Leicester City: van Egmond 59’
Liverpool: NA
Pre-Match
First Half
Gareth Taylor and the Liverpool FC Women paly their first away match of the WSL season as they take on Leicester City. Both teams are in search of their first points of the season after big losses to open the season. The Foxes were drubbed 4-0 by Manchester United last weekend, while Liverpool started well but fell apart in a 4-1 loss to Everton.
There are several changes for Liverpool from last weekend. Jenna Clark gets a start at left back with Lily Woodham missing from the squad, presumably with a knock.
Ceri Holland is also only fit enough for the bench, giving Beata Olsson her first start for the Reds. Rafaela Borggräfe has rejoined the squad and is on the bench after missing out last week for personal reasons.
First Half
It looks like Liverpool are playing some sort of a 4-1-4-1 with Beata Olsson as the point striker and Fuka Nagano as the holding midfielder. Gemma Evans starting in the left back role, with Jenna Clark at center back. There are four natural center backs for Liverpool out there today.
Some early pressing from the Reds sees them force a turnover in the attacking half. The ball is recycled and shifted to Mia Enderby on the right, who is taken down in the channel after jinking the ball past a defender. Marie Höbinger sends the free kick deep to the far post, but Gemma Bonner sends her header wide of goal.
Great move down the left with some good early interplay between Marie Höbinger and Cornelia Kapocs. Höbinger slips a pass to Kapocs on the left edge of the box and the Swede gets a dangerous low cross sent across the face of goal. The ball is knocked back towards the top of the box and Mia Enderby gathers and tries a shot, but it is blocked out.
Mia Enderby is down holding her left knee. It was a contact injury after Enderby and a defender knocked knees while fighting for a ball. Definitely a painful one, but she is up after some treatment and able to continue.
After the restart the ball goes all the way back to Faye Kirby. The goalkeeper is cool as a cucumber with the ball at her feet when Leicester City press her and actually hits a cut back in her own box to beat a player before passing it to a teammate.
Fuka Nagano quickly takes a free kick, sending the ball to Marie Höbinger on the left. We again see Höbinger combine well with Cornelia Kapocs, and again the Swede is slipped into the box. This time Kapocs drives to the end line before cutting a ball back to Mia Enderby and the young attacker gets a shot on goal, but it doesn’t have the power to beat Janina Leitzig in net.
Grace Fisk charges down the right wing with the ball and is cleaned out with a late tackle after touching the ball forward to Mia Enderby. Marie Höbinger tries for trickery from the set piece, sliding the ball to Mia Enderby down the right channel with everyone in the box, but Enderby is hemmed in by the end line and a defender and the Reds have to just recycle possession.
Liverpool have had their success so far down the flanks, with Cornelia Kapocs and Mia Enderby seeing plenty of the ball. The Reds have struggled to get Beata Olsson involved through the middle to this point, with the new signing having just four touches through the opening 40 minutes.
Leicester City get their first shot of the game in the 42nd minute. It’s a wild shot from distance, skewing well high and wide of the goal.
After dominating the first half, Liverpool are almost undone in extra time. An early cross finds Asmite Ale in space on the left, and the wing back carries the ball into the box. Liverpool defenders converge on the ball and tried to clear it, but the ball rebounds off the leg of Ale and ends up running just past the outside of the post.
That’s the last significant action of the half. Liverpool have had over 70% of possession and generated 6 shots but have failed to really cause much trouble for Leitzig in goal.
Second Half
Gareth Taylor makes a change to start the second half, bringing on Ceri Holland for Mia Enderby as a right-sided attacker. Enderby did well beating players on the dribble with her tricky footwork down the right, but she didn’t generate many follow on chances.
Former Liverpool and current Arsenal player Olivia Smith is spotted in the stands. She is wearing a Liverpool kit. That’s nice I guess.
HANDBAGS! Jenna Clark does a fantastic bit of defending to get back and get in front of the attacker to shield the ball from Shannon O’Brien. The Leicester City player clips the heels of Clark and a foul is awarded to Liverpool. O’Brien voiced her opinions of the call to the referee and was shown a yellow card for dissent. It’s her second yellow after being shown a card early in the match, and O‘Brien is sent off!
Goal Leicester City. Just after going down to 10 players the Foxes break forward with the ball. Janice Cayman lofts a cross into the box from the attacking right side and Emily van Egmond waltzes between players to get a free header from the edge of the 6 yard box. The ball loops up over the leap of Faye Kirby and drops just under the crossbar to give the hosts a lead.
Liverpool will have just over 30 minutes to find at least and equalizer. They are a player up, but will need to be smart to create chances with Leicester settling even deeper into a low block as they now have a lead to defend.
Jenna Clark looks to force the issue from deep with an attempted long diagonal to Cornelia Kapocs on the left. Clark’s ball is well overhit and runs out of play for a goal kick with no one within 20 yards of the ball.
Liverpool look a mess and are struggling to make it out of their own half now. Poor passes and touches are seeing them have to continually recover the ball and then play it backwards again to recycle possession. A pass under no pressure goes out of bounds. The attacking band is looking very static as well.
Kirsty MacLean comes on for Sam Kerr in the 69th minute. MacLean had a nice cameo last weekend against Everton, showing good vision and creativity from a deeper position. Let’s see if she can help jump start the attack.
My dog threw up again while Liverpool are playing poorly. Don’t like this trend.
We are thirty minutes into the second half and Liverpool have failed to register a shot despite being up a player for the last 20 minutes. Not good.
Gareth Taylor makes two more changes in an attempt to generate dome offense. Sophie Roman Haug comes on for Beata Olsson up top while Risa Shimizu replaces Jenna Clark in defense. Shimizu goes to left back with Gemma Evans kicking inside to center back.
Liverpool do everything BUT take a shot in the box. A cross from Bonner is deflected by a defender just before Cornelia Kapocs can get a head to it. Multiple Liverpool players then elect to take extra touches at the edge of the box instead of shooting and the ball is eventually lost.
Liverpool FINALLY get a shot off in the 82nd minute. Risa Shimizu lofts a ball into the box from the left and Sophie Roman Haug heads it back towards the near post, forcing Janina Leitzig to pus the ball wide for a corner.
Marie Höbinger tries to drive past a player at the top of the box but her touch goes long. She does mange to get her foot in the way as a defender clears the ball and the ball loops up and falls to Ceri Holland. The midfielder tries for an audacious volley and skews it high and wide.
One last change for Liverpool as Leanne Kiernan comes on for Cornelia Kapocs in the 89th minute. The fourth official holds the board up showing five minutes of added time.
Kirsty MacLean does well to drive past two players as she cuts into the right side of the box. She gets a left footed effort away, but her shot rises just above the crossbar.
Ceri Holland drives forward with the ball down the left flank with two attackers making runs into the box. Holland hits a left footed cross but gets it all wrong and her ball goes behind the goal for a goal kick.
And that’s it, Liverpool lose on a goal scored just after Leicester City went down a player.
Final Thoughts
Yet again Liverpool are dominant through the first half but cannot find a way to take a lead into the break. It looked like the Reds would be in the driver’s seat after Shannon O’Brien was sent off for a second yellow, but the Foxes scored a sucker punch of a goal after a mental lapse in defense. The Liverpool’s attack was toothless in the second half as they chased the game for the second week in a row. Gareth Taylor and the squad will attempt to recoup ahead of a trip to Aston Villa next Sunday in search of their first points of the season.
