Last update on. From the section Women's Football
Steph Catley joined Arsenal as a player in 2020. However, her influence at Arsenal has been limited due to injury.
Steph Catley scored an amazing first goal for Arsenal that helped them beat a stubborn Koge team in the Women's Champions League.
Arsenal won against Denmark by Catley's free kick in the top corner.
Nikita Paarris saved a penalty in the first half, and he pounced to make it 2:2. Caitlin Foord added a third.
After Maddie Pokorny had scored one back, Anna Patten and Jordan Nobbs both added late goals to complete their win.
Jonas Eidevall's Gunners won the final game with 80% possession. However, they were forced to work hard by a side that previously had failed to score in the competition.
Eidevall gave praise to his players for being "brilliant" and "phenomenal" in sticking with the gameplan against a team that was defending in numbers.
He said, "I was proud about our performance." "It's not easy to break down a team, it takes patience.
Although Koge held out against European champions Barcelona for 63 minutes in their previous group match - an impressive showing that earned them much praise – the Danish side couldn't contain the Gunners for nearly the same time.
Although Arsenal was limited by the hosts early on, Cecilie Floe Nie's exuberance at defence saw her penalize Parris in the 15th minute.
Kaylan Marckese denied England forward with a great diving save to her right. She then stopped Vivianne Miedema's flicked header shortly after. But, there was nothing she could have done to reach Catley’s brilliantly scored free-kick into top corner.
This was the long-awaited Gunners goal that was scored by the Australian, whose time in English football has been limited since last season due to injury.
Marckese's brilliant play foiled Leah Williamson, and saved her from Miedema (the WSL's all-time top scorer), who was one of six changes made to the trip to Denmark following Arsenal's win over West Ham. This allowed them to regain their three-point lead at top of the domestic league table.
Parris sanctioned Koge for failing to clear the danger to increase the lead to two after an hour. Foord then got on the end a Nobbs shot, which rebounded off of the woodwork and sent him home the third.
Pokorny scored coolly with Koge's only goal attempt after Catley's poor backpass gifted the American possession.
Arsenal won their second convincing group victory thanks to the well-taken finishes of Patten and Nobbs during the last five minutes.
Nobbs stated, "We cannot take for granted how huge these wins are every time we are in group like this." It's an exciting time.
