Match report
Righto, that’s us done here; please check back shortly, in here on on site, for our match report. Otherwise, thanks for your company and comments; peace out.
Arsenal are good, Spurs aren’t. Kai Havertz has just put the Gunners 3-0 up, and the game is over inside 39 minutes.
How it stands:
I know Hobson will get the plaudit sand rightly so, but the introduction of Dale also made a massive difference. She properly put herself about, winning tackles and threatening goals, helping create the environment in which the equaliser came about.
Arsenal will be ruing those misses – and there’ve been plenty of them. It didn’t look like it was going to matter, but they can’t complain that it did.
FULL TIME: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
Well! Arsenal now trail Man City by five points, having played a game more with only two left. As the Spice Girls almost sang, three becomes two.
90+8 min Everton send on another 16-year-old, Settle for Bissell.
90+6 min Tell you what, Everton have earned that. They’ve defended well, ridden their luck – or Arsenal’s finishing incompetence – and looked nasty from set-pieces all day.
GOAL! Everton 1-1 Arsenal (Hobson 90+5)
SIXTEEN YEARS OLD AND PLAYING FOR HER HOMETOWN TEAM, ISSY HOBSON HAS SNATCHED THEM A DRAW! The corner comes in, a defender makes first contact but sends the bal into the middle, and Hobson wants it more than anyone has ever wanted anyone, soaring early and above Fox to willpower an equaliser into the net! Arsenal’s title hopes are evaporating!
Updated
90+3 min Arsenal win a dodgy free-kick down the right, Mead to swing out … and she misses everyone in the middle, then Russo’s cross from the other side is kicked away by Stenevic. However! Arsenal sustain the attack, Mead winning a big header then, when the ball comes back to her, poking into the middle and Russo is there! But on the stretch, she scythes over the top and now Dale, who’s made a big difference for Everton, wins a corner…
90+2 min In the men’s game, the North London derby has got off to a gentle start…
90+1 min We’ll have seven additional minutes.
90 min Everton make first contact too, Wheeler winning the header, but in the middle, Hope can’t do anything with it and Arsenal clear.
89 min We’re watching a replay then cut to play to see Dale, who’s been dangerous, attacking the box and pursuing a bouncing ball. But it’s bouncing away from her and McCabe blocks her shot behind for a corner.
89 min Kim Little is named player of the match for her second-half effort, which is fair enough.
88 min Zinsberger flaps a hand to send the ball away from immediate danger and Lacasse – who’s also made a difference, which is to say Eidevall’s changes have been good – humps clear.
87 min Also worth noting: Mead hasn’t been in the game as much as she’d like, but her quality and threat are unarguable. She’s made a difference in the second half, but Everton have just won a corner…
86 min Russo has played much better since half-time and looked more dangerous since Blackstenius departed. I’m not sure those two work as a partnership.
85 min Russo takes a throw and diddles the two players on either side, darting through the gap between them, beating another, and cutting back, but when it goes one more to little, she can only drag her shot wide.
84 min Hobson lets Mead know she’s there, catching her in the face with a forearm. It wasn’t deliberate I don’t think, so there’s no action taken.
82 min Now then! A suicidal pass into her own box from Fox, and Dale seizes on to it, swishing a shot and wearing a late tackle from Little in the process. Zinsberger saves, but is that a penalty? I wonder if VAR might’ve found so, but on the pitch, the officials say no.
81 min Change for Everton, the 16-year-old Hobson on for Piemonte.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Arsenal (Russo 80)
And there it is! McCabe down the line to Lacasse, who clips a lovely reverse-pass to the back post, and Mead is there! She stretches into a volley, Brosnan saves well with her feet, and Russo tidies up with a tap-in. Arsenal’s title challenge remains alive, just.
Updated
79 min Lacasse wriggles across the face of the box – that’s good work – finding Mead, but Dale is in sharply to challenge. Arsenal are ramping it up, or trying to.
78 min More fun here:
77 min Mead’s movement is really good, she’s just not being given the ball often enough, but she pulls wide here, sends in another fine cross, and Vanhaevermaet does superbly to block Maanum’s shot.
76 min I forgot to note that Dale came on; she replaced Holmsgaard K.
75 min Everton sit in shape, inviting Arsenal to break them down. So Fox goes at Dale on the outside, who slides in to cede yet another corner.
74 min Further change for Arsenal, Cooney-Cross replacing Pelova, and Miedema remains sat at the side. She mustn’t be fit, because firing her is exactly what her team need.
72 min The game is drifting. Arsenal still have players able to create chances, but it’s not an onslaught or anything like it.
