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Impetus’ Kris Goman was pitchside at Wanderers Football Park to capture the best of the action from Western Sydney Wanderers’ superb win over Western United on Saturday (16/1/23)
Above: All-action midfield tussle for possession between Western Sydney Wanderers and Western United. Photo: Kris Goman for Impetus.
Ben Gilby reports on both head coaches media conferences and Tom McCarthy delivers top quality photo action from the game Macedonia Park (15/1/23).
Above: Perth Glory’s Cyera Hintzen (right) battles with Wellington Phoenix’s Mackenzie Barry. Photo: Tom McCarthy.
Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis was very much of the “glass half full” mood when reflecting on his team’s performance in their 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix today.
Speaking to the media after the match at Macedonia Park, Epakis said: “It’s a performance that got us the three points, so you are always happy with that. There were phases where we were good, there were phases where we could have been better…I would have liked us to have been more clinical at times.”
Asked about the coming together of Ella Mastrantonio and Phoenix’s Emma Rolston that saw both players sent off, the Glory boss said: “I haven’t seen it (back) or had a chance to speak to Ella yet. The referee has reasons for it.”
Epakis was enthusiastic about the performance of defender Liz Anton, who responded in style to a challenge he set her before the game: “I told Liz today that I wanted her to be the best Kiwi on the field, and I think she liked that! She really stepped up and rightly so. It was a very good performance, it was calm and physical when it needed to be. Her and Kim (Carroll) really compliment each other.”
Perth now have a three-week gap before their next match away to Western United after the midweek announcement that Sydney FC are unable to stage next weekend’s game against the Western Australians and cannot find another ground to play it at until the end of March.
The impact of this on the Glory is huge with the game rearranged for midweek in a period where the club have a Sunday home game before travelling to Sydney and then another trip three days afterwards to Brisbane Roar – yet another example of inherent inflexibility when it comes to scheduling games for clubs who face huge travelling distances.
“I’m not happy about it. The APL made a decision to postpone our game against Sydney (due to the playing surface being substandard) and not being able to source another venue across a large state, and we’re now going to be punished by playing three games in six days across three different states, which isn’t fair.”
“It compromises the run we have to have, and its a well-being and safety issue. I don’t think it’s going to look good, and I’m not going to sit here and say it looks good. I’ve voiced my concerns (to the APL) but there was no reply to my email.”
Alex Epakis, Perth Glory head coach.
“We have to maintain our intense load on a weekend. You can’t go three weeks without a game and expect to come back strong. We will look to play internally against our Academy Boys outfit and we have a very good Sports Science team here and I’ll look to be guided by them.”
Wellington Phoenix head coach Nat Lawrence was visibly frustrated as she reviewed her team’s showing at Perth today.
“We got punished for two mistakes which…we’ve got to hold ourselves accountable for,” Phoenix head coach Natalie Lawrence told media post-game.
“We need to stop making these mistakes that are leading to these goals and start taking our chances as well.”
Lawrence reflected that the huge travelling involved to get to Perth, along with the hot conditions was a factor, but ultimately her side were their own worst enemies: “We knew that the travel was going to be tough, we knew that the heat was going to be tough and we prepared as much as we could for it.
“There’s some fatigue amongst the girls [and] there’s a little bit of jet lag, but that’s not really an excuse that we’re willing to hide behind. New Zealand is where we want to be and where we want to be based and travel is part of it.”
The Nix boss also highlighted her team’s growth during the campaign by saying: “We had more possession, we had better pass completion, we’ve had more shots, we’ve had more final third entries again than any other game this season so we’re building and getting better and better.”
However, the reality is that Wellington are now well adrift at the bottom as the only team in the league without a win.
“Game eight and yeah one point on the board but…we believe that we’ve still got 10 games to fight for. As long as we keep sticking to our process then we believe the outcome will happen.” Lawrence said.
Ben Gilby‘s match report of the game can be read here: https://impetusfootball.org/2023/01/15/perth-take-the-distance-derby-glory/
Tom McCarthy’s Photo Gallery from Macedonia Park:
Suvadeep Biswas was at The Bescot Stadium for Impetus to capture the best of the action as Lionesses stars Jordan Nobbs and Beth England made their debuts for their new clubs (15/1/23)
Above: Combative action between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur yesterday. Photo: Suvadeep Biswas for Impetus.
