As the season ticked into its final few seconds, we still did not know who was going up. The league could scarcely have hoped for a more engrossing finale. Ultimately, by the finest of margins, London City Lionesses were promoted to the Women’s Super League after an outstanding individual goal from Isobel Goodwin helped them edge to a dramatic 2-2 draw away to their nearest title rivals Birmingham City, who were within a whisker of completing what would have been a comeback for the ages.
Goodwin’s stunning long-range strike and a Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah header put the visitors 2-0 up and Birmingham, backed by a club-record crowd of 8,749, knowing they had to win to be promoted, fought back valiantly in the final 27 minutes through Emily van Egmond’s header and Cho So-hyun’s volley – four minutes from time – to set up a frantic finish but the visitors clung on to the draw they needed to clinch top spot.
