Football worth waiting for

The Barclays WSL be Barclaysing

The big set of catch up fixtures this weekend did not disappoint. From Arsenal’s lackadaisical capitulation to fireworks at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the title race continued to confound. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, everything is looking a lot less clean cut than we had all assumed.

Manchester City 2 - Arsenal 1

Given Arsenal’s lax defending in the first half, this scoreline rather flatters them but either way this felt like if not the final nail in the coffin of the Gunners’ title hopes, but a very big one. Goals from Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly put City 2-0 up by half time and, despite a Rafaelle header, Arsenal showed little enthusiasm for clawing this game back.

Of course this match could have gone very differently if it had been played when it was supposed to. Scheduled as the showpiece fixture at the start of the season, Arsenal had Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema available to them at the time of its original date. Although given how much of the outcome here was self-inflicted, it feels like quite a big ‘What could have been?’

There was an extra level of intrigue around this match because the two teams had met midweek, with Arsenal prevailing over 120 minutes in the Continental Cup semi-final. One suspects Manchester City won’t be too upset to have won this one over the other one. The win puts them ahead of Arsenal into third with a game in hand, and well and truly in contention for a Champions League spot.

Jonas Eidevall had approached the midweek game by switching to a back three and kept the same formation on their trip north, although he switched out both his wingbacks with Noelle Maritz coming in for Laura Wienroither and Steph Catley coming in for Katie McCabe. It is easy to say that unforced errors decided this match but errors are prompted when players are unfamiliar with the system. 

Obviously Arsenal had played this shape only four days before against the same opponent but Gareth Taylor and Manchester City had also now had a look at it. Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly were a lot more aggressive in the gaps between the wing backs and the centre backs. Equally Yui Hasegawa made the most of the space afforded to her by Arsenal’s system, completing more passes than any of the Arsenal team managed, and physically matching any attempts to muscle her off the ball.  

When Arsenal look back on this season, their struggles against their close rivals will have been the determining factor in where they end up. With all of the top four having played each other once, Arsenal have picked up only one point from the three fixtures - a draw against Chelsea at the Emirates in January. Chelsea meanwhile are yet to be beaten by any of the other three teams jostling at the top of the league.

The international break will give Eidevall plenty to ponder as despite the defensive errors capturing attention, it is in attack where Arsenal look particularly fallible. They managed only two shots on target in the match, and are yet to score a goal from open play in the WSL since they returned after Christmas. Two matches against Chelsea in the FA Cup 4th round followed by the Conti Cup final should represent a stern test of Eidevall’s ideas.

Tottenham 1 - Manchester United 2

A sleepy Sunday lunchtime fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium was brought alive with five minutes of chaos in the final quarter of an hour. A spectacular solo goal from Beth England looked to have got Tottenham back into it, after they went behind to Leah Galton’s finish. However, Manchester United’s immediate attack was (rather impressively) turned into her own net by Molly Bartrip. Tensions continued to run high, however, with Ella Toone receiving a straight red card.

Manchester United got into good positions in this match but struggled to find the final ball into the area. It felt like it was only a matter of time however until they hurt Spurs given how often they were able to reach the byline and both goals did come from crosses from out wide. Yet there is still a lingering feeling that this team is starting to wobble in front of goal.

Meanwhile Beth England became the first WSL player ever to score in three consecutive matches and lose them all. Her benefit to this Spurs side is clear to see with her and Ashleigh Neville combining to make impressive opportunities out of the scraps that their attacking build up play offered. Yet Spurs have now lost seven consecutive WSL matches and are firmly in a relegation battle. England’s quality alone means that you would be on them to be fine, but it is a damning indictment on Rehanne Skinner who can have no complaints about the backing that the club has given her in the transfer market.

Manchester United return to the top of the WSL for now. This win might be taken as evidence that they do have the mentality to push all the way until the end of the season. They have been less than convincing in their past three games but have come away with seven points. However, the Toone red card looks set to put a slight dampener on proceedings. If the offence is upheld, she will miss their crucial away fixture against Chelsea in March.

Liverpool 0 - Leicester City 1

Leicester made it two wins from three matches to really add some excitement to the relegation battle. They are now just a point behind Reading with a game in hand whilst Brighton and Tottenham are also in their sights. 

In past years, teams who have looked certain to go down have often shown signs of life around this point of the season just to get us all excited before getting relegated anyway. Arguably all three of the teams above Leicester are better than them, with Willie Kirk yet to find much attacking impetus with his team - their goal against Liverpool came from a corner. However, with matches against Reading and Brighton still to play, they have certainly turned around their fortunes pretty quickly. Perhaps the great escape really is on.

Brighton 2 - Aston Villa 6

When Jens Scheuer was appointed at Brighton, it was seen as a bit of a coup for the Sussex club. Scheuer had most recently been managing at Bayern Munich, a far cry from Brighton’s current position in the WSL. However, things are not looking bright by the seaside. They were ripped apart by a rampant Villa who mercilessly exploited the space Brighton had left in behind. 

Despite bringing in a whole host of new players in January, Brighton have been unable to make them gel and even though they took the lead in this match, their openness at the back made it far too easy for Villa to take advantage. 

Hope Powell had managed Brighton for five years so the transition was never necessarily going to be easy but the sudden change in style has left them incredibly vulnerable. Scheuer’s tactical risks could end up being terminal.