Our Gunners suffered three problems on the south coast in the 2-1 win over Southampton in the Conti Cup.
A record crowd of 13,438 gathered at St Mary’s Stadium on Thursday when Amanda Ilestedt’s last-minute goal broke the hearts of the Saints.
A much-changed line-up opposed the Saints, with nine players entering the XI following Sunday’s win over Brighton.
On the first chance of play, Cloé Lacasse danced to the penalty area and passed the ball to Lina Hurtig, whose shot hovered not far away.
Hurtig had a lot of fun on the left wing in the first half, with his speed and physicality causing the Saints’ defense.
Kathrine Kuhl took her position alongside captain Lia Walti in a double pivot, and the two dictated play from the back of the park.
Alessia Russo and Frida Maanum closed the scoring in the opening 15 minutes, but a lack of originality and speed in attack meant Kayla Rendell didn’t pose much of a risk in Southampton’s net in the first half.
Eidevall made two adjustments at half-time, introducing Amanda Ilestedt and Caitlin Foord in hopes of breaking the deadlock.
However, it was the hosts who scored first in the 55th minute, when Molly Pike slipped on Jen Beattie before firing a rocket past Sabrina D’Angelo.
The purpose of the lightning rod was to spur our team into action. Less than five minutes later, Maanum fired in from close range to put us back in terms of points.
However, after the equaliser, the match returned to its old slumber and neither team seemed to have a chance of scoring again.
Vivianne Miedema and Katie McCabe came off the bench late in the second half as our Gunners searched for a winner in the penalty shootout.
It was Amanda Ilestedt who proved to be the hero in the final minutes of the game, heading home after a header to earn us 3 points.
The victory places us in second position in Group D, rivaled only by Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference. Our next Conti Cup match will be against Spurs on December 13th.
Our Gunners now have one more draw before the break: the Women’s Super League clash against West Ham United this Sunday.
Arsenal XI: D’Angelo (goalkeeper), Beattie, Catley, Maanum, Walti (C) (Cooney-Cross, 60), Maritz, Hurtig (Miedema, 60), Kuhl, Russo (Foord, 46), Lacasse (McCabe, 77), Codina (Ilestedt, 46)
Substitutes: Zinsberger (goalkeeper), Mead, Pelova, Lia
Southampton XI: Rendell (GK), Morris, Mott, Kendall, Parnell (C), Wilkinson (Primus, 69), Dean (Lloyd-Smith, 46), Pike, Griffiths (Peplow, 69), Purfield, Peake.
Substitutes: Howard, Rafferty, Wynne, Pharoah, Thompson, Kraft
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