Everton still awaiting first Goodison Park win after falling to Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

Everton are still awaiting their first win of the season at Goodison Park after falling to a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal this afternoon.

The Toffees came into the game off the back of a statement win against Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea last weekend. They were hoping to do the same to Arsenal but it proved to be a step too far.

Caitlin Foord had the first real shot of the game but her effort from the edge of the box flew wide of the net. Beth Mead then saw a headed effort caught by home keeper Courtney Brosnan.

Katie McCabe opened the scoring for The Gunners after 11 minutes. Mariona Caldentey’s shot was cleared off the line and the ball trickled to McCabe on the edge of the box. She took aim and fired the ball across goal and into the far corner of the Everton net.

Just two minutes later, Everton levelled matters through last weekend’s goal hero Honoka Hayashi. She received the ball 20 yards out and curled her foot around it, leaving visiting keeper Anneke Borbe with no chance of saving the shot.

Arsenal soon got themselves back in-front. Emily Fox got the ball into the box and found Alessia Russo. Her effort appeared to be cleared by Brosnan but the officials deemed that the ball had crossed the line and the goal was given.

Russo found herself with a couple of chances to extend Arsenal’s lead but each time, she was denied by Brosnan. Kyra Cooney-Cross then made a strong run, breaking past a handful of Everton players, before passing the ball to Foord, who sent it out of play.

At the other end, Kelly Gago did well to get the ball past Lotte Wubben-Moy and find Toni Payne, but she couldn’t get enough power on her shot.

Arsenal continued to look the more threatening on the attack. Russo couldn’t beat Brosnan with a tame strike before the Everton keeper denied Caldentey.

Gunners keeper Borbe hadn’t had much to do during the game, but she made a vital save to prevent Rion Ishikawa from scoring late on.

In the 87th minute, Olivia Smith ensured that Arsenal took home all three points by scoring their third goal. The ball fell nicely for the forward who sent a dipping 20-yard shot bouncing past Brosnan.

This afternoon’s result moves Arsenal up to second place in the Barclays Women’s Super League table while Everton remain ninth. Those rankings could change after Sunday’s action.