Liverpool defender and Women's Super League (WSL) record appearance maker Gilly Flaherty has announced her retirement from playing at the age of 31 for family reasons.
Flaherty made 177 WSL appearances with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool, whom she joined last July.
She brings down the curtain on a career that saw her win four WSL titles, seven Women's FA Cups and the Women's Champions League in 2007.
London-born Flaherty, who also won nine caps for England, took the decision to hang up her boots following the recent death of her father.
"It isn't a decision I've taken lightly but one I've reached after speaking with those closest to me," she said in a statement published on Liverpool's official website on Thursday.
"Losing my dad just before Christmas has left me heartbroken – for 22 years we shared our love of football and playing-wise I don't want to carry on without him by my side.
"Playing-wise, I know the right decision is for me to call it a day. The time is right for me to be around my family and to be nearest to those closest to me."
Former West Ham captain Flaherty's final WSL appearance came against the Hammers in a 2-0 win for Liverpool last month.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) released a statement on Saturday congratulating Khadija Shaw on her stellar year for Manchester City in the FA Women’s Super League (WSL) season.
Shaw scored 15 goals for City in the calendar year and is currently joint top of the goal-scoring charts for the 2022-23 season with eight.
“The JFF heartily congratulates national captain Khadija Shaw for ending the calendar year 2022 as the second highest scorer in the Barclays Women's Premier League with 15 goals. You are indeed fabulous! Our hope is that you will remain healthy and be even more lethal in the new year. We wish you all the success in your endeavors in 2023!”
Shaw’s season will resume on January 15 when Manchester City takes on West Ham United.
England's Euro 2022-winning striker Ellen White has revealed she is expecting her first child.
White retired from football on a high note in August after featuring for the first England women's team to lift a major trophy during this year's home European Championships.
White scored 52 goals in 113 international caps, a record for a Lionesses player and a tally only bettered by Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane (both 53) across England's men's and women's teams.
On Wednesday, the former Manchester City striker posted an image of herself and husband Callum Convery on Twitter alongside the caption "Mum and Dad", revealing their child is due next April.
With eight goals in seven matches so far this season Khadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw is the 2022/2023 Women’s Super League leading scorer. She is tied with Aston Villa striker Rachel Daley, who also has a similar shot to goal conversion rate of 30 per cent with the Jamaican.
What is impressive is that Shaw’s eight goals is one less than the nine she scored in all of last season, her first in the WSL after she transferred from Bordeaux in the French league where her 22 goals in her final season won her the Golden Boot. Those eight goals have lifted Manchester City Women to fourth with 15 points from seven games, after losing their first two matches of the season.
So what has made the difference this season that has seen the Jamaican regain the form that has defined her international and club careers to date?
The 25-year-old Shaw has scored 56 goals in just 38 matches for Jamaica, which makes the Jamaica's most prolific striker, male or female. In college, she scored 27 goals in 35 matches for the Tennessee Volunteers while At Bordeaux, she scored 32 times in 35 appearances for the club over two seasons.
She explained that her dip in form last season was caused by her adjusting to a new style of play.
“I have always been consistent,” she said. “In the beginning, City plays a certain way; they have a structure, a culture and the style of play in France was completely different from what I was used to so when I went to City it was like an eye-opener.”
She said the way City wanted to play was difficult for her to adjust to because even as Gareth Taylor is the head coach, Pep Guardiola’s philosophy is what holds sway.
“Pep plays a massive role in the club and to adjust to the way they wanted to play was very difficult and I was playing for minutes as well,” she explained, having to temporarily play second fiddle to Ellen White, who has since retired.
“After the first year, I looked back and reflected to see where I can get better, how I could improve. I watched a lot of film and when I came in (back from the off-season) I spoke with my video analysis guy and we spent a lot of time together so as the games go on I have tried to improve upon the areas in which I was lacking last season.”
Shaw will have a chance to improve her goal tally when Manchester City Women take on Brighton Hove Albion on Sunday, December 4.
Brighton lie ninth in the WSL with seven points from their seven games to date. They have conceded 26 goals in those seven games, the most by any team in the league this season. They seem ripe for the picking for the goal-hungry Jamaican.
Reggae Girls striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw scored her eighth goal in seven games in the 2022-23 FA Women’s Super League to help Manchester City beat Everton 2-1 at Walton Hall Park in Liverpool on Saturday.
City took the lead in the 32nd minute through Julie Blakstad before the hosts equalized in the 40th minute through Rikke Sevecke.
Shaw then extended her lead atop the goal-scoring charts this season to three with a match-winning strike in the 49th minute.
City remain fourth in the WSL table with 15 points from seven games.
Khadijah Shaw has expressed her delight at winning the Women’s Super League Player of the Month Award for the very first time.
The 24-year-old Manchester City and Jamaica striker was named Barclays WSL player for October after leading her team to victories over Leicester City, Tottenham and Liverpool, scoring five goals in those three matches.
