Leicester Women Lose Out On Filbert Way
Two goals from Tierney and Cayman in the space of two minutes gave Leicester the lead against the Gunners at the break, but a disappointing second-half performance saw Arsenal add six different goalscorers to the scoresheet in the form of Cloé Lacasse, Alessio Russo, Caitlin Foord, Victoria Pelova, Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig.
There were two changes to Willie Kirk's side who lost 2-1 to Liverpool last weekend as Missy Goodwin and Josie Green made way for Cayman and Deanne Rose, the latter making her first start for Leicester in the Barclays Women's Super League.
In the opening 15 minutes, both sides looked dangerous when in possession, and despite one early scare which forced a close-range save from Janina Leitzig, it was the Foxes who were testing the scoreline. Two efforts came in from Cayman, but the Belgian midfielder wasn't able to beat Manuela Zinsberger.
With 10 minutes to go of the first half, a close-range header from Tierney broke the deadlock after the midfielder jumped highest to meet a flick on from Lena Petermann at the far post to give the Foxes the lead.
Just minutes after celebrating a first goal, City had another when Hannah Cain burst through the Arsenal backline and drilled a low cross into the path of Cayman. Running at full speed, the No.11 did well to slide in and direct the ball past Zinsberger, ensuring a two-goal lead at the break.
Sadly for the Foxes, the second half is where it all unfolded, and the game was taken from them with four goals in the space of 12 minutes from the visitors. The first arrived when Lacasse profited from a defensive error, before Russo drew the Gunners back level just moments later with a fast-paced counterattack.
The London side then took the lead when Foord sent a looping effort over the on-rushing Leitzig, from just inside the penalty area. A disappointing early period in Leicester's second half was rounded off when Pelova finished into an empty net after Lacasse squared the ball to her team-mate in a two-on-one scenario.
Substitute Blackstenius then got in on the act, when Arsenal, once again, finished off a fluid counterattack that was too quick for the City defence to deal with. With just Leitzig to beat, the Swedish striker fired an effort into the bottom left-hand corner to amplify the Foxes' defeat. Unfortunately for Leicester, the North London club weren't done yet, and Hurtig, also off the bench, finished past the German 'keeper in the eighth minute of added time.
After an impressive first half which saw the hosts defy all odds to take a strong lead in the game, the second half only energised the travelling side even more as Arsenal's international quality ran riot, and proved too much to deal with for Kirk's outfit, who will need to head back to the drawing board and work on their defensive errors ahead of next week's meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.