Glasgow Times

Harder makes life difficult as City blown away

- HENRY McCALL

Glasgow City 1 Wolfsburg 9 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. PLAY-OFF

GLASGOW City’s Champions League campaign came to an end in humbling fashion with a 9-1 quarter-final defeat to Wolfsburg in San Sebastian.

Wolfsburg captain Pernille Harder scored four goals and Ingrid Syrstad Engen (2) and Felicitas Rauch were also on target before own goals from

Leanne Ross and Jenna Clark completed the rout.

Lauren Wade gave Glasgow some cheer with the goal of the night from 20 yards but Wolfsburg – European champions in 2012 and 2013 – showed again why they are among the main contenders for major honours.

Glasgow started brightly on a rainy night in the Basque Country, but the German champions began to dominate.

In 15 minutes Harder played a neat one-two with Alexandra Popp and beat the slightly outof-position City goalkeeper Lee Alexander from 18 yards.

Wolfsburg doubled their lead within four minutes as Engen was left unmarked from a Lena Goessling corner to head home.

Glasgow attacks were rare but Samantha Kerr found space on the right before pulling back a cross which no forward could get on the end of.

Wolfsburg had more chances before the break and the result was put beyond doubt as Engen swept home Huth’s 44th-minute cross and Harder smashed in a fourth from a well-worked free-kick. Harder completed her hat-trick after 56 minutes, heading home

Huth’s cross, before Wade ran through to claim a superb consolatio­n – her first goal since joining from Icelandic side Throttur Reykjavik in February.

Substitute Rauch added a sixth from close-range before Harder’s fourth. Ross headed into her own net 10 minutes from time and, after Harder was denied a fifth by striking the crossbar, there was even more pain for Glasgow as Clark unluckily added a ninth.

Barcelona booked their semifinal spot against Wolfsburg with a 1-0 victory over Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid.

 ??  ?? Four-goal hero Pernille Harder
Four-goal hero Pernille Harder

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