Another thrilling battle at the bottom in store?

WSL Football

22/04/2026

Ahead of tonight’s key BWSL 2 survival clash between Sheffield United and Ipswich Town, we look back at four memorable relegation six pointers from recent seasons.

Watford Women 0-1 Coventry United, 1 May 2022

Matters concerning the foot of the BWSL 2 table – then named the Women’s Championship – in 2021-22 not only went into the last day, but the last minutes… and beyond.

The clash between Coventry United and Watford was a textbook relegation six-pointer, with both sides fighting tooth and nail to avoid the drop zone in the last 90 minutes of the campaign.

The two sides had drawn earlier in the season but Coventry had sat bottom since January when they were deducted ten points for going into administration.

However, the Sky Blues had won two of the four matches heading into the denouement and were unbeaten in seven overall, their form giving them the belief that they could pull a rabbit out of a hat when it mattered most.

However, the Sky Blues needed a win to stay up while Watford could afford the luxury of a draw to avoid the dreaded drop, and at 90 minutes a draw seemed the most likely option. With the score at 0-0 at 90 minutes, it looked as though Coventry had run out of time. Then, when the additional time was added on, renewed hope. Both sets of supporters held their breath.

Seven minutes later – bedlam. Foxes midfielder Mollie Green, now at Nottingham Forest, curled in a stunning free-kick to sting the Hornets right at the death.

"I'm speechless,” said goalscorer Green. “I can't believe we've done it. We've put absolutely everything into it. We've got a massive belief and togetherness and it paid off today.”

“I'm elated but I also probably need to go and cry somewhere," agreed Coventry manager Jay Bradford.

Leicester City 2-1 Reading, 2 April 2023

The 2022-23 WSL season also came down to a dramatic last day involving a two-way tug of war at the bottom between Reading and Leicester City.
Before then, though, came a tense game between the bottom two sides a month earlier, in April, when Leicester and Reading faced off at the King Power Stadium, the result of which would have huge implications weeks later.

The Foxes had struggled after losing their first nine matches of the season. Willie Kirk’s side won their first two matches of 2023 but then embarked on another four-game winless run before facing the Royals.

Reading, meanwhile, had endured a tough season themselves in what was their eighth consecutive campaign in the top flight. At the start of April, they sat one place above Leicester in the league table, but all of that changed after a dramatic 90 minutes.

Leicester took the lead but the scores were level at half-time thanks to a Charlie Wellings equaliser. Both teams had chances to seal victory in what was a tense second half, but the winner came in the 96th minute, with Carrie Jones giving Leicester the belief that they could complete the greatest of all escapes. Her goal also dragged Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool into the relegation shake up.

Fast forward a month later to the last day of the season, then, and Leicester needed a win at Brighton, themselves close to the foot of the table but safe, just, while Reading hosted a Chelsea side looking to wrap up the league title. Reading needed to win and hope that Brighton could do them a favour and beat Leicester for the second time that season.

Leicester were bullish. “We want to be history makers," said Kirk. "I expect us to do that."

Reading succumbed to a 3-0 defeat, with Chelsea sealing the WSL title in Berkshire. Meanwhile, on the south coast, Leicester enjoyed a famous 1-0 win, a reverse of the score when the two sides’ met earlier in the season, and which saw them climb to 16 points, five clear of Reading. Job done.

**Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa, 16 March 2025

When Leif Smerud was appointed Crystal Palace manager on 1 March 2025, his task was clear: keep the newly promoted Eagles in the BWSL.

He was unable to win either of his first two games but had more joy in his third match at the helm, against Aston Villa. Beforehand, Palace were four points adrift of their visitors before the match, with Villa also on a disappointing three-game winless run under new head coach Natalia Arroyo.

A header from Aniek Nouwen put Palace ahead before Ashleigh Weerden doubled the home side’s advantage. Lucy Parker pulled one back for Villa to make for a tense and thrilling finish, but Katie Stengel put the result beyond doubt in the 95th minute.

The win left Villa without a win since December, and more crucially left them just one point clear of Palace with six games remaining. For Palace, their first home win of the season, just their second victory of the campaign in total, offered hope for the run-in.

What followed for both sides was remarkable. Palace, despite having their tales up following the huge win against Villa, managed just one point in their last five games. Villa, in contrast, went on the rampage, their defeat at Palace proving to be a catalyst for a miraculous change of fortunes. They won their last five games to finish in mid-table, a whopping 15 points clear of Palace.

**Liverpool 2-0 Leicester City, 15 March 2026

Ipswich and Sheffield United aren’t the only clubs to be involved in a big match at the bottom in 2026, for Liverpool and Leicester City have already played out a thriller this season.

There was just one point separating the two BWSL sides when they met at St Helens Stadium in March. Leicester travelled to Merseyside on the back of four defeats in a row – of which they failed to score in three of them – since the turn of the year.

Liverpool, too, were struggling for form, and were on the wrong end of the result when the two sides met earlier in the season.

Leicester hoped to draw inspiration from that 1-0 win against Liverpool in the season, but in truth they were second best on this occasion.

Beata Olsson scored her sixth BWSL goal of the season after ten minutes before player-of-the-match Ceri Holland converted a late penalty to seal a priceless victory and put a four-point cushion between the two sides.

Liverpool are now eight points clear of Leicester with three to play, though the Foxes have a game in hand. It now looks more likely to be a straight shoot out between Leicester and West Ham United for the drop, with both sides returning to action this weekend.