A tap-in from Chelsea’s Beth England for her second goal of the final snatched the Continental League Cup trophy from Arsenal at the death, after Leah Williamson looked to have exorcised the ghost of her missed penalty in last season’s shootout by equalising in the 85th minute. Instead it was devastation for Arsenal on the final whistle, though they may take a little consolation from the words of the opposing manager.
Emma Hayes said: “The better team did not win the game; the most resilient team won the game, and I value defending, and I value resilience.”
Sloppy Arsenal defending had allowed England to give Chelsea the lead inside 10 minutes, but Williamson sent the Arsenal bench wild when their heavy spell of pressure looked to have paid off and delivered extra time. This, though, is a Chelsea team that never say die, having come from behind nine times in the Women’s Super League, and up popped England to earn them their first ever League Cup.
“We knew that this would be a dominant Arsenal, so to win the game knowing that shows what a great team we really are,” said Hayes, who also singled out Chelsea’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger for praise.
“She was unbelievable,” said Hayes. “We always talk about attacking being the most dominant feature of a football match instead of saying why don’t Chelsea deserve to win the game on the basis of an outstanding goalkeeping performance. It’s not often we have to defend like that.”
When the team sheet arrived there was concern for Arsenal fans. Joe Montemurro could name only four outfield players on his bench, including two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old. Injuries to Beth Mead, Jen Beattie Lia Wälti and the captain, Kim Little, have devastated Arsenal’s squad.
There was a sense of deja vu to the narrative. With Montemurro’s penchant for a small squad rocked by a freak injury crisis last season, Arsenal travelled to Bramall Lane for a backs-against-the-wall battle with Manchester City. Then, the unfit Vivianne Miedema was the only senior outfield player seated alongside the manager. This time it was the defender Leonie Maier who could provide the best depth from the dugout.
Arsenal were hit by an eighth-minute sucker-punch as left-back Jonna Andersson found right-back Maren Mjelde at the far post. Mjelde headed down to England, who swivelled and struck low past Manuela Zinsberger.
However, this was not an Arsenal side likely to buckle as easily as they did at Borehamwood in January, where a 4-1 bruising was kickstarted by a flurry of three goals inside 20 minutes. In a chilly City Ground, Montemurro had ditched his attempt to outfox Hayes by dropping his wingers for a more centrally focused attack, instead restoring much more familiar width to their forward play. It worked.
“It could have been a different story,” said Montemurro. “We were badly beaten at Borehamwood. And look at the mental attitude to come back and completely dominate a team that did what they did to us.”
Despite their lead, Chelsea looked to be losing the midfield battle. So much so that Hayes could be seen passing notes to Mjelde late in the first half.
Perhaps it was emotions getting in the way. This was Chelsea’s first League Cup final and, with Hayes donning a green coat in tribute to idol Brian Clough as promised, it was a title they badly wanted. “The players haven’t got a clue who he is. My sister sent me lists of quotes this morning, my favourite one being this one, she sent me it twice so clearly she wanted me to read it out to you guys: ‘I wouldn’t say I’m the best manager in the business but I’m in the top one.’ Well, I’m there today. I’ll take that,” said Hayes.
This is a competition that has been kind to five-time winners Arsenal, and to Montemurro, who lifted it within three months of taking over in 2017. “There are no second chances,” he had said in his programme notes. “The team that controls their emotions and tempo the best will make the least mistakes and most likely win.”
They would be words to haunt the manager. Despite the Arsenal forward line flooding the Chelsea half over and over again, the equaliser that would amend for the ropey defending that had allowed England in early on seemed elusive.
However, after a lengthy pause for an injury to Berger, Arsenal bounced the resulting corner into the box for Williamson to divert from six yards. It was a short-lived celebration though, with England poking in Mjelde’s cross to kill the Arsenal comeback.
“A lot of coaches say: we should have, could have, would have,” said Montemurro. “But in the end, you have to do it. We created chances, we created opportunities, and in the end they scored the ones they created and we didn’t. This team will keep fighting – we showed that today.”
