Wednesday 21 March 2012

Continental Cup- Birmingham Ladies v Everton


206 fans saw Blues ladies completed a Merseyside double after they defeated Everton 1-0 in their opening Continental Cup game of the season thanks to an 88th minute penalty scored by Jodie Taylor. Blues made one change to the team that brushed aside Liverpool in the FA Womens Cup the week before, with Rachel Williams returning from suspension to replace Eni Aluko up front alongside Jodie Taylor. Fit again Kerys Harrop made the substitute’s bench, whilst for the visitors Alex Greenwood partnered Lindsay Johnson for her full debut.



The game started brightly for the home side, and they showed their attacking intent right from the off, winning a free kick in a dangerous position in the first minute of the match, and Karen Carney forcing a save out of England keeper Rachel Brown. Blues were again on the attack after 5 minutes, when good build up play from Taylor and Williams led to the latter shooting over when well placed, and two minutes later the same pair were linking up well, this time Williams winning possession and playing in Taylor, who shot just wide. Everton were struggling to get into the game, and it was again Birmingham who had the next chance, Emily Westwood rising highest but heading a Jo Potter dead ball wide. The visitors’ first chance came on 12 minutes, Natasha Dowie shooting wide after being put through by Toni Duggan.

The midfield battle was very tight, with Potter and Jade Moore up against England internationals Jill Scott and Fara Williams, with Duggan also dropping deeper to assist. On 20 minutes, Everton produced the best chance of the match, a Greenwood free kick just outside the box was whipped in and Toni Duggan met it 6 yards out, but could only glance the ball wide of Marie Hourihan’s goal. Birmingham continued to press forward, and always looked threatening from crosses and set pieces, and after Rachel Unitt’s cross was fumbled by Brown, Chelsea Weston met the ball on her weaker left foot and shot over, and two minutes later a Karen Carney drilled cross was inches away from both Williams and Taylor. The shape of both sides was flexible, Izzy Christiansen and Carney swapping wings throughout the half, and Duggan also drifting between the role of supporting Dowie and dropping into a midfield 5. Everton showed their counter attacking qualities on 31 minutes, when Gwenn Harries won the ball in her half, and broke through the Birmingham midfield, feeding Duggan who missed the target, and Fara Williams was next to benefit from the Everton break but again she couldn’t force a save from Hourihan. Just before the break, Jodie Taylor was very close to breaking the deadlock, cutting inside Greenwood in the area, but before she could get her shot away, Brooke Chaplen got back with a last gasp tackle.

Half Time: Birmingham 0 – 0 Everton

Five minutes into the second half, the hosts made their first change of the game, Eni Aluko replacing Izzy Christiansen, with Aluko playing right midfield and Carney switching to the left. Everton were certainly the better side after the break, playing with more cohesion and passing the ball quicker and better, making Blues work very hard to remain level. Fara Williams forced a save from Hourihan with a free kick on 58 minutes, but moments later Birmingham should have had a penalty.



Rachel Williams chased down a ball over the Everton defence, and just as she got into the area was hauled down by Everton’s number 6 Johnson, but the referee waved away the appeals, much to the dismay of the home team. England under 23 international Duggan was next to miss the target for the Toffees twice in the space of 3 minutes, first from a Harries cross from the left, and then from a cross on the other side she skied her chance. Kerys Harrop came on for Carney on 67 minutes, a straight swap with Harrop playing ahead of Unitt. Rachel Williams was a threat all afternoon for the Everton defence, but her afternoon was cut short after receiving a twisted ankle, and she came off on 73 to be replaced by Maz Ballard in Birmingham’s final change of the match, whilst Everton made their first and only alteration, with Nikita Paris coming on for Dowie.

In what was a hard fought game, the first booking off the game came in the 78th minute, when Becky Easton was cautioned for a cynical block on the advancing Jade Moore. Duggan was to have two more chances to open the scoring as the game approached the end, firstly latching onto a loose ball in the area, and poking past Hourihan in the Blues goal, but didn’t get enough purchase on the ball, and Unitt was able to clear off the line, and secondly bending a shot towards goal, but the Blues No.1 was behind it to keep her clean sheet intact. The pivotal moment came on 88 minutes, when a Jo Potter free kick on the right touchline caused panic in the Everton defence, and when Captain Laura Bassett went to lash the ball home, she was brought down in the area, and the referee pointed to the spot. With regular spot kick taker Williams off the pitch, the duty was left to fellow striker Taylor, who stepped up and confidently sent Brown the wrong way to give Birmingham the lead. The remainder of the match, including 3 minutes injury time, passed without any further chances, and Blues held on for a hard earned victory.