Perth Glory 2-0 Wellington Phoenix
by Ben Gilby (15/1/23)
Above: Susan Phonsongkham (left) celebrates after dispatching her penalty to put Perth Glory 2-0 up. Photo: Keep Up.
Perth Glory earned a much-needed win in the first-ever Distance Derby in Western Australia to mark legendary defender Kim Carroll’s 150th W/A-League Women game in style.
A 5,500km journey with a time zone difference of five hours thrown in for good measure is one of the biggest away trips in senior women’s club football. These two sides spend hours on planes for away matches in a normal week, but this one is something else.
Alex Epakis’ side went into the game without Rylee Baisden. The striker, who had scored five of the team’s 10 goals this season suffered a heartbreaking ACL injury in Perth’s game at Melbourne Victory. It’s the third season in a row that the Glory have lost a major attacking player to a season-ending injury.
Perth were aggressive from the off with multiple players looking to press and close down Phoenix every time they got on the ball. The purple and orange shirts maintained a high line.
Izzy Foletta, in only her second game for the hosts, was busy from the start. The former Brisbane Roar player has added intelligence and guile to the Glory backline as an excellent addition to Alex Epakis’ squad.
Whilst Wellington had the greater percentage of the possession, it was Perth who did more with it in offensive areas. Unlike the majority of their games this season, they were able to turn their early opportunities into a scoreboard lead.
Local star Hana Lowry picked up the ball just inside the Phoenix half and laid off inside to Cyera Hintzen. The American striker turned her marker with ease, and let fly from over 20 yards with a long range low strike that bounced in at the left-hand post past the desperate outstretched arm of Brianna Edwards.
The Glory continued to probe, and within eight minutes doubled their advantage. Lowry entered the far left-hand side of the box and was felled by Mackenzie Barry and referee, Casey Reibelt had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up stepped Susan Phonsongkham to dispatch a low spot kick into the left-hand corner.
For the visitors, Grace Wisnewski and Chloe Knott were battling hard and looking to create where possible, but on the rare occasions that they were able to approach the home penalty area, the high press did its job and forced the Nix into errors resulting in turn over ball.
Ten minutes before the break, Emma Rolston went down under pressure from Ella Mastrantonio. As the Football Fern went down, she managed to get the ball lodged between her legs with Mastrantonio making contact in a bid to get the ball free. Rolston reacted by getting to her feet and reaching out with her hand to make contact with the former WSL player’s face. Not surprisingly both were shown a red card.
Phoenix had half chances, with a corner coming off the bar and then Paige Satchell found space to gallop down the right-hand flank, beating Foletta in idiosyncratic style before delivering a pacey ball in that Ava Pritchard couldn’t quite get on the end of as the half ticked towards its conclusion.
The visitors had the first chance of the second period when they saw another ball in come off the bar. Shortly afterwards, Michaela Foster brought down Foletta just outside the box in a clumsy challenge on the right-hand edge of the box. Up stepped Phonsongkham to hit a free kick which, although dipping, couldn’t quite come down in time.
The second half then game stretched into an end-to-end encounter before the home side took over once more. Sofia Sakalis’ influence grew as the youngsters’ sparkling footwork and creative vision came to the fore.
Perth forced a plethora of second-half corners, one such came in with 10 minutes left to provoke a playground-style scramble in the box before the danger was dealt with. Sub Abbey Green had a late opportunity when one on one with Edwards after gaining turn over ball from Kate Taylor, but couldn’t get her shot on target into the goal.
Whilst this was a much-needed win for Perth to keep their Finals hopes alive, they left a lot of potential additional goals out there, which could have proved costly against an opponent in better form. Alex Epakis’ side now have a long wait until their next game – 4th February at Western United – to continue their second half of the season surge.
Tom McCarthy‘s photo gallery from the match will follow on a separate article on the site later today along with Ben Gilby‘s coverage of both team’s post-match media conferences.
Teams: PERTH GLORY (4-2-3-1): Langman, Rigby, Anton, Carroll, Foletta, Lawrence, Mastrantonio, Phonsongkham, Lowry, Sakalis, Hintzen. Substitutes: Aquino (GK), Cain, Green, Jancevski, Koulizakis.
Scorers: Hintzen 6′, Phonsongkham 14′.
WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-2-3-1): Edwards, Foster, Taylor, Barry, Knott, Wisnewski, Robertson, Rolston, Satchell, Pritchard. Substitutes: Candy (GK), Cicco, Clegg, Gomez, Vosper.
Referee: Casey Reibelt.
Attendance: 700.
Melbourne City 1-1 Melbourne Victory
by Ryan Miller-Woods (15/1/23)
Above: Dramatic aerial action in today’s Melbourne derby. Photo: Keep Up.
Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory played out an enthralling draw at Casey Fields with goals by Alex Chidiac for Victory on her 24th birthday that opened the scoring before Hannah Wilkinson for City cancelled out Victory’s goal towards the end of the first half.
It could have been anyone’s match with both sides very much having their chances to have won the derby.
Early into the contest, it was a very even affair but City had the best opportunities at goal with a Hannah Wilkinson header from Rhianna Pollicina’s cross in the second minute that went into the hands of Victory’s Casey Dumont and a shot at goal from outside by Pollicina that went out for a Victory goal kick six minutes later.
Victory hit the front just before the quarter-hour mark. Katie Bowen’s attempted back pass to Karly Roestbakken was pounced on by Chidiac who then got into the box as her low left foot shot towards goal made the slightest contact with Barbieri which left the ball trickling into the net.
Daniela Galic provided a chance to level matters with 10 minutes of the half remaining when her cross found Julia Grosso at the far post whose header went over the bar.
Two minutes later, Galic was involved again by providing a great through ball to Torpey who then cut the ball back in the box for Wilkinson on the edge of the box who then had a first-time shot at goal that went past Dumont and into the bottom left corner. The Football Ferns star’s first of the season was a deserved equaliser.
Just before the first half was coming to an end, from a Victory throw-in by Beattie Goad Rikke Madsen chested down, turned and shot but her effort came agonisingly came off the crossbar.
City hit the woodwork with eight minutes remaining when the influential Galic found the feet of Grosso whose shot from outside the box hit the bar and very nearly crossed the line.
In the closing stages, the teams were City playing a tug-a-war of possession with Victory who arguably had the best opportunity of scoring a winner. Tiffany Eliadis made a great run from her own half and had all the time in the world to go one-on-one in the box with Barbieri but for some reason decided to prematurely have a shot from outside the box with the ball going well wide of the goal. And that was that.
Teams: MELBOURNE CITY (4-3-3): Barbieri, Torpey, Chinnama, Checker, Bowen, Grosso, Roestbakken, Davidson, Galic, Pollicina, Wilkinson. Substitutes: Hrehoresin, Blissett, Henry, Malone, McKenna.
Scorers: Wilkinson 37’.
MELBOURNE VICTORY (4-3-3): Dumont, Goad, Bunge, Morrison, Nash, Murphy, Kellond-Knight, Chidiac, Zois, Madsen, Privitelli. Substitutes: Templeman, Eliadis, Tathem, Rowe, Jackson.
Scorers: Chidiac 13’.
Referee: Georgia Ghirardello
Attendance: 506.
Brisbane Roar 1-1 Adelaide United
by Ben Carey (15/1/23)
Above: Adelaide United celebrate after Chelsie Dawber levelled from the spot. Photo: Adelaide United.
Brisbane Roar drew with Adelaide United in a spirited clash in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon. The Roar came into the match hoping to avenge their humiliating 8-2 defeat to Adelaide from last season. The South Australians was looking to break a three-match losing streak.
Despite the warm weather, there was some very high-energy football in the first 10 minutes of the match with chances up both ends of the pitch. Just shy of five minutes into the match, Katrina Gorry played an amazing ball out to Shea Connors on the left flank, who ran in and crossed it into the box where Indiah-Paige Riley was waiting.
Riley made good connection with the ball and smacked it into the back of the net. However, the goal was immediately disallowed for offside. But it was a warning shot to the Adelaide defence.
Two minutes later, Adelaide had a good chance down the other end, when Emilia Murray worked her way past the Brisbane backline and seemed to have beaten Hensley Hancuff in the Brisbane goal, but she flashed the ball just wide. In the 25th minute, Talitha Kramer, starting for the first time for Brisbane Roar, made an incredible run up the field, outfoxing an Adelaide defender, and took a good shot at goal.
