window shut. It was bad timing for their first blank of the season.

There was no shortage of chances against West Ham, especially early on, but the Gunners badly need one of their forwards to step up.


The Award for Most Unsuccessful Attempts

Article image:🏅 WSL Awards: Centre-forward special, for better or worse

Maybe it helped Arsenal fans to see Manchester United also fail to score for the first time this season in their goalless draw with Everton.

United got off 25 shots — the most they’ve had in a game all season — but just four hit the target. And Arsenal target Alessia Russo found the target with just one of her seven attempts.

Maybe those deadline day bids did have some kind of impact on both clubs.


The Something Completely Different Award

And sometimes, if you need a goal, someone capable of launching a throw-in right into the mixer is enough!