In early November, the Eagles suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth at Westleigh Park to sit just one point above the relegation zone, having picked up just one win in their first eight matches of the campaign.
It was to prove a false start, however, as Weerden and her teammates recovered to win an incredible 12 of their 14 subsequent games, sealing second place and moving into the top two – and automatic promotion spots – for the first time on the season’s final day.
Along the way, Weerden recorded an incredible 10 assists – the WSL2 record total, and the first player ever to reach double figures in that statistic – with her last coming for Kirsty Howat in today’s 6-1 win.
“I'm so excited, I'm so happy,” Weerden beamed at full-time. “I think we deserved it. We played so well for the second half of the season.
“We knew what was at stake today and I think we delivered. I'm really happy.
“We have such a good team with such good players. Individually, and as a team, we know we can do so much better than we showed in the first half of the season.