Kramer had beaten Annalee Grove, the Adelaide keeper, but Marushka Waldus, the Dutch international, managed to clear it off the line with a header. But the ball didn’t go very far and was pounced on by the ever-present Riley, who found the back of the net. It was her first game of the season and she already had her first goal 25 minutes in.
A few minutes before halftime, Fiona Worts found herself in an acre of space and crossed it into the box, but the closest striker, Emilia Murray, couldn’t catch up to it and it rolled wide.
The last meaningful action of the first half was a skirmish in the Adelaide box. Larisa Crummer managed to win possession and play the ball back to Gorry, who took a first-time shot at goal, but it hit the woodwork and bounced out to safety, much to the relief of the Adelaide supporters.
The second half started with a bang, after a blind attempt on goal from Waldus hit the hand of a Brisbane defender and resulted in a penalty kick being awarded. The Adelaide captain, and all-time leading goal scorer, Chelsie Dawber, stepped up to the spot and slotted it past a diving Hancuff, who guessed the right way but just couldn’t reach the ball.
After the equalizer, Brisbane started applying a lot more pressure to the Adelaide defence, who looked like they were tiring. Understandable, seeing as this was their third game in a week.
Just after the hour mark, Norrie ran past three Adelaide defenders in the box and took a shot at goals but couldn’t wrap her foot around the outside of the ball and it sailed wide. A couple of minutes later, a long throw by Jessie Rasschaert resulted in a high ball, which Gorry took out of the air, but once again the woodwork came to the rescue for Adelaide.
Soon after, Adelaide had an excellent chance on goal, after Brisbane failed to clear it twice. Dawber passed to Murray, who took a shot, but it sailed just over the crossbar. A couple of minutes later, the Roar had perhaps their best opportunity of the half. Connors, being an absolute nuisance in the box, earned a corner kick, which was delivered brilliantly by Gorry into the box. She was able to find her Vittsjö teammate Kasja Lind, but Lind was unable to find any meaningful connection with the ball, resulting in an easy save for Grove.
Ten minutes later, Murray was charging forward, looking very dangerous, but Jamilla Rankin made a superb slide tackle just outside the 18-yard box to deny her.
The closing stages were frantic and nervy. In the 82nd minute, there was a high-energy battle in the midfield, which was won by Adelaide. Dawber found herself in a prime position to slot it through the legs of Hancuff in goal. Thankfully for the home crowd, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call. The clash was turning into a tale of near misses and disallowed goals.
In the dying minutes of the match, Adelaide mounted a relentless attack, testing the Brisbane defence and Hancuff to the limits, but the Roar managed to hold on and force a draw.
It was a frustrating draw all round, as both sides were looking to close the gap between them and the top four. Still, it was an entertaining match. It was also a very physical encounter, Brisbane committing 17 fouls and conceding a whopping four yellow cards. Adelaide committed 11 fouls but received no yellows.
While neither team was able to get across the line, there were a lot of standout performances. Gorry’s work rate was impressive, as always, as was her service into the final third, which set up a number of great goalscoring chances. She also hit the woodwork twice. On another day she’d have a brace and Brisbane would be home and hosed. But that’s football.
Riley also had an incredible first game back with Brisbane Roar. She scored her first goal in the A-League since 2020. The last two years she has been playing for top Danish club Fortuna Hjørring. She has already proved to be an effective injury replacement for Mariel Hecher.
On the other side of the field, Dawber had a great game, scoring her third of the season, and helping set up a number of other opportunities through the match. Waldus in defence and Grove in goals also put in an impressive shift, denying the Roar on numerous occasions.
Adelaide United will have a week to rest ahead of their clash with Melbourne Victory next weekend. Brisbane Roar will face the dreaded Western United away from home.
Teams: BRISBANE ROAR (4-1-4-1): Hancuff, Rasschaert, Lind, Rankin, Kramer, Norrie, Palmer, Gorry, Connors, Riley, Crummer. Substitutes: McQueen, Kruger, Freier, Levin, Bailey.
Scorers: Riley 25’.
ADELAIDE UNITED (4-3-3): Grove, I. Hodgson, Sasaki, Waldus, Hayward, Barbieri, Holmes, Westland, Murray, Dawber, Worts. Substitutes: Farrow, Coorey, E. Hodgson, Tolland, Xiao.
Scorers: Dawber (pen) 47’.
Referee: Bec Mackie.
Attendance: 932.
Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 Western United
by Johnathan Stack (14/1/23)
Above: Western Sydney Wanderers’ Sarina Bolden can’t believe it! Photo: Keep Up.
Western Sydney Wanderers provided a massive shock as they beat current league leaders Western United – sending the Victorian newcomers to their first-ever defeat after seven straight wins.
The 2-1 loss at Wanderers Football Park saw Western Sydney’s post their second successive major upset following their win against Melbourne City.
Sophie Harding and new signing Sarina Bolden consistently caused problems for the United defence, and they combined for the opener in the 12th minute.
Philippines international Bolden scored her first Liberty A-League goal in her second game from Harding’s pass.
Mark Torcaso’s Western United are made of stern stuff, and they responded through in form Hannah Keane, who scored her third goal in four days on the 26th-minute mark with a fine far-post header from a Khali Johnson cross.
It was United’s only effort on target in the first half and the American’s sixth goal of a productive campaign.
The Wanderers’ 53rd-minute winner came from a rare indirect free kick in the penalty area, that was awarded after a backpass.
The ball on the left edge of the six-yard box was played to Amy Harrison who lashed her shot past the wall and into the net.
WSW rise to eighth in the Liberty A-League, while Western United stay top although second place Melbourne City are yet to play. They will take over at the summit if they can beat city rivals Melbourne Victory tomorrow.
Teams: WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS (4-1-2-1-2): Bloomer, Apostolakis, Hunt, Keir, Matos, Gordon, Harrison, Steinmetz, Price, Bolden, Harding. Substitutes: Chessari, Khamis, Massih, Rue, Saveska.
WESTERN UNITED (4-2-3-1): Beall, Sardo, Cummings, Dakic, Vlajnic, Taranto, Robers, McDonald, Johnson, Steer, Keane. Substitutes: Beard, Dall’Osre, Logarzo, Papadopoulos, Sawicki.
Referee: Kelly Jones.
Attendance: 448.
Canberra United 5-1 Newcastle Jets
By Kieran Yap (14/1/23)
Above: Michelle Heyman holds up the ball for Canberra United. Photo: @CanberraUnited twitter
Canberra United delivered a comprehensive performance to defeat the Newcastle Jets 5-1 at Mckellar Park on Saturday afternoon.
The win was Canberra’s third of the season and one was their most impressive performances. It was all the more impressive considering that they were without star playmaker Grace Maher.
Njegosh Popovich’s side was buoyed by the return of one of their star recruits as Chengshu Wu started after recovering from a facial fracture. Her impact was undeniable.
Michelle Heyman opened the scoring for the home side. The league’s all-time leading scorer and potential World Cup bolter picked up the ball on the right flank and cut inside. She drew the attention of three defenders before playing it wide to Nikki Flannery.
The winger delivered a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Heyman who had continued her run. The lofted pass was brought down before the Canberra captain steadied and buried the shot past Georgina Worth.
Flannery brought up her second assist of the half to make it 2-0. Vesna Milivojević dribbled forward and released Flannery on the left. Her low cross was impossible to defend and it crashed off the face of the well-positioned Wu, landing in the back of the net.
It was a bittersweet goal for the Chinese recruit. A goal was a triumphant was to mark her return. Considering it was facial fractures that had kept her out, she probably would have preferred a less painful way to score.
Canberra’s dominance continued into the second half and Milivojević combined with Flannery to set up the third goal for the home team.
Flannery was uncontainable and now looks back to her very best since her knee injury almost two years ago. She cut the ball back to Milivojević, who swept it toward goal. Heyman gambled on it arriving at the back post and her instincts paid off with a simple but well-calculated finish.
Ellie Brush was next to get in on the act. The centre back drifted upfield and got on the end of a Milivojević free kick. Her flickeed header flew past Worth to make it 4-0 and Newcastle looked out of the contest.
But the Jets found a way to score. They almost always score, and have only gone goalless in two games this season. Skipper Cass Davis hit a well-delivered free kick from deep that Tara Andrews easily directed on target.
Despite Canberra controlling most of the match, Newcastle had their chances. Before her goal, Andrews looked threatening whenever the ball was in the penalty area, and Sarah Griffith was only denied by some exceptional keeping from Chloe Lincoln.
The contest was sealed by Milivojević who nodded home from close range after Emma Ilijoski’s cross. The prodigious full-back was skilful and creative after coming on. Canberra have impressive depth at left and right back this season with Sasha Grove, Hayley Taylor-Young, and Emily Roach joining Ilijoski as options on either flank.