70 min It’s so good to see Maanum back after her collapse at Molineux. If her presence forces Russo into the box more, or at least gets her into the game, it might be enough for Arsenal to conjure a winner.
69 min I meant to say, at half-time I’m pretty sure Fara Willams called Pelova “Pavlova”. Perhaps it was a comment on her finishing, but Arsenal could really do with getting her on the ball more often.
69 min Wheeler is down with some kind of leg nauseation, but she’ll be fine.
67 min Arsenal are getting closer, feet from Russo moving it nicely across the face of the Everton box before Fox finds Mead who curves in a delectable cross … and Lacasse is there! But she mistimes her flick, misses her header, and the ball trickles wide. Another chance spurned.
65 min Two further changes for Arsenal, Maanum and Lacasse replacing Foord and Blackstenius.
64 min “I find it strange that Blackstenius gets that much flak,” emails Björn Isaksson. “She is not clinical but she has the best average per 90 minutes of all the Arsenal players in the WSL, Russo has the same number when combining goals and assists. Blackstenius is the one that scored in this year’s League Cup, the only attacking player that scored in the one last year, scored three goals in the four knockout matches in last year’s Champions league and so on. She has done the same for Sweden for years now too. In this game Foord had the best chance for Arsenal in the first half and fluffed it, but as usual that is not mentioned when you summarized the first half but instead complained about Blackstenius. Of course, I am a Swede but when the numbers say that she is the best striker they have, that other players have much worse numbers, then it is strange to complain about Blackstenius.”
I don’t think she’s the class of the better players around her, but is still a very good player. Is that controversial?
63 min And it’s another good delivery, Vanhaevermaet up highest and first … but bundling straight at Zinsberger.
Updated
63 min Holmsgaard S wins a corner, and Everton will fancy themselves to cause issues here.
61 min Arsenal come again, Russo pulling wide and slipping a clever ball into Foord, who tees-up Dox, unmarked inside the box! But as a challenge comes in, she’s forced to hurry, shoving a tame sidefooter that bobbles past the post. Another big chance missed.
58 min Lovely reverse-pass from Mead to set Fox away down the right, but her cross is poor and Everton clear. On the Arsenal bench, meanwhile, Maanum readies herself, returning from injury following the Conti Cup final.
57 min Maybe Everton growing in confidence will help Arsenal, leaving gaps for them to attack, because make no mistake, the home side are passing with purpose now, looking to spring their attackers in behind.
56 min There are fans singing a version of Bella Ciao; anyone care to apprise us of the lyrics?
54 min But here they come now and what a miss this is! Catley feeds McCabe down the left, she crosses low, and Blackstenius is there! but from close range, she sweeps with the direction of the ball, sending is past the far post! She’ll be feeling extremely poorly round about now, because that was very bad behaviour.
53 min It’s been a really poor start to the half from Arsenal, though they’re against the wind. They’re playing without conviction and haven’t looked 25 points better than their hosts or anything like it.
51 min I wonder if it might help Arsenal to get an extra player in midfield to release Pelova; Blackstenius and Russo have hardly been involved, so more players closer to one of them, with the other taking a blow, might help. Or, in other words, just get Miedema on already.
51 min When the corner comes in, though, Brosnan collects easily enough; she’s looked pretty solid so far.
50 min Vanhaevermaet takes a cross to the coupon and needs a breather, but she’ll be fine.
49 min Looking again at that Holmgaard header against the bar, Vanhaevermaet was up against Mead and close in; physically, she ought to have done more to reach that second ball, taking everyone with her through the net if necessary.
47 min Here come Everton again, Hope down the line to Bissell, whose cross is collected by Zinsberger easily enough. But the home side have started well here, whatever Eidevall said at half-time yet to take effect.
46 min Now with the wind at their backs, Everton drill a ball forward that Fox can’t control, Holmgaard K picking up to cross … but Piemonte can’t get over her header.
46 min And Arsenal make a change, Williamson replaced by Codina. She must be hurt, so let’s hope it’s nothing serious.
46 min We go again.
Our teams are back with us.
Once upon a time…
HALF-TIME: Everton 0-0 Arsenal
Blackstenius ought to have put Arsenal ahead but Holmgaard’s header crashed against the bar is the nearest either side have come to scoring. Everton have defended really well, but Arsenal also need to improve if they’re to stay in the title race.
45+2 min Pelova has looked Arsenal’s likeliest, bursting into the box down its right and skewing a shot just wide of the far post. Everton have done really well to limit the chances to ones of that ilk – save Blackstenius’ one-on-one miss.
45+1 min On the topic of the word soar, when Scottish people say it, pronunciation differs to that of sore and saw; not so when English do. More news as I get it.
Updated
45 min We’ll have three added minutes.
