It is game on in the UEFA Women’s Champions League after Birmingham City Ladies held Swedish side Tyreso FF to a thrilling 0-0 semi-final draw in Solihull.
A crowd of more than 1500 watched with bated breath as Brazilian star Marta and Tyreso skipper Caroline Seger were denied the chance to strut their stuff by a determined Blues side. The return match is next Sunday and it’s all to play for. So what did the managers and players think of the first leg…
Birmingham City manager David Parker
On the next game:
We can be better than this. Defensively we were spot on and we will be again but we can be better going forward. I’m confident we’ll score a goal and if we don’t we’ll take it to penalties. We’ve done the hard work today and we’re not going to give that up.
On being 90 minutes away from the final:
We’re in with more than a shout and we’ll go away now and sleep on this and reflect on where we’re at because this is some going. To go over there, fully in the game, to not give away an away goal, we’re just missing that one goal.
On losing Kerys Harrop to suspension for the away tie:
It will be a blow not to have Kerys but we’ve got more than able deputies to come in and whoever we pick to go into that game I’m more than confident they will perform to the best of their abilities and give it all they’ve got. We’ll defend as a group as always.
On not scoring at home:
When we attacked we looked lively but it was that belief to go and put the ball in the back of the net, we just missed that. Maybe we were mentally drained after three games in six days, maybe it was us looking at the names on the backs of their shirts, I’m not quite sure. Whatever it was, we know we can score a goal out there.
David Parker makes notes while Blues football consultant Marcus Bignot shouts
Tyreso FF manager Tony Gustavsson
On the game:
It was one of those days. We talked about it at half-time, to have more killer instinct in the box, you know they had a lot of bodies in between the ball and the goal and it’s not that simple to score in those cases. I think it was a good nil-nil game.
Tony Gustavsson urges Tyreso on
On the home leg:
We know we’ve been very good at home. We’ve scored 14 goals from three games on home ground and have fantastic support from our supporters so now we have it in our own hands, playing on home turf with all the support from our fans so we’re really looking forward to the game.
Birmingham City midfielder Jo Potter
On the game:
I enjoyed it. I was glad to come away with a clean sheet. It was hard work and we made hard work of it ourselves in the first-half but we were better second-half and showed more of what we’re about. We came out with a clear plan at half-time and it probably showed, we could have come away with a win. We’ve got a clean sheet that’s the most important thing.
On playing so well against Caroline Seger:
I think I’ve grown up playing against her through the set-ups. She knows what she’s doing, she’s very experienced and strong on the ball but we didn’t really let the ball come to her second-half and I think we nullified the threat going forward. We defended for our lives.
Caroline Seger gears up for the game
On Birmingham’s increasing composure second-half:
We spoke about that at half-time and it was something we knew we needed to improve on. Second-half we came out much more relaxed, we knew what we had to do, we knew we needed to stick to our plan and we definitely did that and I think it showed in the game.
On the away goal rule advantage:
We score they have to score two and with the firepower we’ve got we are confident we can score. It showed in the Arsenal game, we had that edge and were confident we would score. We’ve got to go to Sweden believing that we are going to score.
On Tyreso and Birmingham:
They have got big names but we questioned them as a team. We know we are a team, that’s something we’ve got spot on this year. We work hard for each other. Yes we’ve got some name players but they are all part of our team and it’s not just the 11 on the pitch, it’s the subs on the bench who can make an impact and we all believe in that.
Birmingham City skipper Karen Carney
On the game:
We’ve got to believe more. I don’t think we played to the best of our abilities which is quite scary. It’s a great result in terms of they didn’t score so overall it’s a good result for us but I think we’ve got to believe a bit more in ourselves. For example, Mel Lawley in the second-half, when she actually believed – she is outstanding and so quick on the ball – and when she started getting at them they were petrified of her so I think we need to take that from the get go and believe in ourselves.
On the away tie:
It’s going to be tough. We never thought it was going to be easy so we’ve got to go to their place and believe in it. We’ve seen their cards, we’ve seen what they’ve got. Everyone talks about Marta and she’s a fantastic player but Chelsea Weston was outstanding today and she’s like that every week, people underestimate her so we’ll go there with a little bit more belief and confidence. If it’s mean to be it’s meant to be. We’ll give everything.
Karen Carney leads Birmingham City out for the kick-off
Birmingham City midfielder Jade Moore
On the game:
It was a great performance from all. We did ourselves credit and to go there without conceding a goal puts us in a good position.
On her ’nearly’ goal:
It was a swinging left peg of the outside of the boot, one of the hardest techniques to master and I don’t know what I was thinking to be honest. It was close but just not right in that bottom corner where I wanted it to go.
On the first-half and improvements to the second:
We were probably a little bit disappointed going into half-time and not showing what we can do going forward. That was a massive turning point for the second-half just to try and go out there and show what we can do on the ball.
On the clean sheet:
We’ve not conceded a goal throughout this whole campaign and for us to keep that shield going the whole way through, against Arsenal and these with the players they’ve got, is a credit to the girls and the team and the unity of the staff and everyone who has put us out there and prepared us. It’s been a brilliant day and it hopefully should get better next Sunday.
On how she felt the night before the game:
I sleep pretty well – I can sleep on a washing line. To be honest it being a Saturday helped because I was thinking it was not a game day.
On Chelsea Weston’s performance against Marta:
Ask Chelsea who she is and what she looks like, she didn’t even know before today but I’m sure she’ll know for Sunday now. Chelsea had a brilliant performance against her.
Marta keeps an eye on Chelsea Weston
Birmingham City keeper Rebecca Spencer
On the game:
It was obviously a big occasion, the biggest game in the club’s history and everyone was really excited to play in it and with a bit more belief you never know what could have happened but we’re happy with the result.
On the clean sheet run:
To be fair we’ve got a really great defensive unit right from the front to the back and it’s something we pride ourselves on and something we’ve built over pre-season.
On the away leg:
We know it’s going to be a tough game but we have the advantage of the away goal rule and for every goal we score they have to score two. We created a couple of chances so hopefully we’ll go into the next game with a lot of belief.
Words and pictures by Catherine Etoe
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
