Leah Williamson

Leah Williamson

Leah Williamson in 2014
Personal information
Full name Leah Cathrine Williamson
Date of birth (1997-03-29) 29 March 1997
Place of birth Milton Keynes, England
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Midfielder, Defender
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 14
Youth career
2006–2013 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2014– Arsenal 24 (1)
National team‡
2010–2012 England U-15 1 (0)
2012–2013 England U-17 16 (2)
2014– England U-19 14 (6)
2014– England U-20 3 (0)
2014– England U-23 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 July 2015

Leah Cathrine Williamson (born 29 March 1997) is an English women's football player,[1] currently playing for Arsenal of the FA WSL and the England women's national under-19 team.[2][3]

Club career

Arsenal Ladies

Leah Williamson joined Arsenal Ladies's Centre of Excellence in 2006 at the age of nine.[2]

2014

Williamson made her senior team debut as she came on as a 81st-minute substitution for Rachel Yankey in Arsenal Ladies's 0-2 defeat to Birmingham City Ladies in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final.[4] She continued to make her FA WSL debut on 16 April 2014 against Notts County.[5] She won her first major title, the 2014 FA Women's Cup with Arsenal L.F.C on 1 June 2014 in the final against Everton Ladies, in which she came on as a 76th-minute substitute for Jade Bailey.[6] On 13 July 2014, Williamson netted her first professional goal for Arsenal Ladies in a 4-0 win away against Millwall Lionesses in the Continental Cup.[7] On 4 September 2014, she scored her first league goal against Chelsea Ladies.[8] She made 12 appearances in the 2014 FA Women’s Super League. At the end of the 2014 season, she was named the FA WSL Cup Player of the Year, ahead of Jess Clarke from Notts County Ladies, Ji So-yun from Chelsea Ladies and Toni Duggan from Manchester City[9]

2015

On January 8, 2015, Williamson won the England Women’s Youth Player of the Year award.[10] Before the start of the 2015 FA Women's Super League, on 31 March 2015, Leah Williamson signed her first professional contract with Arsenal Ladies.[11] On 26 April 2015, she was named the 2014-15 PFA Young Women's Player of the Year.[12]

Williamson scored her first goal of the season in a convincing 3-0 home victory over Watford Ladies in the FA Continental Cup on 23 July 2015.[13]

International career

Williamson has represented England since 2010 at youth levels, currently playing in the under 19 squad. She captained the England under 17 side in the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship held in England in November and December 2013, where they eventually finished fourth after being beaten by Italy in the third place play-off, losing 3-4 in the penalty shootout.[14][15] Leah was also part of the England women's national under-20 football team to compete in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada in August 2014. She started in the starting lineup in every England's match. The tournament, however, was a disappointment for the Young Lionesses as they were not able to progress through to the quarter finals, finishing the competition with only two draws against South Korea and Mexico respectively, and a defeat to Nigeria.[16]

Penalty situation against Norway

On 9 April 2015, Williamson scored a penalty for her team in a qualifying match against Norway for the 2015 UEFA under-19 championship, which was ordered to be retaken five days after the original contest. In an unprecedented decision,[17] UEFA had ordered the match to be restarted from the 96th minute.

Previously, on 4 April, Williamson's successful penalty for England was disallowed for player encroachment (by substitute Rosella Ayane, who had won the penalty and scored a goal in her brief cameo from the bench). The laws of the game state that in such a situation, the penalty should be retaken, but the German referee, Marija Kurtes instead awarded Norway a free kick. After protests from the England camp, the European governing body agreed that the match should be replayed from the time of the incident.[18]

The players returned to finish the last two minutes of their game after each had played what was scheduled to be their last qualifying matches for the tournament. With the scores standing at 2-1 to Norway, Williamson equalised and, in doing so, booked her team's place in the tournament finals.

Personal life

Williamson grew up in Milton Keynes and lived close to the city's stadium.[19] She comes from an Arsenal family and has been a 'Gooner' since birth.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 May 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Women's Cup FA WSL Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal Ladies 2014[21] FA WSL 1 131407110252
2015[22] FA WSL 1 702041—131
2016[23] FA WSL 1 401000—50
Total 2417011110433

    Honours

    Club

    Arsenal Ladies

    Individual

    External links

    References

    1. ↑ "TheFA.com - Leah Williamson". thefa.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
    2. 1 2 "Leah Williamson". arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
    3. ↑ "England - L. Williamson - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
    4. ↑ Moore, Isaac. "WCL: Arsenal Ladies 0-2 Birmingham". Arsenal.com. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
    5. ↑ "Notts County vs. Arsenal - 16 April 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
    6. ↑ "Kelly Smith stars as Arsenal retain The FA Women's Cup". thefa.com. The Football Association. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
    7. ↑ "Continental Cup: Millwall 0-4 Arsenal". arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
    8. ↑ "Arsenal vs. Chelsea - 4 September 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
    9. ↑ "LEAH WILLIAMSON- RISING STAR". fawsl.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
    10. ↑ "Wayne Rooney scoops England Player of the Year award". thefa.com. The FA. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
    11. ↑ "LEAH WILLIAMSON SIGNED FIRST CONTRACT". arsenalladies.com. Arsenal Ladies. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
    12. ↑ "PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year: Leah Williamson - News - The PFA". thepfa.com. Professional Footballers' Association. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
    13. ↑ "Arsenal Ladies v Watford". Retrieved 30 July 2015.
    14. ↑ "Italy edge England". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    15. ↑ "Vergani: Italy success never in doubt". uefa.com. UEFA. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    16. ↑ "Groups". fifa.com. FIFA. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
    17. ↑ "England women: Leah Williamson penalty books Euro spot". BBC.
    18. ↑ "Watch Leah Williamson score penalty for England Women's Under-19s - ending spot kick drama". Daily Mirror.
    19. ↑ "Williamson set to be a superstar". BT Sport. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
    20. ↑ "Leah Williamson handling expectation as Arsenal Ladies bid to end four-year title wait". Evening Standard. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
    21. ↑ "Stats - Ladies - Teams - Arsenal.com". www.arsenal.com. Arsenal Media. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
    22. ↑ "Stats - Ladies - Teams - Arsenal.com". www.arsenal.com. Arsenal Media. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
    23. ↑ "Stats - Ladies - Teams - Arsenal.com". www.arsenal.com. Arsenal Media. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
    24. ↑ "Lifetime Award for Clarke". TheFA.com. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
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