Page 8 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.6 2020-21
P. 8

There were mixed results for the three British teams in the first leg of their Round of 32 ties in the
       UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday afternoon with one having all but booked their
       place  in  the  last  sixteen,  one  taking  a  good  lead  into  the  second  leg  and  the  other  needing  to
       overcome a one-goal deficit when the sides meet again next week.
           Chelsea  can  look  forward  to  the  next  round  after  Christmas  as  a  powerful  first  half
       performance  propelled  them  towards  a  5-0  victory  over  SL  Benfica.  The  Blues  missed  out  on
       European competition last season but were determined to make up for lost time and were ahead
       after only 80 seconds of play. Fran Kirby turning home a cross from Pernille Harder to become the
       club’s record goalscorer. Millie Bright then headed in from a Guro Reiten free kick and after Kirby
       had slotted in her second goal on the day, Reiten’s corner was headed home by Harder to put them
       four goals up at half time. After the break, Beth England further increased their lead to leave Chelsea
       in  a  commanding  position  when  the  teams  meet  for  the  second  leg  at  Kingsmeadow  next
       Wednesday.
           Manchester  City  meanwhile  travelled  to  Sweden  for  a  difficult  looking  task  away  to  FC
       Goteborg and will be delighted with taking a 2-1 lead into the second leg. In freezing conditions, it
       was Goteborg who went ahead after four minutes when Vilde Boe Risa followed up to score from the
       rebound after Ellie Roebuck had saved Pauline Hammarlund’s initial shot. It was half an hour before
       City were able to settle down after the early setback and they hit the woodwork twice before getting
       back on level terms, Caroline Weir winning possession and feeding Georgia Stanway whose shot
       went in via a post for her 50th goal for the club. This made the score 1-1 at half time but City went on
       to dominate matters after the break. With fifteen minutes remaining, they made the breakthrough
       once again and Weir was once again the provider, with a pinpoint cross which was headed back
       across  goal  by  Sam  Mewis  and  into  the  far  corner  of  the  net.  The  teams  will  meet  again  next
       Wednesday at the Academy Stadium.
           Glasgow City also faced a hard tie at Sparta Prague and needed to produce a good second
       half performance to avoid potentially being put out of the tie. Although City had started the game
       brightly,  Sparta  came  into  the  game  as  a  force  and  opened  the  scoring  just  after  the  half  hour,
       Marketa Ringelova bundling home from a scramble after a cross had come back off the bar. Things
       were to get worse for the SWPL side as they fell two goals behind on the stroke of half time, Anna
       Dlaskova firing home a powerful strike from the edge of the area which found the top corner. A
       double substitution at the interval seemed to help freshen things up for City and they got the away
       goal they craved soon after the restart. Aoife Colvill received the ball on the edge of the area and
       found Sharon Wojcik who curled a shot home and brought her side back into the tie. Lee Alexander
       made a good save at the other end to deny Chlastakova and Tyler Toland fired over for City, but the
       2-1  scoreline  leaves  everything  to  play  for  the  second  leg  which  is  also  on  Wednesday  at  the
       Broadwood Stadium, which will be televised live on BBC Alba.



       Leyton Orient WFC, of the FA Women’s National League, have announced that the majority of future
       home fixtures this season will now be played at the Hornchurch Stadium, home of Hornchurch FC.
           Orient’s first game at their new home on the border of London and Essex will be the Vitality
       Women’s FA Cup First Round match this coming Sunday Actonians.
           Orient  skipper  Allison  McCann  expressed  her  delight  at  the  move:  “We  are  thrilled  to  be
       playing our first home game at the Hornchurch stadium this weekend, hopefully with many Os’ fans
       in attendance! It's been a long and difficult year and we're so grateful to be playing football again.”
           Midfielder Lauren Heria saw Tuesday’s impressive 4-1 win for Hornchurch FC against Wingate
       and Finchley in the FA Trophy, adding: “It was great to watch the Hornchurch FC win ahead of our
       FA Cup fixture at the stadium this weekend. The ground, staff, and spectators are all fantastic. I am
       looking forward to making the stadium our home and bringing women’s football to the community.”
           Orient manager Chris Brayford said: "We are pleased to have the opportunity to play our home
       games at Hornchurch FC, so I'd like to thank Colin McBride for his help in facilitating this. It will be
       great to have fans in the stadium again and for the players to hear that backing. We are hoping also
       that it might perhaps be a more convenient location for more Orient fans to get to so hopefully it will
       be another step forward for the team."
        Issue no. 6 - 10 December 2020         news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk
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