Although Newcastle battled industriously and always threatened with their pace in attack, the day belonged to Canberra. If 5-1 was not an exact reflection of the game, it was reward for some ruthless finishing. The Jets tested the in-form Lincoln and Lauren Allan was a consistent menace, but their defence had no answer for Flannery, Wu, Milivojević, and Heyman.
Canberra now have the relative luxury of a full week off before they travel to face Wellington. They are improving in form and adding Grace Maher back into this squad makes them a team that those higher on the ladder will be increasingly wary of.
The Jets remain an entertaining team. They will score in most games, but this season they have conceded more. Newcastle have a bye and are back in action on the 28th January against Western Sydney Wanderers who will have two games in that time.
Teams: CANBERRA UNITED (4-4-2): Lincoln, Grove, Gett, Brush, Taylor-Young, Jale, Wu, Hughes, Flannery, Milivojević, Heyman. Substitutes: Roach, Murray, Ilijoski, Christopherson, Segavic.
Scorers: Heyman 16’, 52’. Wu 27’, Brush 78’, Milivojević 90+3’
NEWCASTLE JETS (4-2-3-1): Worth, T. Allen, Garnier, King, Clough, Johnson, Davis, Tamplin, Andrews, L. Allan, Brodigan. Substitutes: Stapleford, Agnew, Griffith, Konjarski, Olsen.
Scorers: Andrews 80’.
Referee: Lara Lee.
Attendance: 1,023.
Ahead of tomorrow’s huge WSL showdown between Arsenal and Chelsea, Impetus’ Kris Goman dialled into Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall media conference. In wide-ranging discussions, Kris reports on tragic news impacting Beth Mead, Jordan Nobbs’ departure, new signings, the importance of Caitlin Foord, and the match itself (14/1/23).
Above: Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall. Photo: KNews Media.
There was a lot to unpack in the Arsenal press conference in the lead-up to Sunday’s huge top-of-the-table London derby against Chelsea match at Emirates Stadium.
The tragic news that Beth Mead’s mother had passed away was shared. Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall passed on his condolences and said it was taking a lot of energy for the team to have a teammate that goes through that. He said the players have asked to play with black armbands to honour Beth, her mother, and their family.
There’s been a lot of changes during the winter break. But he still thinks that togetherness is the foundation of the team and how they achieve. “When you feel togetherness, you feel safety. And you feel that somebody will have your back. When you create that togetherness, you will have teams that play without fear, that are brave, that are front-footed, that wants to seize opportunities, that plays to win rather than not to lose. And that’s the transformation I want to see this team going through.”
He also mentioned the togetherness of the club. For example, when they were playing Lyon, their pitch was snowed in and the club arranged access to Emirates to train. And for this game, they’ve also been able to train at Emirates last week. “With new players, this has been really important, as they’ve never played at Emirates, so experiencing it before, means they are better prepared for the match. They are small things but all these things together mean we build together.”
The Gunners boss expressed excitement at the fact that it’s the third game in a row with ticket sales of over 40,000 at the club’s major stadium. He was hoping there might be a new record here against Chelsea as well. So he’s now looking at how they play with the crowd. “How do we find ways of using the crowd to energize the state of the game and make it as difficult as possible for the opposing team coming here to play at Emirates?”
The Swede was quizzed on how significant this game is for the season. His answer highlighted the fact that wins over your closest rivals do not always guarantee titles. “Last year, we played Chelsea twice and took four points off them. They took one point off us. We didn’t win the trophy. So it shows you can be better in the head-to-head but still not win. Of course, it helps. We want to win. So the answer is, every game is important if you want to win the League.”
Eidevall spoke of the loss of Vivianne Miedema and Mead, reflecting that whilst the pair leave a major hole, “It’s also an opportunity for other players to step in and an opportunity for us to develop and grow as a team. And it might be an opportunity in the transfer market to bring in replacements as well.”
Over the winter break, Eidevall has signed Canadian Sabrina D’Angelo as a new keeper, Netherlands midfielder Victoria Pelova, Danish midfielder Kathrine Kuhl and recalled Brazilian forward Gio Quiroz but there’s still a gap in the forwards, particularly for a dedicated striker.
