Good morning, Arsenal Women aficionados!
Remember when I wrote about the new dawn for the Arsenal Women’s season? Well, the sun is finally out.
Katie McCabe and Alessia Russo late goals gave us a well-deserved win against Aston Villa and pushed away all the clouds that were casting shadows over the Emirates Stadium, on Sunday.
Not winning a game that we dominated thoroughly would have been a cruel blow, but the never-say-never attitude from the players and the crowd was rewarded, once again.
Leaving it late is a dangerous game to play, and some might say that Jonas Eidevall and his players have been lucky again, after snatching a point at Manchester United last week, but there is very little luck in the way we recovered from a losing position, both against the Red Devils and Aston Villa.
Yesterday, Villa found themselves ahead with the only dangerous situation they created and were the ones to be considered lucky, as several chances created by the hosts went to waste and many others were lacking a bit of calmness and clarity – not to mention the goal line clearance from Rachel Daly and the bar hit by Caitlin Foord in the second half.
We should have never been behind, but another lapse in concentration at the back costed us, which is something that Jonas Eidevall needs to clear out as quickly as possible. This time, Maz Pacheco was left unmarked in the box as none tracked her run, and the English defender could calmly slot the ball home from close range while our defenders stood still and watched her give Aston Villa an unexpected lead.
Her goal was the fourth we conceded in the opening three games of the campaign and another gift we gave to our opponents, after giving away two silly goals at Leigh Sports Village and allowing Liverpool to score without much pressure, on the opening day.
Our heart and belief will be assets to carry throughout the season, but we really need to stop shipping in easy goals, or all our efforts to recover and push for the title will be vain. Unless Jonas Eidevall finds a reliable setup off the ball and builds a solid backline, we will endure other difficult afternoons and we will have mountains to climb, some of which will prove too steep. Against Aston Villa, we dominated possession and created 20+ chances but we rarely troubles the goalkeeper, as only three efforts hit the target, two of them being the goals scored in stoppage time.
As much as we need to tighten up at the back, we also need to be sharper in the final third and less frantic in the box, showing more composure when applying the final touches. Yesterday, our players forced their shots when the box was crowded and put in too many hopeful crosses, rather than targeting the right areas, which resulted in very few chances to put Aston Villa under pressure.
The return of Beth Mead, who was accompanied by a huge roar when she stepped on the pitch, will be very important to bring more unpredictability to our attacking moves, as her directness and decision-making skills will make us more dangerous in the final third, and so will Vivianne Miedema’s intelligence and technical ability, when fit again.
I must admit that I enjoyed seeing our players find so much space on the flanks and creating overloads that Aston Villa could not cope with, but I also found it odd to see so many crosses, especially with Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig on the bench. Although Alessia Russo is a spirited fighter and is able to challenge aerial balls, the Swede duo would have been likelier to head those crosses in, so I wonder if the fact that we whipped in so many crosses was by design or by accident. Unfortunately, none of the reporters at Jonas Eidevall’s post-match press conference asked the question, so I guess we will never know.
Speaking of Jonas Eidevall, he decided to make five changes compared to the away game at Manchester United, the most obvious being reinstating Manuela Zinsberger between the posts after Sabrina D’Angelo’s horror show against Mark Sinner’s side. The other changes were Lotte Wubben-Moy for Laia Codina, Frida Maanum for Jen Beattie, Katie McCabe for Victoria Pelova and Caitlin Foord for Stina Blackstenius, and the former Rosengard head coach setup the team in the more familiar 4-3-3 shape, ditching the three at the back system we’ve seen against Manchester United and partially against Liverpool.
The team started on the front foot and pushed Liverpool back deep into their half but was unable to create clear-cut chances to make their attacking intent count, then was struck against the run of play, when Kim Little failed to let Manuela Zinsberger collect the ball in the box and, from the subsequent corner kick, Maz Pacheco was left unmarked in the box.
The hosts kept pushing and kept trying but were often rushing their shots and their decisions, making it relatively easy for Aston Villa to protect their precious and unexpected lead. As the minutes went by, the visitors sat deeper and deeper, but we were still unable to force our way back into the game, although the introduction of Victoria Pelova and then Stina Blackstenius made the team better in terms of pressing and aggression. The players kept trying but it took an impossible-looking shot from Katie McCabe, fed by Victoria Pelova, to get back on level terms, and make the Emirates Stadium erupt: the Republic of Ireland captain smashed the ball to the roof of the net from a very narrow angle, making the most of the ball that the Netherlands international won high on the pitch. Then, with four of the twelve minutes of stoppage time already gone, Beth Mead intelligently setup Alessia Russo at the edge of the box and the former Manchester United striker found the back of the net, with some welcome help from the goalkeeper – who should have done better to keep the ball away from the goal.
Taking into account how difficult we made it for ourselves, winning this game deep into injury time could be vital for the belief inside the dressing room and could help the players build that kind of confidence that they will need if they want to challenge for the title. We almost lost a must-win game and we were minutes away from suffering the second defeat in three league games, while now we are only three points off the top of the table, and we will play Manchester City right after the international break.
Before that, though, we have an away game at Bristol City, who are currently sitting at the bottom of the table with zero wins and a -9 goal difference after three games, so hopefully we will be able to make the late win against Aston Villa count and use the game to further build the momentum and belief within our ranks.
Bristol City lost comprehensively against Manchester City (0-5) last weekend and simply look unfit for the Women Super League after winning promotion ahead of Birmingham City, last season, so hopefully our players will make their superiority count at the Ashton Gate Stadium, on Sunday.
That’s all for today, we will speak against next week and see how the table looks like, once Leicester City and Manchester City faced each other, and how our team is progressing after such a difficult and disappointing start of the season. Last week it was a new dawn, yesterday we could see the sun creeping up after a cloudy afternoon so hopefully next Sunday will be a bright day.
Speak to you soon!
Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
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