Arsenal took another step towards ending their trophy drought last night as they defeated Manchester City 1-0 to qualify for the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup final.
It was a hard-fought victory for The Gunners that required extra-time for a goal to be scored after an evenly-contested 90 minutes.
When speaking to the media after the match, Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall acknowledged his side’s lack of attacking potency in regulation time.
“We were not working quick enough in the first half, so we ended up facing our own goal when we got the ball which creates a lot of problems and creates a lot of pressing triggers for them,” Eidevall said.
Arsenal eventually grew into the game and they looked much the better team in the dying moments of normal time. Eidevall stressed to his players the importance of maintaining the good work from the second half going into extra-time.
He said “I told them that when two teams get tired, you think you need to do something different to produce a different result. I said ‘I think the opposite’, I think the team that can continue doing the basics the best is going to be the team that’s going to win.
“I was just instilling that into the players; trust the game plan, don’t change anything, don’t make it complicated, make the same pass as before, don’t think that you need to do things on your own, trust the team, trust the passes, trust your teammates in the press.”
The tie seemed to turn just after the hour mark when Eidevall introduced Lina Hurtig, Steph Catley and eventual match winner, Stina Blackstenius. The added attacking impetus that the two Swedish internationals offered caused countless problems for the Manchester City backline but Eidevall asserts that nothing ground-breaking was said to the players prior to their introductions.
“It’s not a Braveheart speech,” Eidevall chuckled. “It’s nothing fun or inspiring at that time because I think you just need to be reminded of the key behaviours that you need to do so you’re focused. They’re obviously all buzzing to be coming on and it’s about reminding them what their roles and responsibilities are.”
Arsenal’s failed January attempt to prize Alessia Russo away from Manchester United added responsibility onto the shoulders of Blackstenius to lead the front-line. The Swede was able to step up when it mattered most and provided the killer touch to put her side ahead. Eidevall highlighted the commitment that Blackstenius is putting into her game.
He said “Look how well she is working in her positioning. For me, I know Stina will score a lot of goals. It has just been a matter of going back to that, staying more central, more in front of goal, trust more that the ball will come there and not getting involved too early.”
Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup final on Sunday 5 March 2023.