Furthermore, it was proposed that he’s bringing a lot of young, creative talent in with the recent signings. There was a question as to whether bringing the age profile down was intentional or coincidental.
Eidevall replied that, “in terms of progressing the team long-term, he wasn’t in a position to buy the best in the market from a global perspective – 26, 27, 28 years olds…we have to be smarter with that and take the players earlier, identify them and see that we can grow together with these players. So we take players with the potential – no guarantees – but the potential to be the best when they develop.”
He hinted very strongly that he would be disappointed not to get a “prolific goal scorer” signed during the transfer window in addition to the current signings and said it should be a really important priority. He said all this with a bit of a smirk on his face so one could expect some big news very soon.
The other massive Arsenal news over the break was the surprise departure of club legend, Jordan Nobbs. Eidevall was able to shed a bit of light on this. He acknowledged that the Lionesses star was a very valued team member who played a very important role both on and off the pitch. He said that Nobbs asked to go, “as her playing minutes was not what she liked. And that’s how it is sometimes. But for her, it’s even more significant because it also impacts the probability of being selected for England. So that created the desire for her to go elsewhere.
“We have to look at it from that perspective. We have a player that we value so much but we also have to look at the history and see that she has given us everything for 12 years and she’s now asking us for a favour to be able to go. Of course, I would have liked to keep her but that was our way of showing the respect of the history she has in the club.”
Eidevall confirmed the break was very welcome saying he thought they were exhausted when they got to the break and everyone was looking forward to it so much. The last game was 22nd December and first one back is the 15th January so it was really more like three weeks. He thought it was vital that they had the break.
We spoke about Caitlin Foord stepping up in the absence of Miedema and Mead. “Caitlin Foord is a versatile player. She can play wide forward, she can play the nine, we have used her in different roles. But before we set this squad at the end of the transfer window, we need to ask certain players, and Foord is one of them, to be versatile and be able to cover more than one position and that’s going to be important for us so we can play the right way at the right moments of the games.”
Finally, he was asked how Pelova is fitting into the team and adjusting to England. He said it’s early in the process but she has all the qualities they signed her for. “She’s good on the ball, good balance, good at receiving the ball in small spaces, she’s got good pressing triggers so it all looks very promising. With all the new players, when you move to a different country, into a different culture, into a new team, time is important to build relationships and they all need to do that and invest.
Impetus’ Johnathan Stack had an EXCLUSIVE chat with England captain Leah Williamson ahead of the Lionesses’ return to action in February’s Arnold Clark Cup (13/1/23).
Above: Leah Williamson celebrating with England last summer. She is aiming to be doing it all over again this August. Photo: Lionesses.
With the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup fast approaching, teams will be looking forward to honing final preparations ahead of this summer’s showpiece tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
The Lionesses will be going into the World Cup as one of the tournament favourites, having had a great 2022. Their landmark victory over the USA at Wembley in October got everyone talking about England’s chances of adding a World title to their European crown.
England’s qualification was imperious – a 100% record and a goal difference of +80 as well as finishing 2022 unbeaten.
Captain Leah Williamson spoke of England’s chances ahead of this summer’s tournament saying: “Yeah, I think everybody wants to stay fit and wants to keep firing to give themselves the best chance to be involved in the summer.”
In the draw for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, England has been placed in Group B with Denmark, China, and the Group B playoff winner which will be either Senegal, Haiti, or Chile. Williamson knows that going all the way is a tough ask for any nation competing saying: “It’s a World Cup, it is not going to be easy. Every game presents new challenges, but for us potentially people that we don’t come across that often.”
Ahead of the World Cup, England has a busy schedule in 2023 as the Lionesses have the Arnold Clark Cup in February against Italy, Belgium, and South Korea, and then they have the UEFA/CONMEBOL Finalissia against South American champions Brazil at Wembley Stadium in April.
You throw in one or two World Cup warm-up games too and that is five or six games before the opening game against Denmark on 28th July, Williamson knows to be the best you have to play the best saying: “Ahead of a World Cup you want to play good teams.
“You want to get the best competition to see where you are really at, obviously, you want to win those games. But it is more about prep, where can you get better, and where are you already great. And that game at Wembley is another occasion for women’s football ahead of what should be an incredible summer, I hope it sells out and sets the tone for the summer.”
It will be interesting to see just how far the Lionesses can go next summer, all we know is it is going to be a great year for women’s football.
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