BLACKBURN'S UNBEATEN RUN CONTINUES INTO NEW SEASON

Blackburn Rovers Open The New FA Women's Premier League Season With A Convincing 3-0 Home Win Over Newly Promoted Wolves.

Rovers won the Northern Division unbeaten last term and continued that run on Sunday. Their unbeaten league run is now at 25 games, a record stretching back to May 2016. They last lost in the league in a 4-0 away defeat to 2015/16 Northern Division champions Sporting Club Albion (now West Bromwich Albion). Perhaps more incredible is that Rovers have not lost a home league game in over two years. You have to go back to 19 April 2015 to find the last time fans witnessed a home defeat in the league. On that day, they were beaten 3-0 by Coventry - who now play in the Southern Division. Coventry finished that season as Northern Division runners-up, just one place above Blackburn. Since then, they've conceded just 17 goals in 23 home league games, keeping 12 clean sheets at home in the same period. Rovers have scored 65 goals in their 25 league game unbeaten run so far. 
So, the question is can Gemma Donnelly's side be the first team

to make two FA WPL National Championships? Donnelly has built a formidable squad with home soil clearly a source of confidence and inspiration. The only defeat at the Sir Tom Finney stadium was a cup exit as they were knocked out of the FA Cup in a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham there last season. They certainly seem more equipped than either Portsmouth who won the Southern Division in 2015 and lost the National Championship Play-Off to Sheffield FC, and West Brom who were Northern Division champs in 2016 and lost to Brighton in the Play-Off. Both of those sides have failed to challenge for their respective league titles again since winning. Pompey have finished fifth and eighth in the two seasons since winning the Southern Division title, and West Brom finished sixth last term. After winning the Southern Division title in 2015, Portsmouth began the following season with a five game winning streak, but defeat to Charlton started a decline in fortunes for the south coast club as a second successive defeat to eventual champions Brighton followed. They picked up three points against Plymouth (who were relegated that season), but failed to win another league game for five matches. West Brom began their Northern title defence with a 6-0 drubbing at newly promoted Middlesbrough - who went on to finish as runners-up behind the unbeaten Blackburn. West Brom were beaten in their first four league games of last season and failed to score in their first two. 
The fortunes of previous FA WPL National Championship runners-up suggest that Blackburn Rovers will endure mid-table mediocrity this term, but their own record of progression over the last three seasons points to a yet another title challenge. Can they crack it this time?