Arnold Eagles vs Us — League Cup Fixture

Today we faced Arnold Eagles in our 2nd League Cup fixture, with hopes that we would go one better than last time out.

A Bright Start

We started brightly, with Estee, Naomi, Daphnie and Ella battling well in the middle and helping protect our defence. Cheska and Charliee were running hard up front, limiting the time Arnold had in defence.

It started to become a bit back and forth as both teams played long passes forward. Jessie and Georgie looked composed and calm under these balls, so we didn’t look under too much pressure. Lillyana and Layla kept their wingers quiet as well.

Taking the Lead

In the 27th minute, we took the lead. A hopeful ball was played forward by Arnold, and Lillyana was on hand to cover. She turned and played a long ball into the left wing area for Freya, who ran onto it. Just as it looked like it was going to get away from her, Daphnie came across, collected the ball, cut inside and finished past the Arnold keeper. That gave us a lead at half time.

A Tough Second Half

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long after half time — a bit of a mix up allowed Arnold to equalise. We continued to battle hard, with Erin now deployed on the right of midfield, trying to get up to support the strikers.

But on one attack, Arnold won the ball and, three passes forward, slotted it past Hollie to make it 2-1. The girls’ heads didn’t drop, and we continued to put pressure on the Arnold goal. We had a number of corners, which just didn’t drop in the right place for us to score. From one of these corners, taken by Layla, the ball came out to Daphnie, who struck it towards goal but hit the post.

We continued to chase an equaliser when a ball popped up and hit a hand in the Arnold box. Charliee stepped up to take the penalty but unfortunately pushed it wide.

Back on Level Terms

This disappointment didn’t stop the girls, who kept trying to get the equaliser. Suddenly Jessie played a long pass forward that an Arnold player touched, allowing Cheska to collect the ball and pass it to Daphnie on the edge of the box. She squared it towards an on-rushing Naomi and Charliee — and it was Charliee who hit the ball past the Arnold keeper. 2-2.

The Lottery of Penalties

With five minutes left to play, we tried and tried to get a winner, but we just couldn’t quite get it. So, for the 2nd cup game, it was the lottery of penalties. Ella, Jessie and Layla scored their goals, whilst Hollie bravely tried to stop the Arnold ones, unfortunately without success. Up stepped Daphnie, but her penalty was saved, which left Arnold to take the extra point when they scored their final ball.