Liverpool 1 Leicester City 1: A new start, a familiar finishing Finn
This is a new era for Leicester City Women - as we covered last week, there are new faces in defence, in midfield and up front. But most of all, this is now Amandine Miquel’s time. And to properly start a new era with a new statement, you need to get a result.
Leicester City got one to open their fourth consecutive season in the WSL. They went away to the team that finished fourth last season and came away with a point. Perhaps the most promising thing is that it could have been more.
In notable team news, Lize Kop was preferred in goal to Janina Leitzig, new signing Chantelle Swaby began life with Leicester on the bench, it was Janice Cayman at left-back and Missy Goodwin ahead of her with Noémie Mouchon making her Foxes debut at centre forward.
Liverpool have a new home this season in St Helens, 17 miles east of their previous base at Prenton Park. So it was that Leicester began the campaign at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
The hosts started like a team that wanted to crack the top four again. They were comfortable in possession, pushing Leicester onto the back foot and enjoying the best chance of the first ten minutes when midfielder Ceri Holland took aim from outside the box, forcing a fine save from Kop.
Liverpool’s most dangerous player was their debutant Canadian forward Olivia Smith. The 20-year-old showed signs of being one to watch this season, repeatedly driving at the Leicester defence but failing to turn her threat into goals.
Meanwhile, Leicester struggled to retain possession. The main problem was an inability to get Yuka Momiki or Jutta Rantala on the ball in the opposition half.
Liverpool’s first clear chance of the game arrived in the 15th minute with another Smith raid down the right. After shrugging off Julie Thibaud, her low ball in was steered straight at Kop by Marie Höbinger.
It took just two minutes for another to materialise when a ball from the left went all the way through and Lucy Parry again put it straight at Kop.
Chances at the other end were few and far between. Halfway through the first half, Mouchon showed a glimpse of her potential with a shot from outside the area, touched behind by Liverpool goalkeeper Rachel Laws.
A lull followed as Leicester established a bit of a foothold without creating anything of note. Slowly, they began to look more threatening. After Ruby Mace had blocked a Smith shot, Mace herself fired a half-chance over from range following great buildup play.
Mouchon, Rantala and CJ Bott all tested the Liverpool backline with teasing crosses from the right and Rantala lifted in a corner which just evade the head of Sophie Howard.
Anyone who has watched Leicester before will have known which team was most likely to score as the visitors continued to prove without managing a clear shot at goal.
Just moments before half time, Sam Tierney carelessly conceded a corner with a misplaced back header in the full-back position and Sophie Romàn Haug had a free header. Kop couldn’t do anything about it and Howard’s complaints about a push fell on deaf ears.
Going in at the break 1-0 down away to a more established WSL club felt like déjà vu. New manager, same old story. So it was time for Miquel and her charges to rewrite the script and refresh those of us in danger of becoming jaded when watching multiple Leicester sides across a weekend.
The second half was only eight minutes old when Leicester found the riposte. It was a brilliant crossfield ball from Momiki that made it possible. Liverpool’s impressive left wing-back Taylor Hinds could only help it onwards into Rantala’s path.
And if you could pick any Fox to find themselves with a great opportunity it would be the Finn. One touch on her thigh to take the ball into her path in the right channel, another to drive it across Laws into the corner.
Liverpool redoubled their efforts in response, Holland having two efforts pushed away by Kop either side of the hour mark as the rain swept in.
With 25 minutes to go, Miquel made her first substitutions as Leicester boss. Saori Takarada and Deanne Rose replaced Momiki and Goodwin. A third arrived twelve minutes later when Mouchon took a knock and Courtney Nevin came on with a reshuffle subsequently needed. Captain Cayman showcased her versatility by moving from left-back to the right wing, Rantala shifting to the central attacking role.
Having looked tidier since the first twenty minutes, Leicester began to drop deep again. With ten minutes left, Howard had to stretch to clear with Kop hesitant. Counter attack was the order of the day but Liverpool’s tactical fouls made it difficult. Twice blue shirts were tugged on halfway in promising positions.
Tierney came off for Emilia Pelgander before Rantala, working extremely hard out of possession, charged down Laws and won a corner which came to nothing.
Perhaps Liverpool’s best chance of the second half came with three minutes of normal time remaining. Experienced centre-back Gemma Bonner rose between Thibaud and Howard to get her head on a corner at the near post but Kop was relieved to watch her effort sail over.
The game ended with a curious turnaround in approach from Leicester, but it nearly reaped the ultimate reward. The home fans had been frustrated at perceived time-wasting, with Kop booked in the 88th minute and throw-ins taking a while to come in.
But then Leicester began to speed things up. Mace looked tireless in midfield. Rose’s pace was causing a headache as always. There was a chance for Cayman to lift the ball to Rantala at the back post but her delivery was slightly overhit.
The Liverpool fans enthusiastically greeted the indication of seven minutes of injury time. But the only real chance to get a winner came in the fourth of those seven and it fell to Leicester. Rantala’s ball in from the right was nodded past Laws by Mace only for the offside flag to go up.
Leicester travelled home with a point then, and a lot of hope for the season ahead. Miquel’s commitment to attack was on display, there were signs of Mouchon’s promise and Kop was impressive between the sticks.
It’s Arsenal next up, but at least Leicester are off the mark and the new era has begun in undoubted positivity.
