Graphic: Michael Alesich

It was a mixed bag of heavy losses, strong contests and confident wins for our Australians and New Zealanders abroad in the FA WSL this weekend. Keep reading to see how they fared.

 

Match of the Round: Birmingham 1 – 2 West Ham

If you’re looking to see some Australians doing good things in a competitive match, you can’t go amiss with the Hammers’ first win of the season. The big moments were defined by headers – some confident, some chaotic and some accidental. 

Moving Emily Van Egmond away from defence and into attack is one of the many tweaks West Ham coach Matt Beard has made following teething issues for the squad – perhaps a side effect from having so many new faces. He seems to have settled on a winning formula, with only one change made to their Conti Cup starting XI. Birmingham also came in off a cup win with coach Carla Ward happy to announce the return of Emma Kelly from injury. 

Birmingham opened their account within ten minutes when leading goalscorer Claudia Walker pounced on a long ball and sent it into the bottom corner out of Mackenzie Arnold’s reach. Another close call came at 21 minutes, with Sarah Mayling‘s shot bouncing off the goalpost to Jamie-Lee Napier who sprayed it wide. Moments later, Mayling went to run behind the high defensive line with Arnold having to riskily head the ball away. It was not the last time in the match Arnold would curtail an opportunity in this manner.  

Despite Birmingham’s chances, it was an unfortunate header from Walker into her own goal that evened the score before the break. In the second half, the Hammers continued to feed the ball down the flanks via centre backs Gilly Flaherty and Grace Fisk, giving their outside backs more freedom to attack. In the 73rd minute, Rachel Daly crossed it in for Van Egmond to send home with her dome. The final minutes were fierce but Birmingham were unable to equalise.

Van Egmond’s match winner is her second goal for West Ham in the WSL – and the second scored with her head. This is notable because, while no stranger to scoring, she’s usually most dangerous when converting from the spot or unleashing low and powerful shots from 18 yards.

Last season at Melbourne City the midfielder reconfirmed her capabilities as a playmaker in front of goal. And similarly to Melb City, West Ham often run the ball up the wings and create dangerous moments from there. However, in this game Van Egmond didn’t sit back and look to build pressure in front of goal as she may have previously done in similar situations. Instead, she pushed up and positioned herself to receive those long balls.

Van Egmond’s performance and impact this round show she is developing a different side to her play. With both her and Arnold now established, it will be intriguing to see how this West Ham side progresses.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 1 Reading

It was more more headers galore at The Hive: Reading grabbed the lead early from Brooke Chaplen’s athletic header in the ninth minute. Spurs’ response came at 25 minutes off Siri Worm’s corner, the ball bouncing from Kerys Harrop’s head to Rianna Dean’s to Ashleigh Neville’s. 

Neither side could break the deadlock in the second half, however Spurs fans may have felt some relief with the much-anticipated debut of American Alex Morgan. Alanna Kennedy played 64 minutes before being subbed off.

Manchester City 8 – 1 Bristol City

Chloe Logarzo’s Bristol City suffered another thumping, this time at the hands of a self-assured Manchester City side.

The away side were already on the back foot after five first team players – including Ella Mastrantonio – had to isolate. With the FA not agreeing to postpone the match, coach Tanya Oxtoby had to bring in players from the club’s academy program to make numbers. This included 17 year old Ellen Jones, who made her FA WSL debut. 

City got their first as an own goal within 10 minutes. Bristol’s Ebony Salmon capitalised on a sloppy backpass from Gemma Bonner to equalise moments later. However, that was where the drama ended, with City netting another seven goals from Laura Coombs, Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway, Ellen White and Janine Beckie. 

White’s two goals saw her hit 50 in the league, tying with Vivianne Miedema as all time goal leader.

Chelsea 4 – 0 Everton

Following a streak of wins in the FA WSL and FA Cup, all eyes were on Everton to see what they could produce against Chelsea.

Chelsea’s first goal came in the 16th minute. Sandy MacIver went to clear the ball and instead kicked it into Bethany England. The deflection fell to the feet of a clinical Ji So-yun who slotted it in.

Everton weren’t without their chances, including a close touch at the goal mouth from Izzy Christiansen and in a searing run to the far post from Hayley Raso in the 67th minute. However, with Lucy Graham and Valerie Gauvin both out injured, they lacked the clinical finishing needed to stay in the game.

The tipping point for Chelsea came in the 73rd minute with Bethany England converting on the end of a string of playful passes from the middle. She doubled her count two minutes later. Pernille Harder put the icing on the scoreline in the last seconds with a curving shot from the six hard into the top right corner.

Australian vs Australian action was not to be, with Sam Kerr entering the game at 79 minutes as Raso was subbed off looking a little sore.

Brighton & Hove Albion 0 – 2 Aston Villa

Brighton had six coaching staff isolating after a positive COVID-19 test. This included head coach Hope Powell who said it made for a “terrible week in terms of preparation”. Aston Villa, on the other hand, were returning to play following the postponement of their Round 3 and 4 matches.

Villa marked their return to competitive football with their first ever win in the WSL. Goals came from Anita Asante – a classic long-range banger – and Ramona Petzelberger, who took advantage of Megan Walsh coming off her line to dink it over and in. 

Rebekah Stott was not named on the team-sheet.

Manchester United 1 – 0 Arsenal

The round finished with a thoroughly entertaining match between the season’s quiet achievers and then-league leaders. Caitlin Foord played the full game for Arsenal, Lydia Williams was on the bench and Steph Catley was not listed.

Manchester United started strong with a high press, rattling Arsenal’s defence with an early chance from Christen Press. While Arsenal were able to retaliate in phases, Amy Turner and Millie Turner herded Miedema out of the game, stifling many of the sides chances to connect in front of goal. 

Steady pressure and strong organisation paid off in the 83rd minute for United. Ella Toone read Lucy Sigsworth’s run down the right perfectly, pausing in a pocket of space to receive and shoot. The win has sent United to the top of the table. 

https://twitter.com/BarclaysFAWSL/status/1325717261668163584

 

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Manchester United 6 5 1 0 15 5 +10 16
2 Arsenal 6 5 0 1 29 5 +24 15
3 Chelsea 5 4 1 0 18 2 +16 13
4 Everton 6 4 1 1 16 7 +9 13
5 Manchester City 6 3 2 1 16 6 +10 11
6 Reading 6 2 2 2 7 10 −3 8
7 Birmingham City 6 2 0 4 8 10 −2 6
8 Brighton & Hove Albion 6 1 2 3 4 12 −8 5
9 West Ham United 6 1 1 4 7 19 −12 4
10 Aston Villa 4 1 0 3 3 11 −8 3
11 Tottenham Hotspur 6 0 2 4 4 14 −10 2
12 Bristol City 5 0 0 6 2 28 −26 0

 

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