Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, which was so for Jonas Eidevall and his Arsenal side last night as they lost their chance to feature in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.
After setting up a clash with Paris FC with a 3-0 win over Linkoping last Wednesday, Arsenal were hoping to beat the French side and move to the second round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers. Unfortunately, they didn’t, losing 4-2 to them in the penalties after the game ended 3-3.
Arsenal kept fighting back against Paris FC, resulting in a 2-2 deadlock in regular time, followed by both teams netting again in extra time. In the first half, Arsenal crafted a couple of promising opportunities. Frida Maanum tested Paris FC’s goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, while Lotte Wubben-Moy’s header struck the post. On the flip side, Julie Dufour’s attempt was thwarted by Arsenal’s goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.
Maanum nearly found the mark for Arsenal early in the second half, but her shot veered wide. The Gunners paid the price when Paris FC’s Mathilde Bourdieu seized the lead shortly after, scoring once more in quick succession, placing Arsenal’s European aspirations in jeopardy. Yet, the Gunners rallied, and Alessia Russo narrowed the deficit, finding the net despite Nnadozie’s resolute defense.
Although Arsenal seemed on the brink of elimination, substitute Jen Beattie executed a characteristic header, from a pinpoint cross from Katie McCabe, and forcing extra time. In the added half-hour, Louise Fleury propelled Paris FC into the lead once more, only for Russo to restore parity at 3-3 with a thunderous strike from beyond the box.
But then came the ominous penalties, with scoring going neck and neck until the disppointing Maanum, who missed a few good chances during the game, had her weak attempt saved in the bottom corner. Russo then missed the next one to seal Arsenal’s fate.
That was disappointing, considering that last season the Gooner Women reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Wolfsburg knocked them out. Many were hoping they could also pull off such a brilliant run and, this time around, win it, but that will not be the case.
The Arsenal manager, Jonas Eidevall, after his side crashed out of the European competition, acknowledged the loss hurt them. Still, he admitted he will be keen on helping his players shake this disappointment and probably focus on getting back to their best for the new WSL campaign. He, as per Tim Stillman’s Arseblog, said; “Of course it hurts because we had such a good experience in Europe last season and we wanted to build on that. We knew from the beginning this mini tournament was going to be really tough, for a number of reasons. One is that Paris is a really good team, another part is the really limited preparation time and playing on a 3G pitch that we are not really used to. So we knew there were external factors that were going to make this complicated and you only get one shot.
“When I look at the performance, I think there are good things and bad things. In general, we created enough chances to win the game if we look at it objectively, but we put ourselves in a really difficult situation conceding a goal and directly after that, being wasteful in our possession and giving them their second goal. From there the players showed great determination, great heart and great belief. We changed the formation and got the output we wanted from that.
“I am really proud of the players that we could come back twice in the game. Then it comes to the penalty shootout and it’s small margins and it hurts a lot when you’re on the wrong side of it. My feeling there is to take care of the players who are working so hard for us and putting themselves in brave positions taking penalties for us but of course we were not successful there today.”
It was heartbreaking to watch our Women lose in such a painful manner, but with Champions League football out of the way, Arsenal will hopefully now be able to put all their energy into winning the WSL. It is about time they ended their 5-year league title drought. Their first game will be against Liverpool, which will be played on October 1st at the Emirates. It can only be good for our title chances that Eidevall has already had a couple of games with his new signings involved and they will also have improved their fitness before the season proper begins.
Michelle Maxwell
Follow JustArsenal’s Gooner Women on Just Gooner Women on Twitter for regular updates on the Arsenal Womens Team!
Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women’s Team? Click here….
