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Sarah Ewens, unlike many of her teammates, was in familiar territory when she took to the field at St. Andrew’s Stadium on Saturday [17 December]. It was a special day for the 30-year-old forward, who joined London City Lionesses from Birmingham City in July, as she scored twice versus her former club.
Ewens played a crucial role for London City as they fought from behind to secure a 2-1 win in the Continental Cup and earned the SETL Player of the Match Award for her efforts.
“You always want to score when you play your old club, so I was happy to get two,” a thrilled Ewens explained at full-time. “It’s good to get a win and to end the first half of the season with a good performance and a solid win. I’m really pleased with that.”
While London City started on the front foot, they fell behind just two minutes before the break to a deflected header from Lucy Quinn. However, the Lionesses kept their cool at the break and returned to the field with confident that they could turn the situation around.
“We were happy with the first half and knew we just had to come out again and try to keep the ball on the deck a little bit more,” said Ewens. “We weren’t too disappointed at half-time, besides from the late goal and how we conceded it, [because] we knew that we could come out and score goals in the second half. I think we put on a really good display.”
After play resumed for the second half, the momentum quickly shifted in favour of the Lionesses.
Ewens levelled the match moments after the restart with a low shot into the bottom left corner after a smart pass from Karin Muya.
In the minutes that followed, London City continued to increase the pressure on their hosts.
Ewens finished the afternoon with five shots on target and eleven touches in the attacking penalty area, the last of which saw her beat Lucy Thomas with a shot into the top right corner. Again, Muya was on-hand to provide the assist, albeit via a deflection.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle blew, head coach Melissa Phillips said: “It was a fantastic performance throughout. I think we managed the game really well… we came out really quickly after half-time and then played some unbelievable football and scored two great goals in the second half. I’m proud of Sarah for finding the back of the net twice.”
London City Lionesses will return to the pitch in the third round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, 8 January 2023. Don’t wait to secure your tickets: celebrate the new year with football for a fiver at Princes Park.