Page 12 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.7 2020-21
P. 12

Chelsea and Manchester City will take their places in the last sixteen of the UEFA Women’s
       Champions League after completing the second legs of their respective ties with victories, but
       Glasgow City have bowed out of the competition at the Round of 32 stage.
             Manchester  City  were  first  in  action  on  Wednesday  afternoon  as  they  faced  FC
       Goteborg at the Academy Stadium, having won the first leg 2-1 in Sweden seven days earlier.
       Gareth Taylor’s side were quick out of the blocks and Ellen White almost gave them an early
       lead but on 36 minutes, they got the goal they craved to put them well in charge of the tie - and
       it  was  a  goal  worth  waiting  for.  Lauren  Hemp  broke  down  the  wing  and  cut  inside  before
       unleashing a powerful strike which sailed over Goteborg goalkeeper Jennifer Falk and into the
       back of the net.
             Sam Mewis hit the post in search of a second and, after the break, Alex Greenwood
       almost doubled the lead with a strike from fully 40 yards which brought out a good save from
       Falk. Ellie Roebuck then pulled off a fine stop of her own at the other end to deny Vilde Boe Rise
       but City were then to go ahead, Georgia Stanway slotting home the rebound after White’s shot
       had been saved. Two minutes later, Stanway again scored from the rebound from a White shot
       to seal a 3-0 win on the night, and 5-1 on aggregate.
             Chelsea’s return meeting with SL Benfica would be little more than a formality after
       the Blues had run out 5-0 winners in the first leg. It took 28 minutes for Emma Hayes’ side to
       open  the  scoring,  Beth  England  giving  them  the  lead  on  the  night.  Chelsea  continued  to
       dominate matters and pressed for a second but their finishing let them down on occasions and
       they had to wait until midway through the second half, Guro Reiten’s through ball picking out
       the run of Sam Kerr who finished clinically. There was a special moment for Drew Spence as she
       came on as a substitute with fifteen minutes remaining, marking her 200th appearance for the
       club.  Chelsea  were  to  round  off  a  3-0  win  as  the  game  went  into  injury  time  as  another
       substitute, Fran Kirby, sent in a low cross which England converted at the second attempt, for
       her second goal.
             Glasgow City faced the toughest test as they sought to overturn a 2-1 deficit from their
       first leg with Sparta Prague. Things got worse for them with just seven minutes on the clock
       as Lucie Martinkova found space on the edge of the area to steer her shot beyond the dive of Lee
       Alexander and into the corner of the net, putting the Czech Republic side two goals ahead on
       aggregate. Jenna Clark nearly levelled the scores on the night with a strike which brought out a
       good save by Hana Sloupova and just before half time, Tyler Toland found the net from 25 yards
       but the effort was ruled out for a foul in the build up.
             City tried hard to get back in the tie after the break with Maddie Fulton going close but
       at the other end, it took a goalline clearance from Clark to prevent Martinkova from scoring her
       second. City were awarded a penalty for handball late on but captain Leanne Ross’ kick brought
       out a good save from Sloupova. Sparta held out for a 1-0 win on the night and 3-1 victory on
       aggregate.
             Elsewhere, holders Olympique Lyonnais, who had a scare in the first leg last week, saw
       off the challenge of Juventus with a 3-0 win in the return meeting. There were no other real
       surprises in the other ties with Slavia Prague being the other seeded team apart from Glasgow
       City to go out, losing 1-0 on the night at home to Fiorentina and 3-2 overall.
             The draw for the Round of 16 will take place in February.

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        Issue no. 7 - 17 December 2020         news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk
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