Full Time: Birmingham 1 – 0 Everton

Everton can feel a little hard done by in the fact they certainly had the better of the second half, but they were fortunate not to be down to 10 men and a goal behind earlier than they did concede. Birmingham showed they are a team that will not be beaten easily; they fought for every ball, and were strong and resolute when Everton pushed forward and pressed harder for a goal, and it was no real surprise that one of the Blues centre halves won Player of the Match, Emily Westwood being preferred to Bassett, but no-one would have argued had it been given the other way. Both sides move on next week to the quarter finals of the FA Womens Cup, Birmingham at home to Sunderland and Everton facing the tie of the round, away to holders Arsenal.

For photos of this game please visit: www.flickr.com/birmcitylfc 


Blues: Hourihan, Weston, Bassett, Westwood, Unitt, Carney (Harrop 67), Moore, Potter, Christiansen (Aluko 50), Williams (Ballard 73), Taylor

Everton: Brown, Easton, Johnson, Greenwood, Chaplen, Handley, Williams, Scott, Harries, Dowie (Paris 73), Duggan



Monday 12 March 2012

Pair central to Birmingham's hopes of success


There was some eye opening results in the 5th round of the FA Womens Cup, including Bristol Academy's 3-0 victory over Leeds, with debutant's Nikki Watts and Laura Del Rio getting their first goals for the club, and Everton's 5-1 demolition of Manchester City, with Toni Duggan getting her season off to a flying start by grabbing a hat trick, but perhaps the most notable result of the round was Birmingham Ladies's 3-0 win over fellow WSL side Liverpool.

The side that ran Arsenal closest last season for trophies started off their season in supreme style, showing qualities in attack and defence that will be sure to send shockwaves through to North London. The Blues have added to their squad with the acquisitions of England internationals Rachel Unitt and Eni Aluko, and these two came in for their debuts at the expense of the injured Kerys Harrop and the suspended Rachel Williams. Other than these two changes, it was a similar outfit that played most of the club's successful season last term. The team may have lost Sally Stanton for the season due to her being pregnant with her second child, and players such as Dunia Susi and Stef Curtis have moved on, but this side know eachother very well, and it showed in their performance.
A back 5 which, with the exception of Harrop, will be the main first choice defensive line up showed experience and strength, the aerial abilities of Emily Westwood and captain Laura Bassett should not overlook their capabilites with the ball at their feet, and they often looked for the advancing runs of full backs Unitt and Chelsea Weston, who attacked at will.
Jade Moore
Birmingham will certainly cause opposing teams lots of problems with the attacking quality at their disposal, and against The Reds, they set up initially with England winger Karen Carney on the right side of midfield, Izzy Christiansen left, and Aluko and Jodie Taylor up front, but as the game went on it was easy to see how flexible that system could be, with the wide players switching wings frequently and the two strikers working the channels and pulling their markers wide plenty of times. The quality of crosses into the box was another major positive, with Carney, Unitt, Weston and Jo Potter all delivering balls which led to goal scoring opportunities, and no doubt they will continue to cause other teams problems as the season goes on. The front four played with such flair, linking up seamlessly as though they had played together for years, but it was not just their attacking threat that impressed. A good team defends from the front, and the front four worked incredibly hard pressing and closing down the Liverpool defence and midfield, battling back to assist their team mates at every opportunity, which must have delighted manager David Parker, and all this without last season's top WSL scorer Williams, who will surely be pushing for a start on her return. The midlands outfit certainly look to have a stronger looking depth to their squad this season.
Jo Potter

But for me, the main strength of this side, and any team, is the midfield pair of Jo Potter and Jade Moore. The duo played the majority of last season together and have built a partnership full of understanding in the middle of the park. So comfortable and confident on either foot whilst in possession, every move seems to involve the lively pair, keeping the ball and spreading it either to one of the wingers to start an attack, or threading precision through balls into the path of the strikers. Never rushed or panicked with the ball at their feet, the patient build up play displayed vs the merseyside club paid dividends as they gradually broke down a determined defence, and the central pair were pivotal in keeping the attacking momentum going, and not giving the Liverpool midfield any time on the ball. The fact Potter produces consistently devilish set pieces just adds another string to their bow, and they showed a real desire and will to win, which was mirrored by the rest of the side. They controlled the game from start to finish, and dictated the pace at which the hosts played, which was too much for Robbie Johnson's side.


