Manchester Metropolis loved a 3rd win out of three Ladies’s Champions League group-stage video games with victory over Hammarby however the English aspect now face an anxious wait to be taught whether or not or not the England winger Lauren Hemp can be out there for Saturday’s hotly-anticipated top-of-the-table conflict with Chelsea.
Hemp was unable to play in Tuesday’s assembly with the Swedish guests due to a possible, as but unspecified damage, the Manchester Metropolis head coach, Gareth Taylor, revealed following the sport, the place second-half targets from the kids Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino give his aspect a deserved 2-0 victory in Hemp’s absence.
The English top-flight leaders carried out beneath the excessive requirements they’ve set to this point this season however can have been glad to get the job performed nonetheless, on an evening once they have been with out the artistic affect of the in-form Hemp, who offered three assists of their earlier outing and who has created probably the most possibilities (26) of any participant within the WSL to this point this time period.
“We’ve simply acquired a difficulty with Lauren that we simply have to analyse somewhat bit additional. That’s all. It’s one thing that probably occurred within the [Crystal] Palace sport. She was capable of play within the Spurs sport however wasn’t capable of tonight, so we’ll simply take somewhat bit longer to evaluate and discover out extra,” Taylor defined. When requested if Hemp may play on Saturday, he added: “Hopefully, sure hopefully. There’s a possibility there, so we’ll simply should take our second tomorrow, have an excellent dialog and discover out the place we’re at with the medical employees.”
Hemp’s absence on Tuesday had been a shock, however the hosts nonetheless dominated and Taylor was eager to reward the efficiency of his squad gamers who stepped up. But this was no simple win. If any Metropolis followers had assumed this may be a walkover, having seen that Hammarby have been trounced 9-0 of their earlier away sport on this group when up towards the defending champions, Barcelona, they have been quickly proved mistaken because the guests’ defence put up a considerably stronger resistance.
Taylor had, on Monday, described that 9-0 scoreline as “deceptive”, warning his staff to not be complacent. That hefty deficit had clearly not deterred the Swedish staff’s die-hard travelling supporters, whose partisan contribution offered a soundtrack that was comparatively distinctive within the context of the Ladies’s Champions League, the place away followings can typically be minimal.
Just below 400 Hammarby followers had spent the afternoon singing proudly in Manchester metropolis centre they usually carried their tifo, inexperienced and white scarves and a constantly-banging drum to the Joie Stadium, the place they by no means as soon as let up the noise. Their chanting was ever-present within the chilly November air, no matter the truth that the house staff have been controlling nearly the entire possession, they usually nearly went into overdrive when their Japan midfielder Asato Miyagawa hooked a shot narrowly over the crossbar shortly earlier than half-time. That will have been decidedly towards the run of play, although, after a gap interval which had seen Taylor’s aspect dominate the territory and the probabilities.
The Jamaica striker Khadija Shaw and the Australia ahead Mary Fowler had each gone shut for the hosts within the first half, however it took fewer than 90 seconds for Metropolis to lastly break the impasse after the half-time break, nevertheless, because the England youth worldwide Blindkilde Brown scored her first Champions League purpose, and solely her second purpose for Metropolis since her January arrival from Aston Villa.
The 21-year-old offered the neat, close-range end to a transfer which confirmed the right demonstration of Metropolis’s slick first-time passing. The hosts switched the ball from proper to left, with Jess Park, Fujino and Yui Hasegawa all concerned earlier than Fowler reduce the ball again straight into Blindkilde Brown’s path, and her teammates have been visibly delighted for her to change into a goalscorer in Europe.
They remained purposeful in assault and added a second when the Japan playmaker Fujino met Leila Ouahabi’s left-wing cross. The 20-year-old Fujino had earlier struck the put up however refused to be denied as she ultimately discovered her second purpose of the season since signing for Metropolis this summer time. The consequence ensured {that a} victory in Sweden subsequent week would assure Taylor’s aspect a spot within the knockout phases, and nonetheless with video games to spare.
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