WHAT HAPPENED
We booked our place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup on Sunday as we defeated Liverpool 4-0 at Prenton Park.
Coming in off the back of the international break, Jonas Eidevall handed starts to a number of players who remained at London Colney - and we duly delivered an energetic and complete team performance.
After a resilient start from the hosts - who are currently top of the FA Women’s Championship - we eventually kicked into gear and with a delicate pass from Rafaelle Souza, Caitlin Foord was played through on goal and made no mistake in firing past Rachael laws.
Kim Little’s glancing header was then palmed away by Liverpool’s No 1, but shortly after the half-hour mark, Katie McCabe doubled our advantage, and in some style too.
As the ball was cleared away by Liverpool’s defence, the Republic of Ireland international was well-placed on the edge of the area and fired a thumping volley into the top right corner.
Even by McCabe’s lofty standards, this will go down as one of her finest strikes in Arsenal colours.
Full of confidence after scoring the opener, Foord then went on to rival McCabe with a stunning strike of her own, lashing at the ball and finding the top left corner from 20 yards.
We continued to dominate play in the second half, maintaining control throughout, and our captain Little made it four with a composed finish after being slipped through for a 1v1.
The hosts pushed to reduce to deficit late on and tested our defence with some in-swinging deliveries, but we stood strong to secure progression and a third clean sheet in our last four fixtures.
WHAT IT MEANS
We’re through to the final eight of the competition, where we will host Coventry United at Meadow Park. The game is set to take place on Sunday, March 20.
WHAT’S NEXT
We must now prepare for a Barclays FA Women’s Super League clash with Reading on Wednesday, March 2.
The game will be played at Meadow Park with kick-off at 7.15pm (UK time).
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