45 min Piemonte collects a loose ball and, from 40 yards, reckons Zinsberger is out of position, thrashing a lob from distance that soars over the bar.
44 min “I’m sorry to say it,” returns Charles Antaki, “because she’s obviously a willing worker and makes a nuisance of herself upfront, but this is another display by Blackstenius which shows up her weak suits: ball control, passing and shot execution. Three quite important elements of the striker’s game.”
I can’t disagree. She’s a good player, but also as average a player as Arsenal could legitimately be expected to have in that position.
43 min Holmgaard S puts her head among the boots to head clear, then Russo is penalised for a high boot.
42 min Now Arsenal sustain an attack, Finnigan swiping what looks like an easy clearance behind. Another corner for Arsenal, that yields another.
41 min Arsenal play off Russo, who lays into the path of Little … whose shot is blocked at source by Vanhaevermaet. Everton are defending superbly.
40 min Eeesh, Bissell looks to stop the marauding McCabe and their faces mince. Both should be fine.
39 min Elsewhere, there’s another little ruckus soon to get under way.
37 min If Arsenal don’t win today, any outside hope of the title with extinguish. And that doesn’t look impossible because they’re struggling to play with fluency and sustain attacks.
36 min The corner is half-cleared, then Fox sticks one back into the box only for the wind to catch it and send it behind.
35 min Williamson sets Arsenal away with a fine pass out to Mead, on the right touchline. She finds Pelova and eventually Fox’s cross is blocked behind for yet another corner; that’s good defending from Holmsgaard S.
33 min Blacksteinus is flagged offside while tussling with Finnigan and Arsenal are getting frustrated.
32 min Little out wide to Foord, but when her near-post cross arrives, Blackstenius can’t sort feet out to flick on trger.
30 min Everton are growing in enterprise. It’s brave to try passing out – it shows their manager trusts them – and with Bissell keeping the width down the right, they’re looking to stretch Arsenal when they get the ball.
28 min At risk of going on, Miedema is exactly what’s required against a disciplined defence. I also think Arsenal would get more out of whichever of Russo and Blackstenius stayed on with her on the park.
26 min We’ve barely seen Beth Mead so far, which tells us how solid Everton have been.
24 min Brosnan is down hurt, and that’s bad news for Everton as she’s made a really good start to the game. I think, though, that she’ll be alright.
23 min Mead wins the ball back inside the Everton box after Blackstenius’s shot is blocked, and when the Swede goes again, Little, in the middle totally misses her kick. That is a significant oversight.
23 min “Walton Hall chaos…” emails an anonymous correspondent. “This was after kick off, ticket holders trying to get in…”
22 min “Straight at her,” writes Charlesa Antaki. “Blackstenius’ shot looks like it was meant to pierce Brosnan.”
Yup, she made the save a total piece of Pierce.
20 min Pelova is a lovely footballer and she picks a pass on the edge, slipping through for Blackstenius, and thus tie she lifts her finish … but Brosnan saves anyway, the flag subsequently going up for offside.
20 min Here come Arsenal again, Fox nashing down the right and crossing low through the corridor, no one there to apply the finish.
19 min Holmsgaard S crosses to the back post where Holmsgaard K is up, a snide hand in the back of Fox … and she powers a header against the bar, Vanhaevermaet unable to force home the loose ball.
Updated
17 min Everton try pressing Arsenal high and win the ball, Holmsgaard K winning a corner. It’s not easy to do that when defending as low as they are, but they do need to get play down the other end and give Arsenal something to think about.
15 min Snoeijs clears but Arsenal stick another ball into the box and Finnigan concedes yet another corner, this time McCabe trying a sly ball down the side when found outside the box, putting too much on it for Little to catch up before it rolls over the by-line.
15 min Meantime, Foord goes at Hope on the outside, bundling through to earn a corner.
13 min Arsenal are struggling to find gaps in the Everton rearguard, that Blackstenius chance all they’ve mustered so far. But it’s hard to see the home side holding out if they spend another 75 minutes defending the box.
11 min Arsenal win a corner down the right and McCabe swerves in a brute, Piemonte flicking behind to cede one on the other side; this time, Everton clear well and they look very well-drilled at the back.
9 min They’re defending deep but Everton are still playing out, Finnigan giving it away and Pelova spreading to Little, who slides in behind for Blackstenius! Brosnan, though, is up and in her face immediately, making a terrific block at her near post.
8 min Arsenal look to pass through midfield but again Everton close the gaps well, Catley opting to go long and her pass bouncing through to Brosnan.
6 min Now Everton move forward with the ball, Snoeijs winning it in midfield and finding Piemonte, but when it goes wide to Bissell she opts to turn back inside and the attack breaks down.
