September 9, 2024
We're through to the UEFA Women's Champions League Round 2 qualifiers after a win over Rosenborg.
Frida Maanum's close-range goal gave us the lead but despite a dominant display, we were unable to turn a catalogue of chances into a bigger scoreline.
After our resounding win over Rangers in midweek, Jonas Eidevall named an unchanged side to face Rosenborg at Meadow Park.
An explosive start to the match saw us attack the visitors with variety and aggression, and it didn't take long for us to have our first real chance through Mariona Caldentey. Our number 8 danced her way through the backline with ease, but her resulting shot just missed the target.
Rosenborg showed their intent with limited possession but Manu Zinsberger was steadfast, claiming any speculative high balls sent into the area.
After 18 minutes, Frida Maanum made our early dominance count. Caitlin Foord's cross-come-shot forced a confused clearance from the Rosenborg keeper but our Norwegian was there to finish from close range.
Maanum continued to look dangerous with a number of powerful shots that came close to doubling her tally, as Foord and Mariona pulled the strings from the wings. Despite a staggering 82% possession in the first half, we couldn't translate that pressure into further goals.
Down the other end, Laia Codina had a fight on her hands with Rebecka Holum, who remained lively and physical when the visitors attempted to fire balls over the top.
We came out pushing for more in the second half but the slender margin gave Rosenborg a lifeline and the visitors made it a frustrating 45 minutes.
Kyra Cooney-Cross came into her own in the second half, dominating the middle of the park and surging forward to help in attack.
Russo and Cooney-Cross hit back-to-back crossbar shots and several promising moves were blocked at the last minute by a brave Rosenborg defence.
Again and again, we tried to push through the visitors' resolute low block with intricate passing on the edge of the area, but the 1-0 win was all we needed to progress to the next round.
Team news
Arsenal: Zinsberger, Fox, Codina, Williamson, Mariona, Little (C), McCabe, Maanum (Blackstenius, 70), Foord (Mead, 82) Russo, Cooney-Cross (Walti, 82)
Unused subs: Van Domselaar, Williams, Wubben-Moy, Kafaji, Kuhl, Wienroither, Godfrey, Agyemang, Reid
Rosenborg: Rulyte, Rogde, Harviken, Tomter, Dahl, Sorum, Magnusdottir, Marcussen, Berre, Mautnes, Holum
Unused subs: Sneve, Ervik, Leine, Aunehagen, Birkelund, Brennskag-Dorsin, Bronstad, Sodal, Buberg
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