This season’s SSE Women’s FA Cup has been something of a cathartic experience for Notts County striker Ellen White.
After signing for the Lady Pies at the beginning of last season, the 26-year-old suffered a knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Durham which would keep her out for 11 months.
White finally made her County debut, and scored, in the 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup in March – and she has not looked back. She has scored in every round of the competition so far and helped England win a bronze medal in the World Cup.
Chelsea v Notts County
The SSE Women's FA Cup Final
3pm, Saturday 1 August
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Tickets priced £15 adults, £5 concessions
White had earmarked the Cup tie against Spurs as her ideal comeback date and her first match for County could not have gone much better.
And ahead of Saturday’s Final against Chelsea at Wembley she said: "The FA Cup has been really good to me this year.
"After being out for so long, I was ridiculously nervous before the Tottenham game, but absolutely buzzing to start. I just felt really happy to be back playing.
"We got a bit of a talking to at half time and that riled me up. I managed to score in the second half and I went absolutely crazy. It was a mixture of that rollicking by Rick [Passmoor] and the frustration of being out for the best part of a year.
"To reach a Cup Final was one of our main goals this season. We have had a good run, beating Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton and now we are ready for another massive game."
White won this competition twice with Arsenal, in 2011 and 2013, but she knows how special it would be to lift the Cup at Wembley Stadium. She missed out on England’s match against Germany in November last year and is relishing the chance to play under the famous arch.
White celebrates Notts County's semi-final win over Everton
"As an English player it is a dream to play at Wembley. It’s the home of English football. Playing a Cup Final at Wembley has to be near the pinnacle of your career," she added.
"Wembley was a huge incentive for us to get through the semi-final."
So there will be a new name on the Cup this weekend and White is looking forward to taking on Emma Hayes’s high-flying side.
She said: "You want to play the best teams. Chelsea are flying at the minute, playing well and scoring goals. It is going to be a really difficult game, but an FA Cup Final is a one-off so anything can happen.
"We need to be wary of the players they have got, but we have got a lot of quality ourselves. We are going to fight all the way and put in a big performance.
"We lost to them earlier in the season, but we’ve improved an awful lot since then. I think it will be a really good game and another great advert for women’s football."
