Ahead of final match of the season against Leicester City, manager Matt Beard was confronted with a dilemma. With long-time No. 1 Rachael Laws already sidelined with a broken finger, the news that fellow goalkeeper Teagan Micah had also picked up an injury left the Reds facing a race against time to find someone who could deputise between the sticks for their trip to the King Power Stadium.
Then, after Beard had spent the week searching for another shot-stopper who could be drafted in on an emergency loan, Laws did something quite remarkable. Aware that Liverpool needed a result on the final day to guarantee a top-four finish, the 33-year-old volunteered to battle through the pain barrier in order to help her team get over the line. After some deliberation, it was decided Laws could play with a pain-killing injection and so, with her numbed finger in a brace, she took to the pitch against the Foxes.
Fast forward 90 minutes and Liverpool had won the game by four goals to nil, having kept their third clean sheet in the space of four games. Laws' small act of heroism had contributed to a priceless victory; her sacrifice in many ways epitomising the Reds' collective tenacity over the course of this glorious, odds-defying season. The win saw Liverpool finish the campaign in fourth place, six points clear of Manchester United in fifth.
That Marc Skinner's side had ended last term 33 points better off than their Merseyside rivals Though there is no tangible reward four finishing fou.