Watched by the largest crowd for a women’s club match in England, Arsenal suffered heartbreak on Monday night as they lost to two-time winners Wolfsburg in the Women’s Champions League semi-final.
The patched-up Gunners had matched the German champions for 208 minutes.
With goals for Stina Blackstenius and Jen Beattie sandwiching two from Jill Roord and Alex Popp, the tie stood 4-4 on aggregate and two minutes from a penalty shoot-out when England’s Lotte Wubben-Moy made the decision to dribble out of defence.
She was robbed by Jule Brand and, with her fellow defenders exposed, former Manchester City player Pauline Bremer was presented with a far-post tap-in.
It was cruel on Arsenal, and especially so on the hitherto flawless Wubben-Moy, but that’s the breaks at this level.
“It is tough,” said Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall. “It is a game of such fine margins. We are allowed to feel hurt and empty but also proud of the performance and the occasion with the supporters.
“There are a lot of emotions right now. The way I like to look at it, we came to the Champions League semi-final and we didn’t make it by the tiniest of margins with all the injuries we have. That is incredible and I am so proud of the players and the staff.”
The Gunners, the only English club to have won the competition, were seeking a return to the final for the first time since that success 16 years ago.
They went into the tie boosted not just by the crowd but also their response to adversity in northern Germany last week. Their injury-hit side went 2-0 down to the Lady Wolves, but fought back to secure a draw.
They were nevertheless still without long-term absentees Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Kim Little, a glittering quartet, plus Australian striker Caitlin Foord who has been out for a month with a hamstring issue.
With few other options Jonas Eidevall kept an unchanged side but Wolfsburg were able to recall Popp, their only survivor from their Champions League wins of 2013 and 2014, the first of which involved defeating Arsenal in the semi-final.
Beattie, who played in that semi, again took the central role in a back three which was soon under pressure but survived an early VAR shout for what would have been a very harsh handball against Wubben-Moy.
Instead Arsenal went ahead on 11 minutes. After the indefatigable Katie McCabe dispossessed Lena Oberdorf the ball was worked to Lia Walti who passed forward. Kathrin Hendrich, under pressure from Blackstenius, rolled the ball past her own keeper and Blackstenius tapped in.
The Swedish striker might have doubled the lead nine minutes later but her shot on the turn was too close to Merle Frohms. That was a rare chance as Wolfsburg began to control possession and, four minutes from the break, the pressure told.
Noelle Maritz gave away a needless free-kick fouling Popp, who then nodded the kick to the unmarked Roord on the edge of the box. The former Arsenal player had missed a similar chance earlier, but this time she converted neatly.
The influential Popp then turned scorer, rising at the near post to head in Felicitas Rauch’s 58th-minute corner. Arsenal, though, would not go quietly and Beattie headed in after Wubben-Moy had recycled a half-cleared free-kick.
In added time both Lina Hurtig and Bremer should have scored while a McCabe cross-shot hit the bar.
Penalties seemed inevitable. But then came Wubben-Moy’s fateful decision.
“I told her to keep her head high, I told her there is no need to apologise” said Eidevall. “Mistakes happen in football. If you look at her total performance she was absolutely fantastic. We are there for each other.”
The only consolation for the Gunners was the gate. The 60,063 sell-out eclipsed not just the official record 49,094 set at last year’s Women’s FA Cup final, but also the unofficial 53,000 reported to have attended the legendary Dick, Kerr Ladies charity match at Goodison Park on Boxing Day 1920.
Wolfsburg now meet Barcelona in the final, while Arsenal have work to do – staring with a WSL match against Leicester on Friday – merely to qualify for next year’s competition.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/Q4fRg5c
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