FA WSL Matchday 1 05/06 September

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A Predicto question for you (yes, you...youse)
- Who will be in 1st place after match 1?
This may become very important, if the season is abandoned on Monday and they pick a champion based on Goal Difference and Points Per Game... not that the FA would ever do that! (I'll predict Reading, just so nobody feels left out.)
The winning guess gets this beautiful but ultimately meaningless trophy

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Saturday 5 Sep - (GMT / See your local time here)
Aston Villa v Manchester City (13.30 GMT)

Sunday
Arsenal v Reading (11.30 GMT)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Birmingham City (13.00 GMT)
Bristol City v Everton
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
Ch'ship (div 2): Liverpool v Durham
Manchester United v Chelsea (13.30 GMT)

It begins on Saturday in Birmingham, at historic Villa Park.

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(cc-by Harry Vale)​

This is Villa Women's first game in the top flight for 16 years! Their signings were listed by @shlj, but it'll be a tough start for the promoted team, whichever Man City XI they encounter. City have signed USA World Cup winners Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle, and agreed terms with England's Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood, but maybe only Mewis will see any game time this weekend(?)

Last week in the Women's Community Shield, Man City lost to Chelsea, 2-0:

Here's an interview with Lavelle from her quarantine - it sounds like she still has a few days to go: https://offsiderulepodcast.com/2020...e-wsl-and-playing-against-her-childhood-hero/

TV coverage could get its own long webpage, but to add to shlj's list below, more local broadcasters are taking over to show the league - in the U.S. (about 50 games on NBC Sports site/app exclusively), Italy & Germany (DAZN, 44 games), probably all the first-choice matches - while the other games will be on the FA Player in those countries. Elsewhere, the FA app is a viewing option for most countries, and was the surprise newcomer in its debut season, one of the best football apps around.

Sunday: Australian TV previewed Man Utd v Chelsea

 

Man City Women.

 

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UK viewers can see the opener live here, forgot to mention..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=APK4_kivx6o

 

Georgia Stanway jumps in to score the first goal of the season for Man City:

6‘| A defensive mix-up presents Stanway with the opening goal of the game.

🦁 0-1 ⚫

— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) September 5, 2020

 

Too loose on the ball a couple of times, but I just love watching Weir play. Some terrific through balls and ridiculously tidy feet near Villa’s box.

Villa’s keeper had a first half to forget, but near the end of it, she held on well to a driven cross from Mewis. That carried into the second half as she was good and made at least three solid saves. Great save from Roebuck as well on a Follis breakaway chance.

 

Never helps when your keeper kicks the ball to an opponent right in front of her net. That was embarrassing. She was better in the 2nd half, the little I saw, but the damage was done.

 

She was way better in the second half. Roebuck would have been proud of the save on Beckie, and she stood up well vs Stanway twice. Also, I honestly put just as much blame if not more on the CB who dummied the ball for Stanway’s first. What was that?

 

Not to mention kicking the ball to Mewis directly who was standing there and passed to Stanway what could have been 3-0.

 

Trying to be clever with the ball. Rose Lavelle wannabe.

 

Nearly reminds me of this.

 

You take two poor shots, and opposition fans (i.e. Man United fans) already start calling you a fraud or saying you look lost out there. In reality, Mewis was fine/good and could have easily had a goal (i.e. wrongly disallowed in my opinion) and multiple assists [i.e. marginally offside White disallowed goal (not sure what VAR would have ruled based on the one replay I saw), throughball to Beckie, and cutback for Kelly] on another day.

 

They had fans in the stands?

 

Not yet, but some are going next week...

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/fans-allowed-wsl-west-ham-v-arsenal-2020.2111346/
(West Ham fans? Are they sure about that?) nah j/k

I guess the fans "calling Stanway names" were on the tweeter, you know what the discourse is like on the tweeter. #insults #trolling #presidentialdecrees

(Edit) Gaaaah!

 

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Sunday's early game Arsenal-Reading is starting soon, preview here:
https://arseblog.news/2020/09/arsenal-v-reading-women-match-preview/

Reading have Jess Fishlock on loan in the starting XI, and on the bench Korea FW Jeon Ga-eul, signed from Bristol City.


Match hasn't started yet, but the FA Player has been streaming, er, the Tour de France for some reason

THIS ISN'T FOOTBALL​

(filip bossuyt, cc-by)​

 

What a goal from @ArsenalWFC!

🎯 @leahcwilliamson
⚽️ Kim Little

Cool as you like from the Gunners captain! #ARSREA #BarclaysFAWSL pic.twitter.com/JpDaVQF2y2

— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) September 6, 2020

After Little opened the scoring with a super volley, there were more goals from Vivianne Miedema (32') and Jill Roord (40') and it's 3-0 at half-time. Arsenal went close a few more times while Reading's midfield pushed up to create some chances, but the home side are comfortable in this one.

The main action starts at the 'top of the hour', with three WSL kickoffs and the first match in the Championship for Liverpool, against Durham. In the WSL, in London at The Hive ground, Tottenham face West Ham (lineups here) - then Man United v Chelsea kicks off half an hour later.

 

Tottenham's entrance music is a ridiculously bombastic Star Wars piece, silly even by Premier League's standards. Let alone walking out on a dull Sunday afternoon at Barnet FC with no fans...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlYCxbBZUCY&t=2m37s

 

Do the Dutch have the most versatile group of CMs/CAMs anywhere? I was ripping into Stoney, but Groenen sets up the equalizer from freaking playing RW. Start her vs Birmingham though, Stoney. Seriously. Then, you have Roord being played different places (obviously standout today) and van de Donk being played at CAM or on the flank.

Kerr got a goal, but man, she needs to step up her finishing. I'm not her biggest fan, but I've never seen her miss so many good chances. A lot of Man United Women fans are being very critical of the team's starting midfield (Ladd, Zelem, and Toone) while some Chelsea Women fans are saying Man United Women's midfield did well. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

Groenen at right wing today? This I have to see....glad to read she set up a goal.

Meanwhile, while Little's volley was special, this Miedema howitzer might be the strike of the day. What a belter....

New season. Same @VivianneMiedema. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/1jVzhetk77

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) September 6, 2020

 

Absolutely ridiculous hit. Little's goal is maybe better because it was also set up by a quality ball from Williamson.

Came on in the 53rd minute. Spent most of her time at RW and a little bit of time late on at LW or in a sort of free role.