5 min Pelova holds on to the ball a second or two longer than is sensible, such that when she slides it outside her, Little is offside.
4 min That being the case, I’d expect to see Williamson moving forward with the ball to make the extra player in midfield; her quality in possession could make a crucial difference here.
3 min By the looks of things, Everton are playing 5-4-1, trying to stay close and compact from top to bottom and side to side.
1 min The away contingent are in decent voice and Pelova drives forward through midfield, finding Foord down the right … but her cross thunks into Brosnan’s midriff.
1 min Away we go!
The players take the knee. All Black lives matter.
The teams huddle, after which we’ll get going.
The teams are with us, Arsenal in their Aztec tribute tops.
Eidevall says in any season there are positives and negatives, thanking the fans for their effort, while Brian Sørensen is looking forward to seeing how the Holmgaard twins perform in tandem,
Is Jonas Eidevall in trouble? It’s hard to blame the manager when any team in the world would miss Williamson, Miedema and Mead, but at the same time, should it have looked better than this? My sense is he’ll get another season, but he’ll need to incite a significant improvement.
Katie McCabe tells BBC that playing all over is just a regular season for her and injuries are a fact of football. Arsenal are really disappointed with how they started the season, their Champions-League exit in particular, but now they just want to finish the season well.
Walton Hall Park is sold out and the atmosphere is building; it looks a nice day but I bet it’s fresh as.
We’re going to miss her something fierce aren’t we?
Great news for Arsenal men. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Timber shapes up in England, and if he can reinvent himself as a a serious left-back he’ll make a massive difference.
🚨 Jurrien Timber, once again, STARTS for the Arsenal U21s, as they travel to face Liverpool at AXA Training Centre this afternoon. 🇳🇱 #afc pic.twitter.com/dks8gfadxB
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) April 28, 2024
Warm-up time 🕰️ #EVEARS pic.twitter.com/DO2hrQujKU
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) April 28, 2024
I guess one of the problems Eidevall has is the number of brilliant attackers he has. Of course, it’s possible he knows more about football than I do, but I’d stick Miedema at the heart of my team and go from there – especially as his side lack a bit of pace through the middle.
I really hope Vivianne Miedema gets back to her best. We shouldn’t forget that even before her injury, Eidevall frequently picked Blackstenius ahead of her, but she’s a total genius and we need her.
Nothing to do with our game and yet everything to do with our game. Football is beautiful.
So where is the game? Everton will, I imagine, play five at the back, looking to give Arsenal bother with twin strikers, forcing Williamson and Catley to mark a player each. That’d mean onus on the full-backs to keep the width, given a narrow three in midfield, and that might run into trouble against Arsenal’s 4-4-2, the potential for overloads out wide set. But if Everton can win the numbers game in midfield, they can make this a tricky afternoon for the Gunners by keeping Mead – in particular – out of the game.
To read:
Arsenal, meanwhile, are unchanged following their 3-0 win over Leicester, and I’m not surprised. Beth Mead and Alessia Russo scored their goals that day, and if those two are firing, chances are the team is in decent nick.
Everton make three changes from the side that one at Brighton last week. Kathrine Moller Kuhl is, I think, injured, and is replaced by Emma Bissell; Hanna Bennison is also out, likewise Aurora Galli, with Dejana Stefanovic and Halldor Stenevik coming on.
Let's have some teams!
Today's Blues! 📋🔵#EVEARS #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/ZIArMclaVN
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) April 28, 2024
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) April 28, 2024
🏴 @leahcwilliamson in defence
🇮🇪 @Katie_McCabe11 at left back
🇸🇪 @SBlackstenius leads the line
COME ON YOU GUNNERS! ✊ pic.twitter.com/khFYRUnSCy
Preamble
It’s now or never isn’t it? With three games to go, Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal sit third, trailing leaders Manchester City – who they meet next weekend – by six points, with Chelsea splitting the two, sat halfway in between with a game in hand and a freshly aggravating grudge fuelling their sense of mission.
In theory, Everton should present few problems, four off the bottom and with only pride to play for. But the practicality is a little different, the Toffees an improving side who gave Arsenal problems when they met in January – and Chelsea in the Cup quarter, losing by the odd goal in both.
The Gunners, though, are starting to look a little bit more like their old selves. Beth Mead is back and scoring, Vivianne Miedema is getting closer, and Leah Williamson has re-ensconced at the back. That may come too late to save this season, but football being the never-ending continuum that it is, they’re also playing for next – and the chance to, perhaps, save a manager who is surely under pressure, by reminding people what they can do with their best players available.
Kick-off: 12.30pm
