NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR SORRY BLUES
BIRMIngHaM CITY were listed as the home team for this fixture, but there was little familiarity for manager Carla Ward and her side as they walked out at st george’s Park yesterday.
Forced to pay £500 to play 34 miles away from damson Park, the ground they share with national league side solihull Moors, they felt more like the away club than opponents Manchester City. seven of gareth Taylor’s starting line-up had starred for England against northern Ireland on Tuesday, with another sitting on the bench.
The Fa took the decision to switch the game to their national Football Centre to ensure it went ahead, with the Blues having suffered four postponements because of a frozen and waterlogged pitch.
They have played the fewest fixtures of any side in the Wsl and saw this and their one against Everton postponed in december, with the latter cancelled for a second time in January. Their game against aston Villa earlier this month was also called off, just five minutes before kick-off.
Poor playing conditions is just one of a series of problems Ward has faced since taking charge of the Blues in august. The club had just eight players on the books when she arrived and the manager had two weeks to rebuild her squad for the start of the season.
she has done a remarkable job to take the team to ninth in the table with 11 points from 12 games, and they should avoid relegation, barring a turnaround from West Ham and Bristol City.
Facing a Manchester City side who had won their seven previous league fixtures with 24 goals scored and just three conceded was always going to be difficult, but losing home advantage doesn’t help.
despite the move hindering her side, Ward backed the Fa’s decision.
‘I spoke with the Fa and fully understand and support the decision,’ she said. ‘We’ve got eight home games to play so it’s a case of trying to help us eliminate any future problems. I thi think k (th (the pitch) it h) would ld have h been absolutely fine but it’s more the bigger picture in making sure, come april, there haven’t been that many games called off that we have a problem.’
If there’s one team you don’t want to play on the smooth surface of st george’s, it’s Manchester City. They are the best footballing team in the Wsl and the conditions suited them perfectly.
Taylor’s side had 82 per cent possession but the Blues did well to frustrate them for much of the first half.
Their resistance finally collapsed in the 39th minute when sam Mewis headed in from a pinpoint Chloe Kelly cross. The american was back in the team for the first time this year after picking up an injury on international duty in January. Two goals in a minute put the game beyond doubt eearly early in the second hhalf. half. Mewis M fired in h her second following in a goalmouth s scramble from a corner, before He Hemp’s looping shot sailed into the th back of the net f for a third. thi d
Caroline Weir added another for City just after the hour mark, the scot meeting Ellen White’s clever pass to lift the ball over Hannah Hampton in the Blues goal.
Ward admitted playing at st george’s had benefited City, and that their performance was the best Birmingham had come up against this season. The Blues’ future home games are under review but Ward is hopeful of facing arsenal at solihull next weekend.
‘If you played Man City at Wembley, here, solihull, a cow field, you know what you’re coming up against,’ she said.
‘They’re a world- class team. Wherever you play them it is going to be tough. naturally you don’t want to play them on a carpet like we have done. I would prefer to play arsenal at solihull than here and I’ll be pushing for that.’