BASILDON born Casey Stoney heaped praise on her Arsenal team-mates after they saw off Chelsea 1-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley this afternoon.

Stoney – a former Runwell Primary School pupil - impressed at the heart of the defence to ensure the Gunners secured a clean sheet.

And the 34-year-old was delighted to pull off what she felt was an unexpected success.

“Chelsea were favourites but we knew if we worked harder than them we would have a chance and that’s what we did,” said Stoney.

“It was a whole squad effort and I’m so happy for every member of the team because we all gave our all.”

The victory saw Arsenal win the Women’s FA Cup for the 14th time and came after Danielle Carter bagged the only goal of the game.

The final was played in front of a competition record crowd of 32, 912.