Women's football: Glasgow City 2-4 Arsenal
Eddie Wolecki Black said changes were the difference as Glasgow City frightened the life out of Champions League quarter-finalists Arsenal, writes Colette Carr.
It was the battle of the champions on Sunday, with Scotland and England's top sides going head-to-head at Petershill Park.
The Gunners had blasted 17 goals past Celtic and Rangers over the weekend, but goals from Joanne Love and Leanne Ross had City threatening to cause a major upset.
The game had barely begun before the ball found the back of the net through Love, before Ross' penalty threatened to spoil the London sides' weekend.
Arsenal bounced back to win 4-2, but City's manager said his side proved a strong point to their English counterparts.
Scotland teammates Rachel Corsie and Kim Little were on opposing sides on Sunday
He said: "I was really happy with the first half. We got round the ball very well and forced Arsenal to concede possession and I thought we were the better side.
"In the second there is no doubt we made a couple of errors which cost us. We made six changes in the match, whilst Arsenal only made one and that obviously had an affect on the balance of the match and to be honest was the deciding factor.
"But these games are friendlies and we have got our own agenda at this stage of the season, which is different than Arsenal who of course are due to play in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League very soon.”
With Glasgow kicking off and quickly passing the ball around midfield, the ball found Jane Ross on the right wing. Blazing down the line, Ross sent the ball goal-bound, but was unlucky in that it bounced off the crossbar. However, Joanne Love reacted quickly, tapping it in on the rebound.
Corsie helps Joanne Love celebrate after her opening goal
With both teams playing the passing game and releasing the ball quickly, it was clear that each side had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Jane Ross again found herself with a few opportunities, the best of which a strike from the edge of the box which inched just past the post.
With continuous pressurising from the hosts, City won a penalty after Steph Houghton handled in the area. Leanne Ross buried the resulting penalty, and by fifteen minutes, Glasgow had a two goal advantage.
Responding to this, the Gunners put their foot down and began to work the home side, with Arsenal’s first real chance coming from inside the box, as Jordan Nobbs hitting off the keeper to be ushered out of play by the City defence. Arsenal’s attempts on goal increased more and more as they spent longer periods in the City half, forcing great saves from keeper Lee Alexander. Breaking out, the hosts came up against a very calm Steph Houghton, looking a very composed holding midfielder.
Both teams restarted showing a bit of the hunger that became lost toward the end of the first period, and five minutes in the score had changed. Arsenal number 17 Katie Chapman finding goal with a left footed volley from outside the box.
Glasgow's Christie Murray almost restored City's two-goal cushion, forcing a full-length save from Irish keeper Emma Byrne.
On the hour mark, the Gunners were back level. The equaliser came from a free kick inside the D, a short pass to Houghton from Chapman allowed a low strike pass through the wall and nestle in the net.
City then made a couple changes, replacing Leanne Ross with Emma Mitchell and The Away End sponsored Rachel Corsie - who had made her return from injury replaced by Eilish McSorley.
The away side finally took the lead, when Scot Kim Little’s solo effort into the box, coupled with City’s poor defending, saw her bring keeper Alexander down, and skip round to chip the ball into the back of the net.
City had the chance to bring it back to level terms however, as a free kick given by the linesman for a handball was put over the bar by Emma Mitchell. Around five minutes from time, Chapman again found goal, her low strike just passing Alexander.
Despite losing a two goal advantage, City fared better against the professional side than Celtic and Rangers did in recent friendlies, and while Arsenal found themselves coming from behind at halftime, they played a clever passing game at times, and worked the City keeper and defence to the very end.
Glasgow City: Lee Alexander, Emma Fernon, Danica Dalziel, Rachel Corsie, Nicky Docherty, Leanne Crichton, Joanne Love, Jane Ross, Christie Murray, Lisa Evans.
Photographs by Gregor Aiken and Thomas Mackintosh
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