Juve host Arsegals today 2:45pm in UCL group stage. On DAZN presumably, which is perhaps my least favorite streaming platform of all Edit: Sorry the KO is 12:45pm ET (not 2:45)
HT JUV 0-1 ARS A deserved lead. Even though game was pretty open and end-to-end, we were the better team, largely controlling the tempo. And our 38' goal was good evidence of that: beautifully worked team-passing finished off delicately by Maanum. Otherwise, Russo & Fox are 2 players having a particularly lively, involved 1T. Juve's offense shows signs of having a goal in them, so we'd do well to consolidate this lead with our second. Let's hope Slegers resists the urge to manage a one goal lead for all of 2T.
FT JUV 0-4 ARS Juve came out of HT with real intent and energy. But we always looked a step in class better than them. So then... Prayers answered by 2 of our subs: Stina scored a solo will-power goal at 75' and Caldentey added a 3rd at 80' when Juve's defense was all over the place. And right before FT, Foord scooped in a 4th! So we start to cement 2nd place in the group. And with 9 goals in 2 games... hmm... looks like Renee the stand-in coach is getting a better tune out of our squad than Jonas had been.
Next up: NLD at the Toilet Bowl, Sat Nov 16th 8:45am ET on ESPN+ Here's hoping for a third romp in a row. But frankly just any old kinda win would do.
Bump If you're missing your footy this morning, maybe try out the Women's NLD which is on right now on ESPN+ Russo with a quick opportunistic strike at just 65 secs put us up 1-0. Spurs seems to be good at allowing that... last weekend they conceded at just 24 secs. Let's just hope we don't just carefully manage a 1-0 for the whole game. Let's see our 3rd thumping in a row!
22' Maanum makes it 2-0. And the announcer rightly says "it's too easy". Frida with a non-celebration... IDK why... maybe as if to say this is just a training session, preordained.
66’ Blackstenius been on the pitch for just 2 mins, has just 2 touches and calmly slots home the 2nd. Fantastic 1-touch thruball assist by Caldenty. 3-0 Puttin Spuds to the sword. Emphatically erasing last season’s bad memory.
AWFC host Juve tomorrow (Thurs) at 3pm ET (on DAZN) in the return leg, after whipping them 4-0 in Torino last week. Winning this match, by any margin, will all but cement 2nd place in the group (with 1st place still a possibility) and progression.
HT ARS 0-0 JUV Not much to see frankly. We're dominating possession (75%) and still seem the better team but we've also been frustrated by their solid defending and we've produced only one or two true threats on their goal (officially 1 shot, 0 on goal). Not enough aggression & urgency. We BADLY need to turn up the temperature. Speaking of that, it looks like a bitter cold night in N5 so the paltry crowd (<10K?) may be indicative of that, plus it's midweek. p.s. If we win, sounds like we qualify for knockouts. An opportunity not to miss!!
FT ARS 1-0 JUV It was tough going and we left it way late, but Hurtig's 89' goal sealed the deal. We definitely showed more urgency in 2T. And with no goals coming from that, Slegers went for aerial height by introducing Blackstenius (66') & Hurtig (80'). And later she gave young phenom Kafaji (88') another short cameo... too short methinks. It was almost 2 points dropped, and had that been, Hurtig might've been the scapegoat since she missed 2 golden headers near goal. But in the end she saved her blushes by poking in a ball bouncing around 1 yard from goal. Phew! Alright then. Another positive step, as we head to QF (I believe) of UCL. And hard to see them casting Slegers aside anytime super soon. Even if she probably coulda/shoulda made her tacitcal change earlier than she did tonight. ONWARD
Just watched 4 of our women play at a packed Wembley where it was ENG 0-0 USA. A tight, cup-final-like affair. Fitting I guess considering the caliber of the teams and the coaches. Williamson, Mead & Russo for ENG. Plus Fox for USA. All 4 played full 90. So hopefully for their club's sake, they won't have to do that again on Tuesday. All 4 had good games I thought, especially Emily Fox who continues to play with the utmost quality and reliability... for a year or two now. Wow, she's such a good nailed on starter for both her teams
Seeing as my 2 men’s teams weren't so hot this weekend, I should have not forgotten to watch the women who seemed to have had an easy time with Villa today 4-0 at the Grove. And we stay in 4th, ahead of Yanited by GD. Nice to see some goals flowing from 3 forwards who can really use them: Blackstenius, Mead and Russo (2). I am especially excited to see Alessia start to bag, goals, confidently, like we’ve always known, she is capable of. Check out the last goal by her at the end of these highlights.
