Women's FA Cup final: Arsenal beat Everton to retain trophy

Shelley Kerr's 16 months as Arsenal manager ended on a triumphant note as the Gunners eased to a 2-0 win against Everton in a one-sided FA Cup final.

Striker Kelly Smith scored an early opener before setting up Yukari Kinga to seal the victory on the hour mark.

Kerr resigned a week ago with her team bottom of the Women's Super League.

However, they looked anything but relegation candidates as they avenged their 2010 final defeat by the Toffees to lift the trophy for the 13th time.

Arsenal's success story

Arsenal Ladies are the most successful women's club in England and have now won 41 major trophies since they were formed in 1987. Their record reads:

1x Uefa Champions League

2x FA Super League

12x FA Premier League

13x FA Women's Cup

3x FA WSL Continental Cup

10x FA Women's Premier League Cup

Kerr quit last Sunday in response to the Gunners' poor start to the season - they have lost three of their opening four league games and are bottom of the table with a solitary point.

But she opted to stay on for this match at Stadium MK as Arsenal looked to add to a tally of 40 major trophies since they were formed 27 years ago.

They entered the match as favourites, in no small part because of their impressive record of 12 victories from their previous 13 appearances in this fixture.

And the Gunners, league title winners in nine of the past 10 seasons, began in suitably confident fashion in front of a crowd of just over 15,000 fans in Milton Keynes.

Everton - just a point and a place above Arsenal after a similarly sluggish start to the campaign - did have an early sight of goal through striker Nikita Parris, who shot over after just 25 seconds, but the Toffees were quickly having to defend as Arsenal started to dominate.READ MORE