Whilst England were involved in their World Cup campaign last year, Potter was a pundit for the BBC coverage, and Moore wasn't considered either, although the latter has recently been involved in the squad, grabbing her first international goal in this year's Cyprus Cup. Surely if they continue to play as well as they have been in the past year, they will both be heavily involved in the upcoming European Championships and the impending Olympic Games.

FA Cup - Birmingham Ladies v Liverpool Ladies

Birmingham City Ladies progressed to the Quarter Finals of the FA Women's Cup after a comprehensive 3-0 victory at home to Liverpool. Goals from Jodie Taylor, Izzy Christiansen and Maz Ballard secured the win and the perfect start to what promises to be an exciting season for The Blues. 


The home side were out of the traps early, passing the ball around quickly and trying to use the flanks for the runs of Taylor and new signing Aluko, and midfield dynamo Jade Moore had the first attempt of the match, shooting over on 2 minutes. Liverpool's first corner on 12 minutes came to nothing, but a minute later, Carney's first corner was cleared, but only straight back to the England winger, who sent in a dangerous cross which was headed wide by debutant left back Rachel Unitt. 





Katie Brussell looked lively for the visitors, testing Hourihan in the home goal on 20 mins, but Birmingham always looked more threatening, with Carney, Christiansen, Taylor and Aluko all linking very well considering the lack of playing time together. The pressure finally paid on 26 minutes, when Unitt's inviting cross was smartly finished by Jodie Taylor. Barely a minute later, Eni Aluko had her first real chance of the afternoon, racing through one-on-one with Liverpool's debut 'keeper Aroon Clansey, but was tharted by a good save. Captain Laura Bassett was next to venture forward, threading a fine through ball to England striker Aluko, but the Liverpool defence got back just in time to sniff out the danger. Taylor almost doubled the lead and her tally before the break after being put through by Carney, but Clansey was on hand to make a smart save.
 
Half Time: Birmingham City Ladies 1-0 Liverpool Ladies
 
The second half started as the first finished, with Birmingham on top and in full control of the game, with a lot of possession and another early chance for Aluko, but who was again denied by the strong Clansey in the Liverpool goal. Michelle Evans nearly brought Liverpool back into it with a curling left footed free kick, but this was saved low down by Hourihan. New Zealand international Clansey was having a busy afternoon, and was needed to deny the unfortunate Aluko once again just before the hour mark, but Blues' second goal was one to treasure, and there was nothing Clansey could do to prevent it. A long ball over the top was chased down by Taylor and Aluko, but Clansey rushed off her line to clear with her head, but only found Christiansen, whose first time volley from roughly 35 yards looped back over the goalkeeper's head and bounced into the unguarded net, a sublime finish to cap a brilliant performance by the youngster. 



Goal Scorer Izzy Christiansen 
Chances kept coming for the attack minded hosts, with Unitt heading Bassett's cross wide and Taylor forcing yet another save from the industrious Clansey. Liverpool made all three changes at once on 67 minutes, in the hope of rescuing something from the game. The fresher legs did provide the visitors with a little more impetous and drive, and enabled them to have a little more possession than they had been allowed previously, but still there was a lack of cutting edge and the superb duo of Jo Potter and Jade Moore in central midfield stifled any attacks as much as possible. Blues centre back Emily Westwood, always a threat from set pieces, rose highest to meet a Potter corner but headed wide on 79 minutes, and on 88 Birmingham made two changes, Carney and Aluko came off to warm applause for their efforts from the home crowd, with Ballard and debutant Torkildsen replacing the England duo, and it didnt take long for them to get into the action, as on the 90 minute mark, Torkildsen's ball caused problems for the defence, and Ballard challenged with Clansey, this time coming off the better, and after knocking the ball past the stranded keeper, poked home the third goal and the clincher from close range.


Maz Ballard wraps up the game for the blues
There was just time for a final blues substitution, with Harley Simpson coming on for her first appearance, replacing the hard working Jodie Taylor, until the final whistle blew and Birmingham marched on to the quarter finals of the FA Womens Cup.


For photos of this game please visit: www.flickr.com/birmcitylfc 
 
Full Time: Birmingham City Ladies 3-0 Liverpool Ladies
 
Birmingham (4-4-2): Hourihan, Weston, Bassett, Westwood, Unitt, Carney (Torkildsen 88), Moore, Potter, Christiansen, Aluko (Ballard 88), Taylor (Simpson 90)



Goals: Taylor (26) Christiansen (57) Ballard (90)
 
Liverpool (4-4-2): Clansey, Chappell, V Jones, Harding, Thowig, Shepherd (S Jones 67), Brussell, Foster (Lea 67), Littlejohn, Evans (C Jones 67), K Jones



Player of the match: Izzy Christiansen