Two saves by Annabel Sweeney in a dramatic penalty shootout ensured Cardiff Met’s progression to the semi-finals of the Adran Trophy, at the expense of Swansea City.
It was Swansea’s first defeat since the loss to Dinamo-BGU in the Champions League qualifiers in August and marked Swansea’s first domestic defeat in over two years.
The opening twenty minutes was a timid affair, with Swansea being frustrated by a few offside calls from the linesman that halted their attacking progress. The best chance of the opening spell fell to Swansea’s Ellie Lake. A sloppy pass by Tiggeraa Webb gave the ball straight to Stacey John-Davis, who played Lake in on goal but the right-back dragged her shot wide.
John-Davis was involved in the action again shortly after, when she played Chivers through on goal, only for her shot to go straight at Sweeney in the Met goal. The goalkeeper did spill the original shot, but luckily for her she regathered it before John-Davis could run onto the rebound.
With five minutes left of what was a fairly lifeless first half, the game exploded into life. Met’s Elianna Chavez was hacked down by Ellie Lake in the box, and referee Kim Fisher had no choice but to point to the spot. Striker Emily Allen duly converted the spot kick to give her side the lead.
That lead, however, did not last long, as Swansea hit back most immediately. Chivers did well to dribble past the defenders, cutting in from the right wing before slotting the shot home from a fairly tight angle.
Seconds into the second half, Swansea came close to taking the lead. Livewire Stacey John-Davis’ pace caused Met’s defence problems yet again, but her shot from a tight angle could only find the side netting.
Swansea had the majority of the chances in the second half, but failed to make them pay. Nia Rees did well to win the ball from a Met defender, but her shot was wide of the mark. A long-range free-kick gave Laura Davies a chance, but her header was straight at Sweeney. Down the other end, Claire Sweeney pulled off a great save to tip a shot by Elianna Chavez over the bar.
Chloe Chivers had two chances to double her tally for the day, after a couple of mistakes in the Met defence. However, one of her efforts went over the bar, and the other was well-saved by Sweeney.
With nothing to split the two teams after 90 minutes, the game was to be decided on a penalty shootout.
First up was Emily Allen, who had already scored from the spot earlier in the game. She failed to replicate her success though, this time seeing her effort blast off the crossbar. However, her mistake wouldn’t prove to be costly, as Sweeney saved Kelly Adams’ penalty.
Taylor O’Leary got the first successful penalty of the shootout, and Met then had the advantage after Sweeney pulled off another save, this time denying Laura Davies. Lauren Townsend was also successful with her effort, before Rhianne Oakley finally got the Swans on the board with a confident penalty to the right-hand corner.
Both Hannah Mills and Stacey John-Davis slotted their penalties home, and it was all down to the final penalty. Met captain Stephanie Turner took the responsibility, and her powerful effort to the left-hand corner was out of Skinner’s reach.
Player of the Match
Annabel Sweeney – Cardiff Metropolitan University
Whilst her saves in the shootout were clearly the highlight of her performance, she looked solid throughout, and pulled off some top class saves to prevent Swansea from taking the lead.
Special credit also should go to Swansea’s Rhianne Oakley, who despite primarily being a striker, slotted in at left-back for the Swans today, and did well to prevent Met from breaking through on her side of the pitch.
Cardiff Met: Annabel Sweeney, Jessie Taylor, Lucy Finch, Tiggeraa Webb (Hannah Mills 53′), Stephanie Turner (C), Sophie Hancocks, Amy Long (Taylor O’Leary 62′), Laura-May Walkley, Emily Allen, Lauren Hutton-Townsend, Elianna Chavez
Unused substitutes: Charlotte Smith, Emily Richards, Ellie Preece
Goal: Emily Allen 40′ (P)
Shootout: Allen X O’Leary ✓ Hutton Townsend ✓ Mills ✓ Turner ✓
Yellow card: Laura-May Walkley 80′
Swansea City: Claire Skinner, Ellie Lake, Kelly Adams, Nieve Jenkins, Chloe Chivers, Katy Hosford (C), Stacey John-Davis, Rhianne Oakley, Laura Davies, Tija Richardson, Nia Rees (Karmyn Carter 85′)
Unused substitutes: Gemma Border, Sarah Adams, Chloe Tiley, Gwen Horgan
Goal: Chloe Chivers 41′
Shootout: Adams X Davies X Oakley ✓ John-Davis ✓
Yellow card: Rhianne Oakley 20′
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