Whitehouse saves four penalties as Charlton reach WSL and send Leicester down

Sophie Whitehouse etched her name into Charlton folklore as she saved four penalties in the shootout to win her side promotion to the Women’s Super League and relegated Leicester in the process.

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper’s heroics gave Charlton a 2-1 victory on penalties to settle the nerviest playoff tie you could imagine after a goalless 120 minutes. The result capped off a dismal season for Leicester, who have lost every match they have played in 2026, while for Charlton the joy was unbridled and it was a case of ‘second-time lucky’ after they had lost a decisive game on the regular season’s final day that had seen the miss out on automatic promotion.