Smith seals cup win on Arsenal farewell

England striker Kelly Smith ended her time at Arsenal LFC in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick in a 5-0 FA Women's Premier League Cup final defeat of Doncaster Rovers Belles LFC in Scunthorpe on Thursday night.

Farewells
Arsenal, ousted from this season's UEFA Women's Cup in the last eight, lifted the League Cup for the tenth time but were not the holders of the trophy after a rare loss to Everton LFC in the final 12 months ago. And it was a special night for Smith and club-mate Alex Scott, who aided the victory in their last match before joining Boston Breakers in the new professional American league, in which their ex-Arsenal colleague Karen Carney will play for the Chicago Red Stars.

Goals
Smith, a winner of the 2006/07 UEFA Women's Cup and three league titles in her second spell with Arsenal since 2005, struck on six minutes, turning in Kim Little's cross, and the same combination produced the second goal just past the half-hour. Doncaster had their moments but Smith effectively ended the tie on 58 minutes with a strong shot before setting up Scott to claim her own valedictory goal. A tearful Smith was then replaced by new Arsenal signing Suzanne Grant, who marked her debut with a last-minute strike.

'Extra special'
"I'm sad to be leaving but this was a fantastic way to end," said Smith. "We never get tired of winning trophies, and this one will definitely always be extra special for me." Reigning champions Arsenal are top of the FA Women's Premier League after 14 straight wins but Everton LFC also have a 100 per cent record from 12 fixtures. The pair meet in the FA Women's Cup semi-finals on 22 March a week before their first league meeting – with an eye to the inaugural UEFA Women's Champions League next season.