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England Women got their 2019 World Cup qualification campaign off to a rollicking start with a 6-0 drubbing of Russia at Tranmere's Prenton Park.

The first goal came after just 11 minutes when Nikita Parris rolled one home before rushing to celebrate with manager Mark Sampson, recently the subject of an FA investigation into discrimination and bullying within the England camp.

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The Netherlands Women won their first-ever major title after an entertaining 4-2 win against Denmark in front of a sold-out28,182 crowd in Enschede.

Denmark opened the scoring after just six minutes, with Nadia Nadim converting a penalty afterSanne Troelsgaard was fouled in the box.

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England's hopes of Euro 2017 glory came to a rather disappointing end in Enschede on Thursday evening, with Mark Sampson's side beaten 3-0 by the Netherlands.

Having beaten France in the last eight and with Germany out of the competition, England had a very good chance of going all the way this summer.

Lyon retained the Women's Champions League title on Thursday night, after a dramatic 7-6 penalty shootout win against PSG in Cardiff.

After a tense, goalless 120 minutes of action, it came to the dreaded penalty shootout to settle the game.

With bothPSG's Grace Geyoro and Lyon's Eugenie Le Sommer missing their spot-kicks, and the score at 6-6, it would come down to the goalkeepers to settle the tie.

In honour of it being International Women's Day, Pies have delved into the archive to bring you some fascinating photos of ladies' football in its infancy.

Let's dive in, shall we...

The British Ladies Football Club play their first ever match, 1895

A shot is attempted during the Theatrical Ladies football match at White Hart Lane, 1912

Girls from the Oxford Revue prepare for a charity football match, 1914.

Germany picked up the gold medal in the Maracana on Friday night after a hard-fought Olympic final 2-1 win against Sweden.

Dzsenifer Marozsanput the reigning European champions ahead via asuperb curling effort.

Marozsan con un golazo pone adelante a las germanas sobre Suecia.

AtWheatsheaf Park on Sunday, Arsenal Ladies secured a vital 2-1 win away to Chelsea in their WSL London derby. However, the Gunners got off to an awful start, with England full-back Alex Scott netting a howler of an own-goal.

Scott's 40-yard own-goal came after just eight minutes, with the defender's back pass eluding goalkeeperSari van Veenendaal and ending up in the back of the Arsenal net.

Lily Parr practises the javelin as part of her training with Preston Ladies FC, 1938

On this very day in April 1905, a true English footballing icon was born. We are of course talking about Lily Parr, oone of the first professional female footballers in the country.

Indeed, if theFA had been a more enlightened organisation in the 1920s, Parrwould have been regularly mentioned in the same breath as her legendary male contemporaries Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortenson,Tom Finney and the like.

Trailing 4-1 against local rivals Pine Crest with the game in its final throes and almost nothing on the line, Cassie Sturtz, the goalkeeper for the Florida-based Pine Forest girl's high school team picked her moment to write her name into the annals of horror tackle history.

With a Pine Crest forward baring down on her goal unencumbered, Sturtz came rampagingout of her area and proceeded to nearlybrain her opponent with a neck-high, flying spear takedownfor the ages.

The new season of the Women's Super League kicks off on Wednesdayevening, with the competition ready to build on a superb 2015 which saw England's third-place finish at the World Cup give the game a massive boost.

One of the stars of that successful campaign in Canada last summer, Steph Houghton, wore a microphone for the entirety ofManchester City's pre-season friendly with Swedish side Pitea IF last month.

Trinidad & Tobago Women just about rallied to beat Guatemala in their CONCACAF Olympic qualifier on Thursday night, but they were forced to battle back after going behind early.

With 18 minutes on the clock, Trinidad & Tobago conceded a strange penalty when defender Karyn Forbes assumed the ball had trickled out of play and picked it up.

England World Cup star Laura Bassett saw red as Arsenal ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in the 2015 Continental Cup final at Rotherham's New York Stadium.

Notts County started well and went close a number of times in the first period, with Bassett, Jess Clarke and Rachel Williams all going close.

We're dipping into the recentDamallsvenskan (the top flight of Swedish women's football) fixturebetweenÖrebro and Hammarby here, with a seemingly innocuous ball being played back to the Hammarby goalkeeper less than three minutes into the game.

However, the 'keeper's clearance was shut downby anÖrebro forward, which sentthe loose ball bobbling softly across the six-yard box.

Toni Duggan has become the first ever female recipient of Manchester City's 'Goal of the Season' award in recognition of the cracking volley she scored against Chelsea in the WSL last season.

As part of the glitzy City Live 2015/16 Season Launch Party event (yep) that saw Sergio Aguero crowned Player of the Year on Wednesday evening, Duggan pipped Samir Nasri to the goal trinket courtesy of this little beauty.

Chelsea Ladies secured their first-ever major trophy after beating Notts County 1-0 at Wembley. The Women's FA Cup final was played in front of a record 30,710 crowd with World Cup stars Eni Aluko, Katie Chapman, Claire Rafferty and Laura Bassett, amongst others, on show.

By Alan Duffy

Two Premier League stars have made it onto the UEFA shortlist for their 2014/15 Goal of the Season. Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey gets the nod for his cracking long-range volley against Galatasaray in the Champions League while Spurs schemer Erik Lamela's fabulous 'rabona' againstAsteras Tripolis in the Europa League is also included.

