Impetus‘ Aimee Logan provides a post-match analysis, from Molineux on the Conti Cup Final (1/4/24).
Above: Arsenal lift the Conti Cup at Molineux on Sunday. Photo: Arsenal.
The FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup Final once again brought together to sides at the top of women’s football in England. Arsenal versus Chelsea is always a game for the history books.
The atmosphere, for the entirety of the game, was electric. In the end it was Stina Blackstenius strike that sealed The Gunners their second consecutive Conti Cup win and a record seventh time overall.
A recent WSL meeting, only two weeks prior, saw Chelsea dominate Arsenal in a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. Arguably, the Blues were positioned as the favourites to win. With the quadruple on the line for Emma Hayes, Jonas Eidevall would have known the importance of Arsenal bringing home their own silverware. With the WSL title race looking to be out of reach for Arsenal and their early departures from the UEFA Women’s Champions League and FA Cup, could this be their only silverware of the season?
Unlike recent line-ups, Eidevall named his Australian trio on the bench at the start of the game, leaving room in the starting XI for Emily Fox, Frida Maanum and Cloe Lacasse to start for Arsenal. Fox and Lacasse have been incredible in their first season in North London and are already loved by Arsenal fans.
The first half brought all the excitement any football fan would expect from a final: end-to-end action and chances for either team to make a mark on the score sheet. A gap opened on the edge of the box for Chelsea and a strike from Mayra Ramirez to the bottom corner of Zinsberger’s goal put Chelsea 1-0 up.
In contrast to the WSL, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was used in the fixture. After and on-field review, the referee determined that the ball hit Erin Cuthbert’s hand before the shot was taken from Ramirez, ruling the goal out and giving Arsenal, and their fans, another lifeline, and more opportunity to take home the cup.
The backline of both teams looked rocky in different periods. The occasional mistakes and miscommunication that could’ve cost the teams a goal, was prevented by goalkeepers Hannah Hampton and Manuela Zinsberger who were collectively immense for their respective teams throughout the game.
An unexpected sub from Arsenal at halftime saw Leah Williamson depart and World Cup champion Laia Codina enter the pitch. After her recent trophy successes with Spain, Codina isn’t a stranger to lifting a cup.
The second half continued as the first with neither team finding an opportunity to get on the score sheet. Eidevall is known to use his substitutes well and these 45 minutes saw the Australian trio finally make their appearances.
Caitlin Foord has recently faced criticism from Arsenal fans as she hasn’t been as clinical in front of goal as they may have liked. Even though the Matildas star wasn’t on the score sheet, her attacking movements on and off the ball were impressive and she proved her critics wrong.
Steph Catley helped lead the back line with Lotte Wubben-Moy, Codina and Fox. Catley was given the challenge of marking Chelsea’s Lauren James, but this didn’t appear to phase the Matildas defender. She was an assertive figure in both boxes and kept the defensive line strong for her team.
Finally, Kyra Cooney-Cross. The young star made her late arrival to Arsenal on the deadline day in September and its fair to say that she’s proven to be a talented midfielder ever since. I think that she has grown with the Arsenal team massively this season. That could be as a result of the midfielders of Kim Little, Lia Walti, Frida Maanum and Victoria Pelova that she plays alongside.
A scare for Eidevall and his team just before the game progressed into extra time as Frida Maanum dropped to the floor, off the ball. Her teammates were quickly concerned of her condition and rushed to her side and emphasised the need for quick medical attention. Shortly after the paramedics reached her on the pitch, she was lifted onto a stretcher and carried down into the tunnel to receive further treatment.
The most recent update from the club was that Maanum was stable and talking to medical staff. Moments like that made the crowd realise that there is more to the world than winning titles and every fan in the stadium was wishing for Frida Maanum to be okay.
The full-time whistle blew and gave the players the opportunity to regroup with their managers and teammates ready for another 30 minutes. In the first 15 minutes, both Arsenal and Chelsea couldn’t get on the score sheet as the defence held firm for both teams.
Just as the stadium prepared themselves for a penalty shootout, a central run from Cooney-Cross placed Arsenal in a powerful move of attack. The Arsenal 32 strode past her defenders and passed the ball perfectly to a waiting Foord on the wing. Foord set up the waiting Stina Blackstenius to strike the ball past Hampton. With four minutes to go until penalties, Arsenal sealed the victory.
Celebrations were in full swing, but the moment was arguably bittersweet with the thought of Maanum in the changing room not being able to be part of the post victory scenes with her team that she is such a vital part of.
A main fault for Chelsea was Emma Hayes’ lack of use of substitutes. The West London side had a threatening bench that could have been well-utilised in this game, but Hayes only used three substitutes, one of which being Aggie Beever-Jones in the last minute which left too little time to make impact.
In my opinion, I think Arsenal deserved to take the title. The play from Pelova, Codina and Zinsberger kept them in the game right to the last minute. Football does come down to fine margins, and that was no different in this final. At moments it could have gone either way but Blackstenius’ strike was that vital difference.
Arsenal took away a piece of silverware for the season and prevented Hayes from walking away at the end of this season, with the quadruple. In terms of other trophies, for Chelsea, it’s still all to play for as it remains tight between themselves and Manchester City at the top of the WSL table. The Blues also are set to face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final and Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final.
For Arsenal, this looks to be the only cup the team will finish the season with the top of the WSL table looking too far out of reach.
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