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London City Lionesses 1, Liverpool 0.
- samwraight
- Oct 5
- 3 min read
Late Linari Penalty Seals Dramatic Win for the London City
Sunday 5th October | CopperJax Community Stadium
London City left it late against Liverpool, with Elena Linari thundering her spot kick home to in the 89th minute to earn London City a crucial three points in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
The Reds stayed strong throughout the second half on Sunday afternoon, but London City found a way at the CopperJax Stadium, driven on by the noise and belief of the home fans.
It was a quiet first half at the CopperJax Community Stadium, with chances few and far between. Nikita Parris came closest to scoring, meeting Jana Fernández’s cross and clipping the crossbar with her header in the 20th minute.
Jocelyn Prêcheur’s half-time team talk clearly inspired his side, who began to turn the screw early in the second period. In the 55th minute, Izzy Goodwin struck the post after Kosovare Asllani forced a save from Rafaela Borggräfe, with the ball rebounding into the six-yard box before Liverpool scrambled it clear.
Lucia Corrales tried her luck from range just a minute later, with the Glyn Beverly Stand urging the home side to shoot at every opportunity.
Prêcheur added to the attacking momentum by introducing Freya Godfrey into an already hungry front line, and she made an instant impact, twisting and turning to create openings for Parris and Goodwin.
Goodwin came close to heading the London City in front with around 20 minutes remaining, rising highest but unable to keep her effort down. Moments later, Asllani lifted a clever finish over the goalkeeper, only to see it cleared off the line.
With five minutes left on the clock, Parris was brought down in the box after a clash with the Liverpool keeper, earning the hosts a penalty. Up stepped Linari, who smashed the ball in off the crossbar in emphatic fashion.
London City held firm through six minutes of added time to confirm all three points and climb to seventh in the WSL. The victory means the London City have now beaten both Merseyside clubs this season, having recorded their first-ever WSL win against Everton earlier in the campaign.
Jocelyn Prêcheur was pleased with the end result: “I am happy and satisfied with the result, clean sheet and second half.
“Especially in the second half, we can take a lot of positives from the second 45 minutes.
“I’m happy for the fans, the stadium was full today and here at home we want them to be proud of the team.
“The quality of this team, I never doubt it. The talent, the good players, are here. If we keep fighting together and have a more conquering state of mind, we can be very optimistic with this team.”
Player of the match Jana Fernández was also delighted with the team’s second half showing: “I’m really happy, the performance of the team was really worth the win.
“Everybody was running until the last whistle, I feel so proud of the team. I feel really represented by these girls, how they fight and run.”
Freya Godfrey returned from a lengthy injury, making a big impact from the bench. She was pleased to be back on the pitch: “It felt very good. It’s been quite a while which has been frustrating and hard at times, but it’s always good to have such a great team around me, players and staff.
“I think we did well and dominated a lot of the game. We talk a lot about determination and our will to fight and run for each other, and put in the effort.
“Linus stepped up and took an incredible penalty, which got us the three points which is the most important thing.”
Attention now turns to next Sunday, as Jocelyn Prêcheur’s side face West Ham United back at the CopperJax Stadium.
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Teamsheet: Lete, Fernández, Corrales, Kumagai, Asllani (Roddar 81’), Linari, Franssi (Godfrey 65’), Parris (Kennedy 91’), Goodwin, Sangaré, Geyoro (Lindström 81’)
