Familiar story in Women’s FA Cup as lack of upsets shows gulf is getting bigger | Suzanne Wrack
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The gaps between the haves and the have-nots in the women’s game are huge and growing – things have to be done differently. The weather may have ensured the postponement of six FA Cup games, but it could not disrupt the narrative: that cup upsets in women’s football are disappointingly rare.
![[Suzanne Wrack]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/07/13/Suzanne_Wrack_2.png?width=180&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Eight games played (before Aston Villa met Bristol City on Sunday night) and eight expected results, with 35 goals scored by the winning teams, an average of 4.4 a game, and Exeter City’s goal the solitary one scored by a losing side. Of the six games played between teams on different levels of the pyramid it was 27 goals scored for winning sides and the one against.
![[Kosovare Asllani celebrates scoring for London City]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8f80e32a8dc94764b08dca2a30dffc343115daea/0_0_4632_2779/master/4632.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In the fourth round last season the story was the same. Of the fixtures pairing teams in different divisions, just one threw up a surprise, Reading suffering a 2-1 loss at home to Wolves. However, Reading were outliers in the 2023-24 season, on the brink of collapse as a semi-professional outfit with the club voluntarily relegating the side at the end of the season. The season prior, there were two examples of clubs punching up and taking out a team in a league above them, when Birmingham City earned a 1-0 win at Everton and Cardiff City beat Burnley 4-1.
There is a problem here, it’s not getting better, and it will likely get worse. The reality is the gap between the WSL and Championship is large, as shown by Chelsea cruising past Charlton with a 4-0 win, dominating with 83% possession and 350 passes to 77. But the gap between the Championship sides and National League sides is also large, as demonstrated by Sunderland’s 7-1 defeat of Exeter and London City’s 5-0 win at Fulham.
