It was a heartbreaking end to our Subway Women's League Cup campaign as we were pipped to the final by a last-gasp winner from Manchester City.
We trailed in the tie until Mariona Caldentey stepped up to the penalty spot to level the score and galvanise our hopes. However, Mary Fowler clinched the victory for the visitors with the final kick of the game.
What happened?
Renée Slegers made just one change to the starting XI that defeated Manchester City just four days ago in the Barclays Women's Super League. Lia Walti came into the midfield, with Mariona Caldentey shifting onto the wing with Alessia Russo.
Despite a kick-off delayed by half an hour, it was a frantic start to the semi-final, with neither side retaining comfortable possession in the middle of the park.
Emily Fox was called into action from the off in both final thirds, surging forward on the overlap and tasked with keeping a lid on City’s January signing, Kerolin.
It was the visitors who enjoyed the most promising chances in the opening 15 minutes, with Daphne van Domselaar pulling off a series of solid saves to keep them at bay.
City’s relentless pressure did pay off eventually before the 30-minute mark. A charge through the middle of the pitch from Vivianne Miedema set up Mary Fowler at the edge of the box. The Australian winger let fly with a rocket of a strike that van Domselaar was powerless to stop.
The visitors continued to threaten after taking the lead but Van Domselaar stayed resilient in goal, equal to a number of tests City sent her way. Their lead remained slender as the two sides went back to the tunnel for half-time.
Invigorated by the break, our Gunners turned the game on its head in the second half. Lotte Wubben-Moy was resolute at the back and a stellar run from her own third nearly resulted in a wonder goal from our number 3.
The shift in momentum came just before the hour mark, as Stina Blackstenius surged forward and was brought down in the area. The referee pointed to the spot and Mariona Caldentey comfortably dispatched the penalty to level the score.
Our elation would be short-lived as less than two minutes later, City were granted their own penalty when Fowler was deemed to be tripped in the area. This time, however, the fantastic van Domselaar stood firm, tipping the Australian’s effort away for a corner.
The combination of our equaliser and the penalty save swung the energy of the game in our favour, and we began to dominate for the first time. However, a number of chances went begging for our front line - both from open play and set pieces - and it looked as though both sides were set for extra time.
With just seconds left on the clock, Fowler proved to be our undoing once more. The forward let a speculative shot fly from outside the box and with van Domselaar’s vision obscured, the ball trickled into the bottom corner.
What's next
We have a chance to bounce back quickly in another tournament as we face London City Lionesses in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 2pm (UK) at Meadow Park.
Line-ups
Arsenal starting XI: van Domselaar, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Williamson (C), Catley (McCabe, 74), Walti, Cooney-Cross, Maanum (Foord, 74), Russo, Mariona, Blackstenius
Subs: Zinsberger, Codina, Ilestedt, Nighswonger, Reid, Kafaji, Mead
Manchester City starting XI: Yamashita, Casparij, Knaak, Aleixandri, Layzell (Ouahabi, 63), Hasegawa, Kerolin, Fowler, Fujino, Roord, Miedema (Park, 77)
Subs: Keating, Blindkilde Brown, Davies, Murphy, Oyama, Prior
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