For Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp the term brought a swathe of goals, assists and a plethora of spectacular moments.
The City trio were trusted members of Gareth Taylor’s squad and would often provide moments of magic whether it be on the wing or leading the line.
In total, all three scored a combined 47 goals and registered 24 assists overall.
And they were crucial to our style of play - with City winning an impressive 12 out of 19 Barclays (and drawing two) Women’s Super League matches when playing together.
Read how the 2022/23 campaign proved to be one of strong achievement for our forwards, below.
LAUREN HEMP
The 2022/23 season represented Hemp’s fifth season at the Academy Stadium, and it was yet another year where the skilful winger established herself as one of the division’s finest assets.
Fresh from helping England win the 2022 Women’s European Championships last summer, the 22-year-old continued her consistent, strong form into the campaign.
Hemp completed 35 dribbles across her league outings (a success rate of 48.6%), while recording an impressive pass completion rate of 73.9% with 428 attempted passes finding a colleague in sky blue.
It was also a productive season in front of goal for the midfielder who scored 10 goals and registered 11 assists in all competitions.
In a year full of highlights, including scoring a brace against Bristol City in the Continental Cup, perhaps her standout display came in our final day victory over Everton at the Academy Stadium.
A constant thorn in the Toffees’ side throughout the 3-2 success – Hemp played a vital role in each of our goals by scoring either side of two respective assists to Bunny.
The Jamaican opened the scoring early in the second half when the England international received the ball in space on the left and played a delicate first-time pass to Bunny who fired into the bottom corner.
Hemp then turned from provider to scorer shortly after in spectacular fashion when she danced down the right wing, cut inside onto her left foot and unleashed a whipped effort into the top corner.
It was just rewards for her performance against the Merseysiders and she then teed up Bunny for our third of the afternoon.
CHLOE KELLY
“I believe she’s in better form now than what we saw in that first season”, were City boss Gareth Taylor’s words towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign on Kelly’s contribution to the campaign.
Having battled back from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury in May 2021, she not only made Sarina Weigman’s England squad for the 2022 European Champions, but scored the iconic winning goal in the final against Germany.
She then continued that fine form into the season, where she proved her fitness and her reputation as one of world football’s finest talents.
In all competitions, the electric winger scored six goals and registered a superb 14 assists in all competitions as we fought for a place in the UEFA Champions League.
Her dribble success rate in the WSL was at an impressive 57.4%, while she recorded a strong 77.7% pass completion rate in the division with 424 of her total passes finding teammates.
Kelly’s standout moment during the season arguably came in our 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Academy Stadium in February.
The England international was at her scintillating best against her former employers and assisted our opener when she droved to the touchline and delivered a pinpoint ball across the box for Lauren Hemp to tap home.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, the 25-year-old then doubled our lead when she ghosted into the box and fired home Bunny’s driven cross along the 18-yard-area.
KHADIJA ‘BUNNY’ SHAW
The 2022/23 campaign was truly magic for Bunny Shaw, who enjoyed a prolific term in Taylor’s side.
In total, the Jamaican finished the term with 31 goals in 30 games, meaning she struck at a rate higher than once per game.
This record shines even brighter when factoring in her nine assists in all competitions, handing her an incredible 40 goal involvements across the term.
Bunny netted 20 of those goals in the WSL, two in as many UEFA Women’s Champions League matches, two in two Continental Cup fixtures and a phenomenal seven in three FA Cup appearances.
In a campaign packed of sky-high events, we’ve selected the historic moment the Jamaican became the Club’s highest scoring Women’s player in a single season.
She broke the record held by Nikita Parris by scoring twice in a 2-1 victory over Brighton in March – taking her tally at the time to 26 goals in 22 games.
Shaw broke the deadlock in the first half when she combined expertly with Yui Hasegawa to find space in the box to fire home.
And, with the fixture looking likely to end in a draw after the Seagulls equalised, she ensured we claimed a vital three points when poking home on the cusp of full-time.
Bunny would go on to finish the season with 31 goals in all competitions, as previously stated.
Her immense season didn’t end there, as Bunny was named the 2022 Concacaf Player of the Year and our Player and Goal of the Year prizes before penning a new deal at the Club.