Shaw’s seven goals this season make her the leading scorer in the WSL and has helped City climb to fourth in the league on 12 points after losing their first two games of the season.
“I am delighted to win this award for the first time. It has been a very successful month for us as a team and I am grateful to everyone who voted for me in a very talented shortlist of players,” said Shaw who played for Jamaica in their 1-0 win over Paraguay in an international friendly in Jamaica on Thursday.
“We are feeling so confident after these recent wins and I am enjoying my football right now personally, but the most important thing is results and helping the team to have as much success as possible.”
Shaw is in her second season with Manchester City after joining in 2021 from Bordeaux in France where she was the Golden Boot winner with 22 goals and seven assists.
Shaw will suit up for Jamaica again on Sunday when Jamaica plays Paraguay at the National Stadium in Kingston in the second of two international friendlies.
Reggae Girlz captain Bunny Shaw scored her seventh goal in six league matches this season as Manchester City ran out 3-0 winners against Reading in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.
Two own goals in the second half by Emma Munkandi in the 53rd and 60th minutes had City comfortably on their way to their fourth straight victory before Shaw buried a header in the 76th minute to seal all three points.
In the match played at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in Reading, Manchester City was wasteful in front of the goal. Shaw was guilty of a bad miss on the stroke of half-time when she headed a cross, miles over the Reading goal.
However, she made amends in the second half when she connected on a Mary Fowler cross to head past goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns.
In truth, City should have won by a more considerable margin, having taken control of the game from the opening whistle. The Citizens dominated possession with 77 per cent of the ball while unleashing 19 shots at goal, five of which were on target.
The win moves City up to fourth on 12 points, three behind Manchester United and six back of Chelsea, which has played a game more.
Arsenal leads the league with 18 points from six games this season following their 4-0 victory Leicester City.
Khadijah Shaw is on a hot streak, scoring once again Sunday in Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Women’s Super League in England.
The goal-hungry Reggae Girlz captain has now scored five goals in her last three matches having scored twice against in Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Leicester City on October 16 and then scored another brace in her side’s 3-0 win over Tottenham on October 22.
On Sunday, Shaw opened the scoring for the Citizens, who have temporarily moved up to fourth in the WSL standings after taking maximum points from the last three matches.
The opening goal came in the 21 minute when Lauren Hemp beating her marker at the edge of the box before threading a low pass through for Shaw, who slotted home into the bottom-right corner past goalkeeper Rachael Laws.
City’s lead would last all of 12 minutes when Liverpool’s Katie Stengel robbed Alex Greenwood of the ball deep inside the opponents half and found herself one-on-one with shot-stopper Ellie Roebuck. She tucked the ball away nearly to tie the score 1-1.
Shaw played a part in City’s winner after a searching run to the edge of the box after which she passes to Hayley Raso, whose shot in parried by Laws. However, Raso follows up the rebound and smashes the ball into the roof of the net to give her side another valuable three points.
City, who were winless after their first two games in the season, not have nine points from five games.
Reggae Girlz captain Kadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw scored a brace as Manchester City Women defeated Leicester City Women 4-0 at the Manchester City Academy Stadium on Sunday.
Shaw scored in the 24th and 79th minutes to lead City to their first win of the season.
Shaw opened the scoring for City who took a 1-0 into the interval.
Lauren Hemp made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute before Shaw put the game to bed.
Yui Hasegawa added a fourth two minutes from the end of regulation to give Manchester City Women their first three points of the season and up to eighth in the league.
Manchester City Women were dominant throughout the game taking 23 shots with eight on target.
Shaw now has three goals this season.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes is stepping away from day-to-day activity with the Women's Super League team after undergoing an emergency hysterectomy, she has announced.
The Blues boss has suffered with endometriosis and will take a recovery period as she looks to return to full health before resuming her Chelsea duties.
In a statement, Hayes said assistants Denise Reddy and Paul Green would take temporary charge.
Hayes said: "Last Tuesday I underwent an emergency hysterectomy following my ongoing battle with endometriosis. I'm now in recovery and will need time and patience to return to full health.
"We have built a tremendous team over many years, and we've adopted a very multi-disciplinary approach so that if situations like this arise, we are capable of being able to respond to the challenge
"We have full confidence in Paul, Denise and all of the staff. We also know the team are very special, and we have no doubt they'll do everything to maintain their high standards.
"To our fans, you've had to listen to me bellowing from the other side of the pitch every week, but now I want to hear you even louder because I'll be sitting at home watching the team on the television until my return.
"I know you'll respect that my health comes first and at this time I've got to prioritise what I need to do for me. I fully expect to make a full recovery and I look forward to seeing you in the foreseeable future."
Defending WSL champions Chelsea beat West Ham in their last game and sit fourth in the table in the early stages of the season. They face Everton this weekend before kicking off their Women's Champions League campaign against Paris Saint-Germain on October 20.
Hayes, 45, has been manager of Chelsea since August 2012, leading the team to five WSL titles in that time. She was winner of FIFA's The Best Women's Coach for 2021, receiving that award in January of this year.
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