Bonner: Team spirit was the key to title
Liverpool Ladies captain Gemma Bonner hailed the team spirit and character of the squad after she lifted a second successive Women's Super League title on one of the most dramatic days ever seen in women's football on Sunday.
Heading into the game with Bristol Academy in third place in the table, Matt Beard's side knew only a win and results from elsewhere in the division going in their favour would clinch the championship.
Remarkably, with Birmingham City only managing a draw against Notts County and Chelsea Ladies losing at Manchester City, Liverpool's 3-0 victory meant the coveted WSL crown remained on Merseyside.
In the aftermath, Bonner told Liverpoolfc.com: "It means everything. We have put a lot of hard work into it and the season has been a bit up and down for us, but it's fantastic to finish it like this.
"As captain I am massively proud of all the players and all of the staff. We have been through a lot this season but I am so proud of everyone and it shows you we have got a lot of winners out there.
"Both titles are pretty special but with this one, a lot of the odds have been against us this year. A lot of people had written us off but the character of this team is something I haven't experienced anywhere else and we deserved that today."
Reflecting on the unique final day scenario and entering the contest as underdogs, Bonner admitted it actually became a good thing as it meant the pressure was on Chelsea and Birmingham.
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She added: "The most important thing for us was there was no pressure on us because it was out of our hands. We knew if we got a result we would give ourselves a chance. We had to concentrate on ourselves and put in a big performance and we managed to do that.
"Seeing the scores in our favour at half-time gave us an added incentive but it didn't change what we needed to do. We knew we needed to win the game regardless. We changed our formation and that's credit to the manager and the backroom staff and the players for executing the gameplan like we did."
After winning their game, Bonner and co faced an anxious wait on the pitch with their rivals still playing. Soon, a massive roar from the crowd at the Select Security Stadium in Widnes confirmed that it was time to celebrate.
The Ladies now head to Sweden for their Champions League second leg at Linkopings FC, protecting a 2-1 lead, and the No.5 believes winning the title can help them reach the next round.
"It was horrible waiting but it was an unbelievable feeling to win the league again," the skipper said. "It has given us a massive lift. We can take confidence from this and take it into Thursday for what is a massive game and hopefully we can finish off the job."