London City Lionesses snatched three points from Blackburn Rovers on Sunday in an important Barclays Women’s Championship affair.
The visitors took the title-contenders to the death, but super-sub Miljana Ivanović’s late goal created by Freya Godfrey was enough to secure the win for Jocelyn Prêcheur’s outfit.
The result sees London City stay hot on Birmingham City’s heels, three points behind the table-toppers but with a game in hand. Blackburn drop down to 10th in the league standings, a point above Sheffield United in the relegation scrap and also with a game in hand.
The Lineups
LCL: Orman; Brown, Goldie, Campbell, Imuran, Kumagai, Roddar, Mengyu, Jakobsson, Asllani, Boye-Hlorkah
BLR: Brooks; Luke, Toland, Hack, Crompton, Williams, Dugdale, Primmer, Johnson, Dahou, Newell
The Action
London City started on the front foot at Hayes Lane Stadium. A huge save for Blackburn goalkeeper Alex Brooks was prompted by Sofia Jakobsson in just the fifth minute, as the Swedish international fired a shot towards goal from close range.
Rovers’ first opportunity of the clash came after the 20th minute, when a well-delivered Hannah Luke set piece was disrupted by a foul. A fast break from midfielder Chloe Williams moments later forced London City goalkeeper Emily Orman into a stop, as the visitors started to find their way into the game.
One-on-one at the other end, a speedy Jakobsson evaded Simon Parker’s defenders and tested Brooks before Shen Mengyu had her follow-up parried away. It was another big chance for the hosts mere minutes later when Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah got her head to a corner, but had her effort tipped over by Brooks.
Cerys Brown tried her luck from the edge of the six-yard box for Prêcheur’s side, but the strike fell narrowly to the wrong side of the goalpost and the scoreline remained nil-all at the break.
Jakobsson was withdrawn for the South Londoners at half-time, with Arsenal loanee Godfrey taking her place, and meaningful chances in the second half for either side came few and far between.
It was a worrying sight for London City fans when Republic of Ireland international Megan Campbell was forced off with what looked like a concerning knee injury, to be replaced by Ivanović.
Another Arsenal loanee in Teyah Goldie showed real leadership qualities against a resilient Blackburn side, clearing Jemima Dahou’s promising-looking cross before it could come to fruition.
Substitute Godfrey had the most promising opportunity of the fixture for the home side on the stroke of the 60th minute, her shot on-target but gathered effectively by Brooks.
Godfrey continued to be a nuisance on the wing for the Rovers, but her attacking prowess was dealt with well by the Republic of Ireland’s Tyler Toland. London City continued to threaten their guests, but struggled to find the back of the net so well-protected by Brooks.
Some impressive build-up play was catalysed by Nigerian international Rofiat Imuran as the final 10 minutes began to tick by, but Orman had no trouble saving.
Ivanović provided London City with a crucial late winner when a rare lapse in judgement lead to disaster for Brooks and her backline in the 83rd minute. Brooks was far out from her line, but found herself beaten for speed by game-changer Godfrey. The forward played the ball straight into the path of Ivanović, who coolly volleyed it into an open Blackburn goal.
Ten minutes of injury time were not enough for the Rovers to claw something back from this hard-fought meeting, as London City breathed a sigh of relief.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Freya Godfrey
Godfrey made an impact throughout the entire second half after coming on at the interval. Her awareness, positioning and unselfishness are crucial to a dominant attacker, and London City required her service this afternoon after struggling to make it count. Young but more than capable, Godfrey continues to prove her worth to both her parent club and her loan club.
