Blackstenius the hero as Arsenal reach Conti Cup final

Arsenal Women 1-0 Manchester City

Meadow Park

Continental League Cup semi final

Substitute Stina Blackstenius was the difference maker as Arsenal knocked out holders Manchester City to progress to the final of the Conti Cup after extra time.

Jonas Eidevall set his defence out in a back five for perhaps the first time in his tenure as Arsenal manager, utilising his three strongest centre backs and allowing McCabe and Wienroither to have free reign to bomb forward down the flanks.

After somehow not finding the back of the net for 90 minutes in a frustrating 0-0 draw away at West Ham on Sunday, Laura Wienroither was almost Arsenal’s unlikely hero early on as the full back was played in behind the City defence, with her shot well saved by the legs of Sandy MacIver.

Hemp looked to have the beating of Wienroither in terms of pace, and was able to beat the Austrian before trying to lob D’Angelo in the Arsenal goal, but to no avail. After some excellent work by Maanum, Katie McCabe won Arsenal a free kick in an excellent position, but the angle was tight and Maanum could only find the side netting as the game developed into something of a tetchy affair.

As Wienroither was beaten again by Hemp before Shaw fired over the crossbar, the good number of travelling City fans became more and more vocal of their side, who remained wasteful in front of goal. Arsenal’s January signings Pelova and Kuhl displayed their quality on the ball but will understandably take time to link up with new teammates on the pitch.

Caitlin Foord had her work cut out upfront but was able to wriggle free of Australia teammate Alana Kennedy, only to fire her shot high over the crossbar with eight minutes to go of the first half. Lauren Hemp added her name to the list of players to have smashed a shot high and wide in the first half before the two sides made their way down the tunnel after a goalless first half.

Both Jonas Eidevall and Gareth Taylor named unchanged sides for the second half before Foord was adjudged offside after striking the crossbar from close range. Arsenal continued to struggle to find any kind of attacking rhythm- after their missed chances against West Ham at the weekend the Gunners needed to find goals, but instead Eidevall elected for a more defensive formation that Arsenal struggled to adapt to when they were on the ball.

City continued to play on the front foot and Chloe Kelly created an excellent chance for herself, only for the shot to be deflected wide of D’Angelo’s far post, before Shaw again came close with a long range effort.

Jonas Eidevall had elected to bring new signings Kuhl and Pelova into the side, but both midfielders were replaced midway through the second half for Blackstenius and Hurtig, who had started the West Ham game. The latter somehow spurned the best chance of the game just moments after coming on, hitting the crossbar from glaringly close range.

Blackstenius took the game by the scruff of the neck, turning smartly in the box and forcing a save from MacIver. Luck didn’t seem to be on Lina Hurtig’s side, with the Swede heading wide of the mark minutes later. Injuries to City players disrupted the flow of the game as Arsenal finally started to put the visitors under considerable pressure with extra time looming.

MacIver took ninety-five minutes to make her first mistake of the game, spilling the ball in the box but Blackstenius’ shot was somehow kept out on the goalline, with nothing appearing to go Arsenal’s way as the second half came to an end after a seemingly mammoth amount of injury time.

Extra time would not have been ideal for either camp with both of these sides doing battle in the league at City’s Academy Stadium on Saturday. However, it took less than four minutes for Stina Blackstenius to finally break the deadlock with a deflected close range finish that gave the Gunners a deserved lead.

The pressure shifted back to City to respond, and the outstanding Sabrina D’Angelo was forced into another excellent save to keep the ball from finding the bottom corner, before turning to encourage the North Bank to make even more noise as the two sides reached the midway point of extra time.

Tackles flew in from both sides as Arsenal continued to hold firm whilst City looked lost for ideas of how to break down the Gunners defence. After over 120 minutes, Abigail Byrne’s final whistle signalled the second cup final of the Jonas Eidevall era and jubilation for the Arsenal fans, who will travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday March 5 to play either West Ham United or Chelsea in a London Derby in the south of the capital.