Ice Cold is Aleix
Arsenal Women 0 Manchester City Women 1
The fight for trophies in the women’s top flight is looking like a light on dark blue fight this season as Manchester City knocked out Arsenal in a tense fifth round battle at Meadow Lane.
City, who are three points behind Chelsea in the league table, meet the reigning double winners in a Continental League Cup semi final on March 6.
Meanwhile, in front of a sell-out home crowd the two teams played out a dour, tactical first half, enlivened only by fleeting bouts of attacking nous. Although, on the quarter hour there was a flashpoint when in the first dangerous move Chloe Kelly’s whipped in cross from the left Wubben Moy clearly looked like she elbowed Khadija Shaw. However, not a flicker from the ref.
The only other meaningful action of note came ten minutes later when the super combative Katie McCabe clashed with winger Lauren Hemp and a bit of argy bargy saw McCabe theatrically fall over backwards when Hemp just kinda waved her off.
Part two had to be livelier and with the onus on Arsenal to bomb on Aussie winger Caitlin Foord became a focul point down their left. The pressure was telling on City, early on in the half they conceded four corners on the bounce, but held firm thanks to some solid goal keeping from Khiara Keating.
However, it would be City who came closest to breaking the deadlock. First, a Shaw looping header was dropping into the right corner until Canada’s Sabrina D’Angelo stretched every sinew to keep it out.
A couple of minutes later, Arsenal’s returnee Captain, Leah Williamson, making her first start since her ACL injury, did brilliantly to clear off the line after another Shaw effort.
It was odds on one goal was going to settle the contest and it duly came from an unlikely source in the shape of City’s central defender Laia Aleixandri. She neatly pounced on a loose ball swung into the box before the Arsenal keeper or anyone else had time to react.
That was essentially game, set and match, but Keating again was in the headlines when in extra time she made a stunning, flying save to deny super sub Kim Little and then appeared to knock the ball into her own net when gathering an easy cross.
But without goal line technology we’ll never know.
Light Blue Laia: Match winner Aleixandri celebrates with her jubilant Captain, Alex Greenwood.