By Alan Duffy

Fresh fromthe heady heights achieved at the 2015 Women's World Cup, it was back to business for England's bronze medal-winning players at the weekend, with record crowds turning out to watch the WSL.

At Borehamwood, current title-holders Liverpool beat Arsenal 3-1, with England star Fara Williams netting this long-range beauty.

By Alan Duffy

An amazing 13-minute hat-trick from Carli Lloyd fired the USA to a deserved 5-2 win against Japan in the Women's World Cup final.

The game was only three minutes old when the unmarked US captain fired home from a superbly worked corner from Megan Rapinoe.

By Alan Duffy

England secured a historic third-place finish after narrowly beating Germany on Saturday night, courtesy of yet another Fara Williams spot-kick.

Tinkerman Mark Sampson started with three centre-backs for the game, with Jo Potter dropping in alongside Steph Houghton and Laura Bassett.

By Alan Duffy

England suffered semi-final heartbreak late in the early hours of Thursday after losing 2-1 to Japan, courtesy of a last-minute freak own-goal.

Mark Sampson's side started brightly, with Jodie Taylor going close early on.

Photo: Nike Football

For the first time in 46 years, one of the latest incarnations of the Netherlands' famous orange kit will carry a different crest.

Nike have revealed that the new Dutch women's national team kit will swap out the prancing lion that features on the royal crest in favour of an altogether more fitting lioness design.

The Sweden women's national team have decided to drop their names in favour of plastering inspirational messages across their shoulders.

The shirts are being produced for the upcoming Algarve Cup, with each player selecting their own quote of choice from fellowprominent Swedish women.

Team captain Lotta Schelin has opted for a quote pinched from the Twitter feed of politician Gudrun Schyman that reads, "Never look down on someone unless it is to help her up".

Kelly Smith MBE, Britain's first professional female footballer, has announced her retirement from the sport today at the age of 38.

After signing her first pro-terms contract with New Jersey Lady Stallions in 1999, Smith went on to make her name with three stints at Arsenal Ladies, for whom she bows out as all-time record goalscorer.

It was supposed to be his night off, but Premier League referee Michael Oliver found himself plucked from the crowd and forced to work overtime during last night's Women's Super League game between Arsenal and Reading.

As the game neared half-time, one of the lineswomen on duty at Meadow Park pulled up injured and was unable to continue.

By Alan Duffy

Fresh from helping the USA to WWC glory in Canada, striker Alex Morgan now finds herselfalongside Lionel Messi on the cover of the US version of FIFA 2016 after winning a fans' vote (the same vote which put Liverpool'sJordan Henderson on the UK cover).

While some fans are disappointed that WWC final hat-trick hero Carli Lloyd won't be gracingthe cover, the decision to include women's teams in the actual game-play (as well as on the cover) is a big step in the right direction for the EA Sports franchise.

By Alan Duffy

Women's football certainly seems to be the place for long-range wonder-strikes these days. Coming not long after Carli Lloyd's superb WWC final goal for the USA against Japan, England U19 star Natasha Flint bagged a long-range cracker of her own at the weekend.

By Alan Duffy

Fresh from battering Japan in the final of the 2015 Women's World Cup, the triumphant USA squad were rewarded with an incredible ticker-tape parade in New York. The UNSWNT became the first female sports teamto ever garner such a parade in NYCafter bagging their third world title.

By Alan Duffy

England made more history in the 2015 Women's World Cup on Saturday night, making it into the semi-finals for the first time ever after a 2-1 win against hosts Canada.

Canada made a strong start, withMelissa Tancredifailing to most of a great early chance.

Photo: @Lewes_CFC/Twitter

Non-League side Lewes FC have become the first football club in the world to offer equal pay to their men's and women's teams.

Lewes' men's side currently play in the Isthmian League Division One South, the eighth tier of the men's pyramid, while the ladies compete in the Premier League Southern Division, which is the third tier of the women's game.

Man City Women striker Toni Duggan has joined Barcelona in a two-year deal.

The England forward's contract with City was set to end in November and now she is off to Spain, becoming only the second English player of either gender to join the Catalan giants, after Gary Lineker.

Duggan has been key to City's success in recent seasons, with her goals helping them lift the WSL title for the first time in 2016 and win the Women's FA Cup this year.

West Ham have been accused of flouting the FA's rules on gender discrimination... by the chairman of West Ham ladies' team.

Indeed, team chairman Stephen Hunt has lodged a formal complaint with the FA afterwrangling with the club for months over funding and facilities to no avail.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Hunt argued that the Hammers deserve to be fined for not "acting like a 21st century club" before going on to catalogue the farcical conditionsthat the ladies' side are currently operating under.

While Pep Guardiola's Man City men already look favourites to win the 2016/17 Premier League title, the club's women's team sealed their first-ever WSL title after beating Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday.

An own-goal from Chelsea captain Katie Chapmanfollowed by aToni Duggan penalty secured the Citizens' their 12th win in 15 games this season and thus sealed their place at the top of the WSL table, an unassailable 10 points clear of the Blues.

"SORRY GUYS!"

Though England Women did go on to fight their way back to a 1-1 draw against Belgium in Friday night's Euro 2017 qualifier, the opening goal of the game was nothing short of calamitous.

Unfortunately, England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley was to blame as her prolonged hesitation and subsequent botched clearance on the edge of the box allowed Belgian forwardJanice Cayman in to roll the ball into a completely vacant net.