Arsenal Ladies confirmed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with an 11-1 victory over Kazakh side Kairat on Thursday at Meadow Park.
After their emphatic 7-1 first-leg win, the overall result was never in doubt even before a ball was kicked on a sunny afternoon in Borehamwood.
But the Gunners were in no mood to sit on their six-goal lead. Four goals from Danielle Carter, a hat-trick from Kim Little, a brace from Jordan Nobbs and goals from Caroline Weir and Ellen White ensured a final aggregate score of 18-2.
As the scoreline from the first leg suggested, there was a gulf in class between the two teams and Arsenal dominated right from the first whistle.
The Gunners should have been ahead within two minutes when Carter slipped a ball through to White but Oksana Zheleznyak was quick off her line and blocked the forward’s effort with an outstretched leg.
Stand-in skipper Katie Chapman miscued a header wide from Little’s corner in the fifth minute. Little went close herself five minutes later, shooting just over after a driving run into the area. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable came.
And in the 14th minute, it did. Little floated in a corner towards Carter at the near post and the forward made no mistake with a cushioned header past Zheleznyak.
Shelley Kerr’s team were now camped in the Kairat half. In the 20th minute Gemma Davison weaved past two defenders and slid a cross to the onrushing Nobbs but her rasping shot from close range was blocked on the line.
Arsenal doubled their lead on 25 minutes with a fine finish from White. The England forward picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner.
The third goal came in the 32nd minute when White was bundled over by Makhilyo Sarikova, giving referee Sofia Karagiorgi no choice but to point to the spot. Little duly slotted past Zheleznyak to become just the 10th player to score 30 goals in the Women’s Champions League.
Nobbs made it four just two minutes later with the simplest of finishes after Davison unselfishly squared for the midfielder to tap home.
In the 37th minute, Kairat captain Mariya Yalova fired a shot across the face of goal in the visitors’ first real venture into the Arsenal third. The Kazakh side then had a goal disallowed in the 42nd minute when Aigerim Alimkulova was flagged offside as she tucked the ball past Emma Byrne.
The goals continued to flow in the second half. Little netted her second from the spot on 51 minutes after Alex Scott was hauled down by Yekaterina Krasyukova.
Two minutes later Carter got her second with a glancing header that flew into the far corner.
The forward completed her hat-trick in the 58th minute, poking home from Little’s slide-rule pass. The same players combined again five minutes later to make it 8-0 - Little was put through on goal this time but the Scot unselfishly squared for Carter to tap into an empty net.
But Little didn’t have to wait long to complete her treble. Nobbs lifted a superb, lofted ball to her fellow midfielder, who took two touches to compose herself before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner.
The hosts made it 10 with 18 minutes remaining when substitute Caroline Weir curled a superb effort into the top corner from just under 30 yards out. It was certainly the pick of the bunch.
Nobbs netted her brace in the 82nd minute after again combining with the tireless Davison. The winger pulled the ball back from a tight angle to the midfielder and she took a touch before coolly passing the ball into the corner.
Kairat scored what can only be described as a consolation goal when Sarikova beat Byrne to a long ball forward to lob the ball into an empty net.
Kerr’s side will face Glasgow City in the next round.
Referee: Sofia Karagiorgi (CYP)
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