Birmingham City Ladies made their UEFA Women’s Champions League debut in style last night as they saw off Italian outfit Verona 2-0 in the first leg of their Round-of-32 tie.
Although the first half at Stratford Town FC didn’t see any goals, the hosts made up for it after the restart, with Rachel Williams opening the scoring from close range six minutes into the second half.
Kerys Harrop then sealed the deal for the Blues, claiming their second in the 70th minute to secure victory over the 2008 semi-finalists.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the hosts though, and keeper Marie Hourihan had to pull out a number of stops to deny left-back Claudia Squizzato and striker Cristiana Girelli.
But the Blues’ confidence grew, with Williams going close on a couple of occasions, but her headers went high. Karen Carney and Jo Potter followed suit with some good play in front of goal, but it wasn’t to be, and Birmingham City had to wait until Williams’s fierce close-range shot on 51 minutes.
Harrop then doubled their lead, pouncing on a loose ball in the 70th minute, and it could have been more had Potter and striker Jodie Taylor been successful in their close efforts.
But the two goals were enough to give Birmingham City a comfortable lead ahead of the second leg next Wednesday.
Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
