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Arsenal Ladies beat Chelsea to lift the FA Women's Cup

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 14:  Captain Alex Scott of Arsenal lifts the trophy with team mates as they celebrate victory after the SSE Women's FA Cup Fin
Image: Arsenal players celebrate winning the FA Cup

Arsenal Ladies won the FA Women's Cup for a record 14th time on Saturday after beating Chelsea Ladies 1-0 at Wembley.

A superb first-half strike from Gunners forward Danielle Carter was enough to separate the two sides in front of a record crowd of 32,912 at England's national stadium.

Remarkably, this weekend's final between Arsenal and defending champions Chelsea was the first ever meeting between the two clubs in a major final.  

<<enter caption here>> at Wembley Stadium on May 14, 2016 in London, England.
Image: Arsenal players celebrate their opening goal against Chelsea

And it was Pedro Martínez Losa's side that started stronger of the two teams, going close inside the opening minutes when Carter curled a shot just over the bar.

England international Fara Williams then struck a free-kick well over as the Gunners continued to dominate possession in the game's early stages.

Chelsea had struggled to mount a serious attack inside the opening quarter of an hour and fell behind to a superb individual effort from Carter.

After receiving the ball on the left hand side of the box, the young striker beat defender Hannah Blundell before curling a well-placed finish past Blues goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 14:  Kelly Smith of Arsenal stretches to tackle Hannah Blundell of Chelsea during the SSE Women's FA Cup Final between Arsenal
Image: Kelly Smith tackles Hannah Blundell at Wembley

Chelsea sparked into action following the goal and went close to an equaliser through Fran Kirby, who saw a shot well saved by Arsenal keeper Sari van Veenendaal.

Asisat Oshoala then missed a golden opportunity to double Arsenal's lead when she scuffed an effort when clean through on goal.

The Gunners continued create the better chances after the break and went close to a second when Vicky Losada struck the crossbar with a header.

As the match reached its final quarter, Chelsea continued to push for an equaliser and almost got it when Ji So-Yun fired a shot narrowly wide of the post.

However, the Gunners were able to defend their one goal lead until the final whistle to continue their dominance of the FA Cup.