Jess Fishlock scores late winner for Seattle Reign in “unique circumstances” following weekend abandonment | OneFootball

Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign FC)

Wales’s Jess Fishlock scored a last-minute goal for Seattle Reign as they played the second half of their match against Racing Louisville – which was abandoned at the weekend.

A medical emergency for Louisville’s Savannah DeMelo on Sunday meant the game stopped at half-time, with the score still 0-0.

However, with DeMelo now convalescing in hospital, the match was scheduled to run to a close, albeit behind closed doors with no fans watching.

And it was Fishlock whose late strike made the difference.

“It was different and difficult circumstances to play 45 minutes 48 hours ago, and then coming in and playing another 45 minutes is a unique situation that you have to wrap your head around,” Fishlock said after the match.

“You’ve got to try and win the game in 45 minutes, that’s what we wanted to do.

“We did a great job of that as a group.

“We dealt with it as best we could.”

Her team-mate Claudia Dickey added: “All of us were more worried about Sav than any of that happening.”

Jess Fishlock: The NWSL have learned from Savy King

Reflecting on their “two-day half-time”, they said that they had not revisited their tactics, but returned to play confident in what they had already done on Sunday.

And both praised the decision to abandon the match.

“It’s not fair to anyone, it’s not fair to Louisville, it’s not fair to the fans, it’s not fair to the players to expect them to be able to come out and play their best or play focused,” said Dickie.

“To the league’s credit, they’ve learned, obviously, and were able to make a more informed decision after what happened earlier this year,” added Fishlock, referring to the decision to continue playing when Angel City’s Savy King collapsed in a match against Utah Royals, later requiring surgery for a heart abnormality.

Fishlock came on as a substitute in the 85th minute before in stoppage time scoring what she described as “a great team goal, a great transition goal”.

She added that even if the match had played to a conclusion on Sunday she would likely have joined the fray late on: “You know the game is only 45 minutes. It’s probably no different to what my role was going to be on the weekend anyway, my role was specifically – ‘If we need to win the game, you’re going on.'”

Seattle Reign are now sixth in the NWSL standings.