Arsenal Ladies were unable to breach a disciplined Birmingham City Ladies defense on Sunday as they continued to lose further ground in the Women’s Super League One title race.
The Gunners found Birmingham’s back five impossible to break down at Meadow Park and managed just two shots on target against their West Midlands counterparts.
Both sides had chances to secure victory for their respective sides, with Remi Allen and Dominique Janssen both striking the crossbar, but the visitors walked away with a deserved draw.
The result saw Arsenal drop more points in an already frustrating season for the Hertfordshire outfit, a result that was further exacerbated by Manchester City Women’s convincing 6-0 win over Doncaster Rovers Belles a day later.
Danielle Carter, whose performances earned the 22-year-old a nomination for Young Player of the Year earlier this month, spoke to VAVEL of her frustrations after a disappointing encounter.
Danielle Carter disappointed
“It was definitely frustrating today in terms of the result.” Proclaimed the forward, who was deployed on the right-wing throughout the afternoon. “They were resilient,” she continued “And it was difficult for us to break them down. We couldn't quite find the goal for the win and to force them to come out and attack.”
Carter scored a late equalizer against the Blues in their first competitive game of the 2016 season, an FA Cup clash that was also made difficult for Arsenal as the opposition took them to penalties. Manager Pedro Martinez Losa and his players, therefore, according to Carter, knew what to expect.
“We were prepared for how Birmingham would play all week so there are no excuses there.” Stated the England international. “We've played them before so we knew what they were all about. You can't really fault Birmingham – you have to praise them for making it difficult for us.”
Arsenal remain in third behind Chelsea Ladies, who harbour two games in hand, and a Manchester City side now eight points ahead of the Gunners.
Wembley up next for Gunners
Attentions will, however, rightly turn to an eagerly anticipated FA Cup final in less than a fortnight when Arsenal Ladies play rivals Chelsea at Wembley. The 13-time winners of the trophy will require a flawless performance to overcome a strong Chelsea team that won the double last campaign, something that Danielle Carter recognises.
“Our next game now is the FA Cup final at Wembley, so we need to put this to bed and go again for that.
“Every game we're playing, we're learning and still trying to gel, so the final will be different again – but we want to bring our best for that one.”