The opening day of the Barclay’s Women Championship included a clash of the fan favourites as London City Lionesses and Newcastle United went head-to-head. It was an afternoon of firsts for both sides, as London City premiered at their new home Hayes Lane, whilst Newcastle United made their second-tier debut.
Both sides came into the opening day with a range of new signings, a solid preseason under their belts, and an air of excitement. The record-breaking crowd was treated to a dynamic clash, in which the two sides- both favourites for promotion to the WSL next season- could not be separated.
Jocelyn Prêcheur was hoping to start his tenure with the same winning ways he implemented at PSG last season – the team he lead to victory in the Coupe de France and to the semi-finals of the Champions League. The Lionesses did show signs of promise for things to come, but their lack of consistency meant they had to settle for the draw.
Meanwhile, Becky Langley’s side were looking to continue their impressive upward trajectory after winning the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division title that earned them back-to-back promotion into the Championship. It was impossible to tell that the Magpies were the new team in the league, but they too lacked the clinical end-product needed to take the three points.
The Lineups
LCL: Orman, Mukandi, Brougham, Goldie, Asllani, Meyong, Roddar, Lindstrom, Wilde, Henson, Boye-Hlorkah
NEW: Moan, Stokes, Boddy, Hayles, Barker, Cooper, Andrews, Furness, McQuade, Potts, Cataldo
The Action
London City Lionesses got the game underway but quickly found themselves in trouble thanks to Newcastle’s high press.
Both sides found themselves appealing for a penalty in the opening stages. Demi Stokes dribbled down the left wing and around defenders with ease, so when she went down just inside the box the appeals were loud, but the referee was quick to wave the claims away. Kosovre Asllani later went down in a similar fashion on the left side of the box at the other end, but the claims were once again dismissed by the referee.
The 18-yard boxes were subject to plenty of scrambles as balls were sent goalwards with no real direction, but neither end saw anything clinical enough to provide an early lead. A left-wing sprint, by captain Asllani, found itself easily claimed by Claudia Moan at one end, whilst at the other end, Shania Hayles flicked the ball towards goal but the attempt was saved by Emily Orman with relative ease.
Not long after, London City lost possession on the right wing, and a cross spanning the width of the pitch left Hayles through free on goal. A last ditch tackle by Teyah Goldie, paired with Orman’s attempt to close down the shot, was ineffective as the ball hit the back of the net, and gave Langley’s side the lead.
Corinne Henson tried to supply her team with a response, and her long range vision sent two throughballs down the centre of the pitch, both in the direction of Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah. Her inability to remain onside meant the Lionesses could not capitalise on the first, and whilst the second was received and the flag stayed down, her sense of urgency saw a long range effort easily collected.
A drive by Boye-Hlorkah on the right was crossed, without disruption, from distance across the goal mouth and met Lotta Lindström on the left handside who despite striking with venom could only rattle the post.
A chance to gain rhythm saw London City find their flow- a through-ball by Meyong acting as the catalyst. The Swedish connection was evident as Asllani fed Lindstrom on the right flank who flashed the ball back across goal for the captain to continue her run, fire it home and level the game with five minutes left of the half.
It was the chance that Hayles will be hoping to forget, as a corner by Newcastle caused real issues for the City defense. The cross was high and central, and Orman could only punch it into the path of Potts who forced the double save. The shot was once again parried towards a Newcastle player, this time to earlier goalscorer Hayles, who skewed her shot wide.
It was a similar moment for the Magpie’s goalkeeper who could only parry the cross of Emma Mukandi, but Moan will be be grateful no one in blue was there to slot her mistake home, and instead Stokes managed to clear away from danger.
The last play of the half involved a lovely throughball by Goldie, recieved by Wilde, who offloaded to Asllani. A lovely turn was cut short by a foul from Stokes which saw the Lionesses awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. It was taken by Mukandi who tried a curling effort, but the shot was too low and claimed with ease.
Both sides returned to the second half with a sense of hunger to claim the three points. The quick feet of Newcastle’s Katie Barker saw her maintain possession, but with little options, she was forced wide and her shot was easily claimed by Orman. Whilst a good spell of possession for London City saw a cross that was well brought down by Charlène Meyong, she had time to control the ball but then fired wide.
The Lionesses proved that they intended to continue the momentum they had built at the end of the first half, with a high press in the second. After a series of free kicks that the referee was unhappy with, the first of which would have given Mukandi the perfect space to make it two, the third attempt of an Asllani free kick posed no challenge and the goalkeeper easily claimed the ball.
As the substitutions were introduced, both teams tried to drive goalwards, but a constant turnover in possession was in their way.
A good bit of skill in the centre of the park gave Boye-Hlorkah the chance to flick through to Isobel Goodwin who was free on goal, but she was being tracked and her shot was fired straight into the palms of Moan, who restored possession for Newcastle.
At the other end, it was Goodwin once more applying the pressure, stealing the ball in the penalty box, but her shot was deflected by the multitude of defenders marking her, and she could do nothing more than put her head in her hands.
As both teams showed evidence of tiring, it was a long range shot from Elysia Boddy – albeit just over the crossbar and into the Glyn Beverly Stand – that awoke both sides in the dying minutes. End-to-end activity persisted and the fans grew in volume, but neither team could find the winner and instead both sides settled for a well-earned point.
The Stats
Goals: 20′ Hayles (NEW), 39′ Asllani (LCL)
Yellow Cards: 25′ Brougham (LCL), 34′ Roddar (LCL), 44′ Asllani (LCL), 45+5′ Stokes (NEW), 55′ Mukandi (LCL), 88′ Sibley (NEW), 88′ Goldie (LCL), 90+3′ Stobbs (NEW)
Red Cards: N/A
Looking Forward
London City Lionesses are back in action next weekend, away to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. They will be looking to capitalise on an inactive Blackburn Rovers side, after the team didn’t compete this weekend due to the 11-side competition layout.
Newcastle United have a fortnight to prepare for their next clash, in which they host Sheffield United at Kingston Park. They will be hoping to build a fortress at their home ground and register their first win in league two against a team who also suffered defeat in matchday 1, after losing 2-1 away to Durham.
The Halfway Line’s player of the match: Kosovre Asllani
