The UEFA Women’s Champions League round of 16 concluded last week with some exciting and action packed matches. Glasgow City FC made history by becoming the first Scottish team to reach the quarterfinals. Outside of the UWCL, Kristie Mewis came up big for Iga FC in the first leg of their playoff/relegation series in Japan.
UEFA Women’s Champions League
Glasgow City FC 4 – 2 Zurich (agg 5-4)
Glasgow City FC made another dramatic comeback at home to secure a historic place in the quarterfinals, beating Zurich 4-2 (5-4 on aggregate). Morgan Marlborough started again for City had one of the better chances in the first half as she beat the goalkeeper in the air and got her head on the ball, but glanced it just wide of the net. City had a higher number of chances in the first half, but Zurich were able to pull ahead right before the break. An astounding nine minutes of stoppage time were added due to an injury that resulted in a very early substitution for Zurich and the club was able to take advantage of a loose ball in the box and put one in. Glasgow also suffered an early loss due to injury as goalkeeper Lee Alexander was withdrawn at the half due to a suspected broken collarbone, which has since been confirmed.
It didn’t take long for City to even the score as Abbi Grant caught the Zurich goalkeeper off her line and chipped the ball overhead and into the goal. City took the lead in the 64th minute as Denise O’Sullivan was pulled down in the box. Leanne Ross scored on the resulting penalty, giving City 2-1 lead. That lead as short-lived, however, as the ball was rolled over to Fabienne Humm who was left completely wide open in front of the goal for an easy tap in with the goalkeeper out of position, thing the game once more. Needing to score twice within ten minutes, City really put the pressure on and was rewarded handsomely with an outstanding goal by Joanne Love. City was awarded a corner which took a bounce out to the edge of the box where Love absolutely ripped it past the goalkeeper to give City the lead 3-2 in the 81st minute. The 87th minute brought about the goal that would send City to the quarterfinals. Fittingly, that goal would come from City’s all time leading goalscorer, Suzanne Lappin as she beat the goalkeeper in the air from a free kick and headed it into the back of the net.
Fortuna Hjørring 0 – 2 FC Rosengard (agg. 1-4)
Fortuna saw their Champions League campaign come to an end as they were defeated 2-0 in the second leg of their matchup against Sweden champions Rosengard. Michelle Betos, Taryn Hemmings and Melissa Henderson all got the start for Fortuna. This match was fairly one sided in Rosengard’s favor as far as possession and offensive capabilities goes. Fortuna did well to keep the match scoreless for most of the first half, conceding from the spot in the 44th minute. Ramona Bachmann was fouled in the box and unsurprisingly, it was Marta who took the penalty, giving Rosengard a 1-0 lead right before the half. Fortuna mounted very little offense throughout the second half, and hopes of advancing seemed to fade as Katrin Schmidt scored in the 77th minute for Rosengard. Fortuna did well to only allow those two goals as Betos was faced with barrage of shots and made an incredible ten saves on the night, but the inability for the club to score made advancing to the finals impossible.
Torres 0 – 4 Frankfurt (agg. 0-9)
Frankfurt continued their dominance over Torres, easily advancing to the quarterfinals. Frankfurt controlled the match from the start, maintaining the majority of possession and relentlessly attacking the Torres goal. Frankfurt had a number of opportunities early on that either missed or hit the woodwork, but were able to net the first goal of the match from Dzsenifer Marozsán in the 33rd minute. Torres would net an own goal several minutes later with the first half scoring wrapping up with Célia Šašić in the 45th minute. Šašić doubled her tally in the 88th minute to put Frankfurt ahead 4-0.
Lyon 0 – 1 Paris Saint-Germain (agg. 1-2)
In a match that was both chippy, for lack of a better word, and where Lyon had a slight edge for the majority, it was PSG who advanced to the quarterfinals, scoring the lone goal in the second leg. There was no shortage of fouls in this match as both teams traded sloppy challenges at the start of the match with two yellow cards shown within the first half hour. The second half seemed to settle down more and Lyon slightly out possessed PSG and had the better of the opportunities between the two clubs. As the match went on it seemed more likely that Lyon would advance on the away goal rules until Fatmire Alushi netted the game winner for PSG. Alushi was the loan goal for PSG in the first leg of the matchup as well.
Domestic League Action
Glasgow City FC 5 – 0 Spartans (Scottish Women’s Premier League)
Glasgow City completed a treble over the weekend as they defeated Spartans 5-0 to claim the Scottish Cup. They had claimed the League Cup and SWPL title earlier in the season. The victory was extra sweet as they last time City faced Spartans, their long standing undefeated streak was broken. Two players had a multiple goal game for City as Fiona Brown and Jo Love each grabbed a pair of goals with Denise O’Sullivan adding one of her own. Brown’s first goal came as City were looking unsettled and lackluster but provided the spark the team needed to secure the victory. O’Sullivan’s goal came late in the first half, providing some insurance heading into the break. City came out on the attack at the start of the second half and were rewarded in the 67th minute. Second half substitution, Morgan Marlborough crossed the ball to Susan Fairlie whose shot was blocked, but the rebound fell to Brown for her second of the night. Two goals by Love finished brought the score to 5-0 and secured the Scottish Cup for City.
Albirex Niigata 5 – 1 Yunogo Bell (Nadeshiko League)
Tiffany McCarty got the start and scored another goal in Niigata’s 5-1 victory over Yunogo Bell. This was the second consecutive match McCarty has scored in. McCarty had featured in several matches since returning to the club but had been unable to find the back of the net until she scored the lone goal in the club’s victory over Jeff L last week. It’s been nice to see McCarty become more of a regular started for the club and having her score goals is a great confidence booster during the off season.
Iga FC 2 – 1 Nittaidai
Kristie Mewis came up big for Iga FC in the first leg of their promotion/relegation match against Nittaidai. Lewis not only started and played a full 90 minutes, but she scored the winning goal late in stoppage time in the second half. Mewis had earned previous starts for Iga since joining the club, but this was her first time scoring with them and it could not have come at a better time. Iga will play Nittaidai in a second leg to determine whether they stay in their current league or are relegated.
Feature photo courtesy of Andy Buist
