Karen Carney came back to haunt her former club Arsenal and maintain the Blues’ 100 per cent start in The FA WSL in their mid-week clash on 28 April.
Ellen White put Arsenal ahead but the prolific Rachel Williams equalised with her sixth goal of the season.
Then, with 17 minutes left to play, up stepped Carney to hit the Blues’ winning goal, to open up a six point gap over the Gunners at the top of the WSL table.
The 23-year-old spent three highly successful seasons with the Gunners, before moving to the Chicago Red Stars in 2009. But she was one of four former-Arsenal players in the visitors’ line up, not to mention Marcus Bignot, back in Birmingham’s dug-out following a spell as part of Arsenal’s back-room staff. Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Laura Harvey was also facing her old side.
Carney, meeting Arsenal for the first time since her departure in 2009, wasted no time reminding her former side of her effervescent talent, whipping in two testing crosses in the opening three minutes.
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As ever, Rachel Yankey was a constant threat down the left flank and Birmingham’s Chelsea Weston was booked early on for a challenge on the rapid England winger.
Despite Yankey’s persistence, Arsenal’s first real chance was crafted down the right-hand side, with Dani Carter providing a low cross for White. But Arsenal’s No.9 swept her effort wide.
Birmingham wasted an equally gilt-edged chance three minutes later when former Gunners midfielder Dunia Susi received Carney’s hanging cross but blazed over from eight yards.
White made amends for her earlier profligacy when she opened the scoring five minutes before the break. Again Carter was the architect, lifting a bouncing through-ball into the path of the striker, who lofted an exquisite lob over the advancing Marie Hourihan from 20 yards.
White should have doubled her tally from Yankey’s low cross two minutes after the break but rattled the bar from seven yards.
Arsenal were punished for the miss when Birmingham restored parity just past the hour-mark when Williams expertly nodded Jade Moore’s looping cross into the top corner.
And the turnaround was complete in the 73rd minute when Carney seized on Gilly Flaherty’s slack back-pass before rounding Emma Byrne and slotting the winning goal into the empty net.
Arsenal Ladies: Byrne; Fahey, Flaherty, Grant, Beattie; Nobbs, Chapman, Little, Yankey; Carter (Fleeting 78), White. Unused subs: Tracy, Spencer, Bruton, Coombs.
Birmingham City: Hourihan; Harrop, Stanton, Bassett, Weston; Susi, Potter, Moore, Westwood; Williams, Carney. Unused subs: Wright, Watts, Cardin, Christiansen, Ballard.
Bookings: Weston (19), Yankey (38)
Referee: Tim Donnellan Attendance: 789
Sportsister,
The Women’s Sports Magazine
Image credit: The FA via Getty Images
