A crowd of 829 attended Manchester City Women’s WSL game away against Arsenal on this day (18 May) in 2014. This was a historic day as City not only scored their first goal in the WSL but they also defeated Arsenal. The historic goal was scored by Toni Duggan in the 11th minute and the match ended 1-0. The photo is of Duggan (far right) with Neil Mather (the original manager of Manchester City’s women’s team when founded in 1988) and Debbie Darbyshire (who played in the club’s historic first game back in 1988).
If you’re interested in the history of women’s football then you may be interested in my Authorised History of the Manchester Corinthians. You can get your name in the second edition if you subscribe to it here. All subscribers will get a copy of the second edition book (posted out before it appears in the shops) and your name will be included in a special roll of honour published within the book if ordered before publication:
UK ONLY – Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History (second edition)
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is UK only at £19.95 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs. This revised and updated second edition will be a paperback edition and contain more pages than the first edition.
£19.95
Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate to ensure it’s published to the size and standard the women who played deserve exist. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities.
This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and will consist of over 360 pages. It will be fully illustrated throughout and subscribers can order it now for £19.95 (including UK postage and packaging). All orders received before publication will have the purchaser’s name included within the special roll of honour at the back of the book. You can order the book for someone else – all details will be checked and confirmed before publication.
The book will be published this October (2026).
If you live outside the UK then please contact for details of additional postage costs.
You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button above and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
Gary James' Football Archive 