Celebrations and tributes to a great achievement
Their celebrations showed exactly what it meant for AFC Wimbledon Ladies to clinch the title on Sunday, but manager Chris Lyons said it wouldn’t have happened without the work of people behind the scenes.
to view it.Dons GloryA 10-0 victory against Carshalton Athletic won the London & South East Regional Women’s Premier Division in style at Sutton United. A video of the celebrations afterwards and a post-match interview with Chris Lyons by WDON’s Geoff Hawley is now on our official You Tube Channel. Click on
Manager Chris Lyons took over the reins in 2014 with Dons Ladies having finished bottom of the table, but two seasons later he has guided the club to promotion to the Women's Premier League South East Division One.
“We have finally done it,” said Chris. “It has been two years of hard work and trying to build towards us being a Premier League team. We outclassed the opposition and we have dominated a lot of games this season. I think we have a team capable of playing at the next level.
“Everybody at the club has worked extremely hard to make sure the infrastructure was ready. All the club committee deserve credit, including Dennis and Vicki Lowndes, John Ivers, Tony Edgcombe and Mike Richardson.
“We still have a cup final against Crystal Palace to come and we will be building towards that as well as looking towards next season.”
supporting the ladies section. Chris and his assistant Dave Ward were invited to the training ground on occasions during the past two years to pick-up tips from a professional set-up. Chris Lyons wished to thank Neal Ardley, Under-18s manager Mark Robinson, and the whole club for
Neal Ardley, who watched the ladies seal title success on Sunday, said: “The opposition could not cope with them and they scored some really good goals. ‘Coxy’ and me went in to speak to them before the game and there was a great atmosphere – they were very relaxed and looking forward to the game. They went on and played some really great stuff.
“To win a league is tough, but to do it at the end of February and be unbeaten too is a great achievement. We are really proud of them and we wish them good luck moving forward into a tough league.”
Emma Keady led the charge on Sunday with five goals, Rebecca Sargent netting four, and Linsey Clarke was also on target.
AFC Wimbledon Ladies: Shanell Salgado, Linsey Clarke, Alysha Clements, Zoe Clifford, Sian Houghton-North, Emma Keady, Laura Low, Becky Mclaren, Rebecca Sargent, Libby Suchley, Sian Wylie. Subs: Caz Bisson, Clare Hedley-Smith, Kelly Jade-Whelan.