Arsenal secured their place within the Ladies’s Champions League group stage for the second season in a row due to a single Vivianne Miedema objective within the second leg of their closing qualifying spherical tie towards Ajax in Amsterdam.
The Gunners, who will now play all of their Champions League sport this season on the Emirates Stadium, had been held to a 2-2 draw within the first leg at Meadow Park and confronted a doubtlessly tough job towards the Dutch aspect, regardless of remaining favourites to progress general.
A weird downside with uneven goalposts was an pointless addition to the drama of the evening, with match officers compelled to take measurements and perform changes on the tools to verify they have been in compliance with laws.
Arsenal weren’t at their greatest on the evening and Ajax confirmed themselves to be a risk within the first half when the combination rating was nonetheless degree. The Gunners additionally had probabilities for Stina Blackstenius and eventual matchwinner Miedema, however couldn’t take them.
Miedema’s decisive objective got here a couple of minutes after half-time, firing into the underside nook.
Ajax did improve the stress within the closing levels in quest of an equaliser that may have compelled extra-time, however have been unable to make it depend.
The draw back from the competition noticed Beth Mead and Rafaelle Souza succumb to facial and ankle accidents respectively and withdrawn earlier than the tip. However whereas each shall be in worldwide motion, Arsenal do not now have one other fixture till 16 October.
Arsenal be a part of Chelsea because the WSL representatives within the Champions League group stage, with Manchester Metropolis knocked out by Actual Madrid in an earlier qualifying spherical.
Final season, the Gunners have been the one English aspect to achieve the knockout levels, ultimately eradicated by Wolfsburg within the quarter-finals, after Chelsea had surprisingly didn’t make it by way of the group stage.
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