Arsenal Women played away to Reading last night, putting on a display that will warm Gooners hearts for quite some time to come. Our Gunners romped to a 6-0 victory with a hat-trick from Stina Blackstenius and goals from Caitlin Foord, Beth Mead & Laia Codina. Arsenal topped Group D in the Women’s Conti Cup group stages, securing their place in the Quarter-Finals of the competition.
The occasion also marked the return of Leah Williamson, after she had spent 9 months on the sidelines rehabilitating from a devastating ACL injury.
“It was the perfect scenario,” said Williamson, after the full-time whistle. “I’ve worked hard. I’ve kept my head down for a moment like today. I sat on the bench with my teammates who couldn’t have been more supportive and then returned to the pitch. The girls gave me a good reception and so did the fans, so it was lovely.”
Arsenal Women captain Kim Little also made her return from injury last night, celebrating 300 appearances for the club. Little was full of praise for Williamson, saying after the match:
“I couldn’t be prouder of this one. She’s worked extremely hard – you’ve probably all seen that – and then she comes back in like she’s never been away. I can’t wait to get back on the pitch with [Leah] more often.”
The boss, Jonas Eidevall, is equally happy to see Leah return to the pitch for our Gunners. Speaking after the Reading match he was full of praise:
“She works incredibly hard. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t had an ACL injury can understand all the work that goes in behind that to be able to return, so I’m really happy for her as an individual and really happy for the team to get such a great player back. It was great to see both her and Kim Little able to return to play today.”
Welcome back Leah! How excited are you Gooners?
Michelle Maxwell
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Full throttle, the girls are raising cane