One-Nil Desperandum

 

Hopperational Details
Dates & Venues	Tue 22 & Wed 23 September 2026 at Boreham Wood FC & AFC Wimbledon FC respectively
Results	Arsenal 1 HB Køge 0 Chelsea 1 Austria Wien 0
Competition	Women’s Champions League Group Stage
Hopstats	Neither are new grounds on my lifetime list. My fifth and third visits respectively.
Context
First games of the group stage for both teams. England’s third entrant, Manchester City, drew 2-2 away at Bayern Munich in the same competition. Chelsea got here through a qualification route in which they comfortably saw off Real Sociedad
Match Reports
Both games have been well covered already including live TV coverage so I am restricting myself to headlines and comment. Arsenal needed a stoppage time penalty from substitute Mariona Caldentey to get this win. The Danish team had defended valiantly as Arsenal, not for the first time this season, struggled to turn their dominance into goals. Chelsea won with an early goal from Wieke Kaptein, and a very satisfying in-off-the-bar thunderbolt it was too. However, similarity in scoreline does not really tell the whole story. Both sides had attempted to rest a number of key players ahead of their league showdown this coming weekend.   Arsenal’s style is predominantly patient, possession-controlling with repeated recycling of the ball across the back line and midfield. Their excellent support, much the best numerically of any in the women’s game at the moment, has learned to be patient. The strength in depth of their squad is bound to mean that they will be challenging for honours again this season. Keeping all those internationals and future internationals happy is going to be more of a problem. Meadow Park had just under 2000 in attendance. A lot of teams will be setting up defensively against them and maybe there is a debate to be had about playing more of a percentage game and getting the ball into danger areas quicker. I don’t by any means study football tactics and stats in detail, so I don’t have a strong view. All I can say is that from the point of view of the passing neutral, this was compelling entertainment with a late dramatic twist. Chelsea are equally capable of that same style but on this occasion they were often more direct, using Melvine Malard as a back-to-the-goal target. Kaptein’s goal was well executed, but then the evening got more and more tense. Chelsea lost Keira Walsh to injury, and the game was probably more open than they would have wanted. Austria Wien showed some attacking ambition and they had some really clear chances. The final whistle was something of a relief for the home side and just under 1000 supporters. There were just a few rumblings of discontent near the end, directed at the management. Again, the sheer depth of their squad means that Chelsea will be up there in the trophy hunt. The ground felt a lot more empty though the core support kept up a decent string of songs occasionally orchestrated by Basil the well-known superfan. Fair play to him. Again, a good watch for the neutral with the result right in doubt to the very end. I suspect Chelsea fans are more frustrated than Arsenal’s this morning. So, both teams have three points from a group stage game, with some rested players and some minutes for squad players. Job done. Enough positives to take. Some of the other French and Spanish sides were piling up goals elsewhere so there are much, much sterner tests ahead. The next one is on Sunday at Stamford Bridge. The result of that game might arguably already decide one of the automatic Champions League spots for next season.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Meadow Park – Grey beats Green, with a clean sheet. Wimbledon – Green beats Orange, with a clean sheet. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win & Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes & Yes % of correct predictions so far 48% (111 from 230)
What Next?
Something (as yet undecided) on Saturday before the aforementioned WSL clash between Chelsea & Arsenal women on Sunday. I will certainly try to get to some more midweek women's euro games if work commitments allow. Stamford Bridge is to host the "home" games for Shaktar Donetsk of Ukraine in the weeks and months ahead if anyone is looking for a novel way to tick off that ground in their 92!

The Cup Run Is Over

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Monday 1 May 2023 at The Emirates Stadium
Result	Arsenal 2 VfL Wolfsburg 3 (4-5 on aggregate)
Competition	Women’s Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
Hopstats	Second visit here in a week, fourth altogether.
Context
The tie stands at 2-2 on aggregate, with Arsenal coming back from 2-0 down to get the draw. The match is a sellout and will be the highest crowd for a women’s club game in England. (Edit: It was 60,063.) The main issue facing the home side is the loss through injury of Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Kim Little, Caitlin Foord and Vivianne Miedema, while Wolfsburg have their star striker Alexandra Popp back for the second leg. Arsenal got here with an excellent quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich and they had bossed their group stage including demolitions of holders Lyon and FC Zurich.
In One Sentence
The result was decided just before the end of extra-time when a defensive error allowed Pauline Bremer to grab a dramatic winning goal for the German side.
So What?
Wolfsburg will play Barcelona in the Final. The latter have recently narrowly beaten Chelsea. The English sides will resume their pursuit of Manchester United for the league title.
Pre-match Entertainment
I started the day at Dial Square in Woolwich, the place where the Woolwich Arsenal football club was formed. I walked the Thames Path through Charlton, past the Faraday Works and the Thames Barrier, to Greenwich and the Cutty Sark, before taking the foot tunnel under the river to Docklands and then Canary Wharf. At that point a mixture of time pressure and developing foot blisters meant that I took public transport the rest of the way.   No Gunners to be found in Dial Square this morning Some photos from the rest of the walk are below.
Match Report
As this game has received substantial coverage already, I’ll be brief and impressionistic. This was a great occasion and I feel privileged to have been there. I had a seat high in the stands with no real view of the big screens, and when VAR was triggered very early on (the first one I have experienced live) I can understand why so many people are frustrated with it. The first one checked and rejected a penalty claim for handball against Arsenal defender Jennifer Beattie. The second one confirmed the opening goal, scored for Arsenal by Stina Blackstenius after a defensive mix-up. The equaliser before half-time was not a surprise, Jill Roord (once of Arsenal) was the scorer with the assist from Alexandra Popp. The second half started with Arsenal on the front foot and Blackstenius had the ball in the net only for VAR to find in favour of the Germans this time. Popp’s glancing header from a set piece gave them the lead, but all credit to Arsenal who, having seen their sub Laura Wienroither stretchered off to join the injury list, levelled through Beattie’s header with 15 minutes to go. Both sides had their chances to win it in extra time. Keepers Manuela Zinsberger and Merle Frohms didn’t do much wrong. Frida Maanum deserves a mention in the home midfield. A cross by Katie McCabe clipped the bar, but Wolfsburg should have scored just before that. As we headed towards penalties, an error by the otherwise excellent Lotte Wubben-Moy let in Wolfsburg and close-range tap in for Pauline Bremer. Arsenal removed Beattie and sent Michelle Agyemang up front for a few frantic final minutes but Wolfsburg held on for an impressive victory. Insert your own sentence about fine margins here.
Match & Ground Pix
Not too many ground pix, but see previous post from the FA Youth Cup final for more.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The full keeper top performance table from my last 270 matches is here, on this separate page. Today, Grey loses to Black. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 44% (55 from Z125) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by undeniable half-and-half tops or lower league sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech (and supported by anonymous scientists of some description) that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. It is supposedly because of an innate primeval human reaction to the colour and the colour “spreads” more in the vision of a striker at the key moment of decision. Genius or garbage? The evidence is gathering here, and is leaning towards the latter.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! A trip to see Manchester United v Tottenham in the Women’s Super League is in the diary for next weekend, followed by a couple of Wembley trips for the Women’s FA Cup Final and Non-League Finals Day.
Photos: Woolwich Arsenal to Arsenal via Greenwich
1) The Woolwich Arsenal 2) Heading towards the Thames 3) The Woolwich Ferry 4) The derelict Faraday Works, Charlton 5) The Thames Barrier 6) London Skyline 7) Greenwich 8) Greenwich Foot Tunnel 9) The Space, Westferry (former church, now a theatre)