Arsenal are through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League after defeating Rosenborg 1-0 at Meadow Park, with the scoreline not reflecting Arsenal’s dominance on the night.
A first-half goal from Frida Maanum was enough to see the Gunners progress to the next stage, though they missed a hatful of chances to make the game more comfortable.
Arsenal will learn their next opponents on Monday, with the draw scheduled to get underway at 12:00 UK. Manchester City will also enter the competition at that stage, with fixtures to be played on the 18/19 and 25/26 September.
As it happened
Arsenal started brightly and it seemed that a goal for the home side was inevitable. Caitlin Foord, their hero on Wednesday night, whipped in a dangerous cross that was too much for Rugile Rulyte to handle. The Rosenborg keeper could only parry the ball as far as Maanum who was lurking in the six-yard box, and the Norwegian hammered home into a virtually empty net to give Arsenal the lead.
Embed from Getty ImagesFoord again was able to put in another cross that caused all sorts of problems. Alessia Russo rose highest to meet it but her header clipped the cross bar – and then Maanum almost had a second, her close-range effort was palmed over by Rulyte after Emily Fox found the midfielder’s intelligent diagonal run. Arsenal’s first-half dominance should have resulted in more than just the one goal.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Arsenal trying to open up Rosenborg’s low block. Foord and Russo linked up again; the England forward finding herself unmarked in the box. However, her header did not result in second goal for Arsenal, with Rulyte making another comfortable save.
As the match wore on, it seemed improbable that Arsenal would find the second goal. Both Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross struck the bar in quick succession. Russo’s shot crashed onto the bar fashioning space in the penalty area, while Cooney-Cross was unlucky to see her thunderous strike rattle off the woodwork.
Embed from Getty ImagesBeth Mead, a second-half substitute for Arsenal, could have sealed the game in the closing stages but blazed Mariona Caldentey’s cut-back from the left-hand side over the bar.
Rosenborg were resolute in defence for large periods of the game but offered little in terms of attacking threat. The closest they came to troubling the Arsenal goal was a hopeful long-range attempt from Hanna Dahl that Manuela Zinsberger had covered.
Arsenal now await the results of Monday’s second qualifying round draw, which could see them face Juventus, Häcken, Paris FC, Fiorentina or Sporting CP over two legs later this month.
ARS: Zinsberger; McCabe, Williamson, Codina, Fox; Cooney-Cross, Little; Caldentey, Maanum, Foord; Russo
ROS: Rulyte; Dahl, Tomter, Harviken, Rogde; Marcussen, Magnusdóttír, Sørum; Nautnes, Holum, Berre