Match Report: Sevilla 0-2 London City Lionesses
Victory in Seville rounds off Pre-Season Tour
Wednesday 19th August | Estadio Jesús Navas
We finished our pre-season tour of Portugal and Spain with a 2-0 victory over Sevilla at Estadio Jesús Navas, courtesy of goals from Daniëlle van de Donk and Grace Geyoro.
Van de Donk opened the scoring in the first half, before Geyoro headed home in the second, ensuring London City ended a positive pre-season camp unbeaten.
The victory follows a 3-1 win over S.L. Benfica and a 1-1 draw with Sporting CP, bringing a successful tour to a close with another valuable 90 minutes ahead of the new season.
On a warm Wednesday evening in Seville, Eder Maestre continued to rotate his squad as players were given another opportunity to build their match fitness and sharpness.
The first real opening of the contest fell to the hosts after 21 minutes. Andrea Álvarez tried her luck from range, but Elene Lete was well positioned to make a comfortable save.
London City grew into the game and took the lead in the 32nd minute, with Van de Donk's pressure playing a key role in creating the opening.
The midfielder pressed the Sevilla goalkeeper into a hurried pass which fell straight to Lucía Corrales. She took a touch before snapping a shot goalwards, the keeper only able to parry the effort into the path of Van de Donk, who calmly tucked the rebound home with her left foot.
London City continued to threaten after the interval and doubled their advantage with 13 minutes remaining.
Janni Thomsen delivered a corner towards the back post, where Saki Kumagai cleverly directed the ball back across goal. Geyoro reacted quickest inside the six-yard box, bravely getting her head to the ball to make it 2-0.
Corinne Henson collected possession from distance in the 90th minute, and almost scored a spectacular third for City. Her powerful strike towards goal forced the Sevilla goalkeeper into an excellent save, tipping it over the crossbar.
The final whistle brought the curtain down on London City's pre-season tour, with Maestre's side leaving camp unbeaten after two victories and a draw.
Following the final whistle, Head Coach Eder Maestre reflected on the victory over Sevilla and the importance of the camp in preparing his squad for the new season.
“I think the game was quite tough because Sevilla have a very, very good squad. We knew it would be difficult.
“We are learning a lot and despite being clunky at times, I don’t remember any opposition chances. Having this consistency out of possession is really important, so I’m happy. It’s a good way to finish camp.
“It [pre-season] is about building confidence and still managing the load of our players in these weeks. It’s about team building, giving everybody game time and keeping the mood and vibes amazing.”
Goalscorer Daniëlle van de Donk also spoke after the game about finding the net against Sevilla and the overall team performance.
“I’m happy with the win of course, and happy to score a goal, but most important is the team performance, and it’s looking good, so I’m happy!
“We struggled a little bit in the first half; we were a little sloppy. In the second half, there was a little more power, some of the substitutions did great, so that was nice to see.”
Join us at home for the first game of the season.