We kickoff at Valerenga in a few minutes (12:45 ET on DAZN) in UCL group MD5. We’ve basically (but not mathematically) qualified already for a knockouts. But any points today will seal it. Valerenga you ask? Yes, I had to look it up myself… Norway. Some rotation in our XI today. Including Emily Fox finally gets a rest, and 18YO Katy Reid takes her spot. Well deserved for both.
HT VAL 0-2 ARS Pretty easy going so far. Russo & Maanum with goals. That’s probably all I can watch so here’s hoping they see this out
FT VAL 1-3 ARS In the end a very comfy win, and Slegers gave starts & sub minutes to a relative slew of second & third stringers, plus "youth". Which is probably why we let them come back in the game in the final 15 mins. And so, with 1 game to go, we guarantee our place in the knockouts, which for the women starts with QF's.
Tomorrow (Sunday) 9:30am ET on Espn+… Liverpool vs AWFC Every single league game is a must win. And I have a hunch the gals won’t do what lads did earlier today.
HT LFC 0-1 AFC Should be 2-0 at least, but we (Caldentey) missed a PK and generally took our foot off the gas after Russo’s opener at 20’. Almost self-sabotaged our lead when McCabe bizarrely hit our own post late in the half. Stegers needs to light a fire for 2T. All our direct rivals dropped points this weekend so we absolutely have to capitalize on that. And not follow the men’s example yesterday.
FT LFC 0-1 AWFC Well we got all 3 pts and now sit 3rd (on GD). BUT… It was far far from comfy. Far from completely dominant. Even if we were quite clearly the better team. Reminded me quite a bit of yesterday’s match against equally well organized Scousers. Now they have a nice winter break like the men can only dream of. See ya in 2025.
I misspoke there. Forgot about the UWCL rematch vs Bayern this Weds. Maybe I lost visibility because it's concurrent to the men's match vs Palace. I suppose I'll be the only one on this board to do dual screen to keep an eye on the gals and their quest to avenge the 5-2 tonking they got in Munchen, and if we beat them we win the group. Fairly long odds but ya never know. p.s. There was a slight controversy when the men's EFL QF match got scheduled on top of the women's match at the Grove, which then had to move to Meadow Park. That might actually be an advantage in that the stands are tight to the pitch and the fans get very vocal.
58' 1-2 to Bayern. A night of ugly sloppy conditions and ugly sloppy goals. This doesn't seem over yet though. Edit: 59' sure enough Russo makes it 2-2! The wind is wreaking havoc with corners me thinks.
FT ARS 3-2 BAY Hmm... same score as the men tonight. Very different match though. This one was a right battle in tough weather. Bayern could have a case to make that they deserved a result. But they also made mistakes that led to 2 of our goals. But we stuck around, played them close. Maybe they edged us slightly on stats, but we beat them on good old fashioned guts and desire. Also, our "interim" coach Slegers showed her mettle again with some tactical subs in 2T. My hunch is that she'll be given the rest of the season and then be considered for the permanent job along with others from outside. And in the end we TOP THE GROUP! And get to play the QF's against one of the other 2nd place teams I believe: Wolfsburg, Real or Citeh. (assuming we aren't allowed to play Bayern twice in a row)