Matildas Abroad Review: Fowler scores first WSL goal; Catley picks up assist in UWCL semi-final

Mary Fowler scored her first goal in the WSL for Manchester City in their 6-2 win; while Steph Catley picked up an assist in Arsenal's 2-2 draw in the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg. 

Read our review of the action below. 

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UWCL

Kicking in the UWCL, Sam Kerr's Chelsea went down 1-0 to FC Barcelona in their semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge, with Caroline Graham Hansen's first-half strike the difference between the two teams. 

Barcelona took the lead just four minutes into the game, with Hansen finishing off a brilliant solo run and taking a shot from outside the box to open the scoring. 

Chelsea had the ball in the back of the net midway through the first half but was ruled out due to offside. The Blues now have the tough task of heading to Camp Nou next week looking to turn around the deficit. 

Barcelona v Chelsea
Date: Friday, 28 April
Time: 2:45 am AEST

Meanwhile, in the other semi-final fixture, Arsenal came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg, with it all to play for next week at the Emirates. 

Ewa Pajor opened the scoring for the hosts, linking up with Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir to find the back of the net in the 19th minute. Jónsdóttir doubled Wolfsburg just five minutes later.

Arsenal clawed back a goal just before the break with Steph Catley providing the assist for Rafaelle Souza, sending in a perfect corner to find the Brazilian defender at the back post. 

Stina Blackstenius found the equaliser for the Gunners in the 69th minute, with next week's second leg at the Emirates Stadium with a spot in the UWCL final up for grabs.

Arsenal v Wolfsburg 
Date: Tuesday, 2 May
Time: 2:45 am AEST

England

Over in the WSL, Lydia Williams' Brighton & Hove Albion went down 2-1 to Liverpool, as the Seagulls' race to stay in the WSL goes down to the wire. 

Brighton opened the scoring through Elisabeth Terland just before the break. However, a double to Ceri Holland in the second half saw Liverpool take all three points at the Seagulls and remain just two points outside of the relegation zone. Williams played the whole game for Brighton.

Next up, Clare Wheeler's Everton got back to winning ways with a 3-2 win over Reading FC. 

The Royals opened the scoring just 2 minutes into the game from the spot, with Justine Vanhaevermaet finding the back of the net. The midfielder doubled her tally and Reading's in the 17th minute. Hanna Bennison clawed back a goal for Everton to send the game into the break at 2-1. 


Goals to Katja Snoeijs and Nicoline Sørensen saw the Toffees take all three points, collecting their eighth win of the season. 

Meanwhile, Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur and Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa played out an exciting 3-3 draw, with the Spurs able to turn around a 2-0 deficit and pick up a valuable point. 

Lastly, Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy's Manchester City moved to second on the ladder after a 6-2 win over Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United.

Chloe Kelly opened the scoring in just the 6th minute for City and doubled her tally 60 seconds later to put Gareth Taylor's side in the box seat. West Ham clawed back a goal through Emma Snerle before Laura Coombs also added her name to City's goalscorers to make it 3-1 going into the break. 

Khadija Shaw and Steph Houghton added to City's tally, to make it 5-1. Lisa Evans found the Hammers' second of the game, before Mary Fowler came off the bench to restore City's four-goal lead, scoring her first goal in the WSL to finish the game 6-2. 

Raso made an appearance off the bench in the 75th minute, while Kennedy is still rehabbing an injury sustained before the international break. 

USA

Moving over to the USA, Alex Chidiac's Racing Louisville had their three-game unbeaten streak broken with a 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns. 

Goals to Christine Sinclair and Morgan Weaver in the first half gave the Thorns the victory. Chidiac made an appearance off the bench in the 84th minute. 

Meanwhile, Emily Van Egmond's San Diego Wave FC recorded a 2-0 win over their California rivals Angel City FC to make it three victories to start the season. 

Van Egmond made her return to the Starting XI, after coming off the bench in Wave's midweek Challenge Cup win. 

Both sides were unable to find the back of the net in the first half, locked at 0-0 heading into the break. Sofia Jakobsson finally found the opener for Wave, finding the back of the net on her birthday after getting on the end of a counterattack. 


Makenzy Doniak doubled Wave's advantage not long after, picking up on a defensive error from Angel City and her shot from outside the box taking a deflection and finding the back of the net. 

Sweden

In Sweden, Teagan Micah's FC Rosengård recorded their first win of the season with a 4-0 win over Clare Polkinghorne, Katrina Gorry and Charli Grant's Vittsjö GIK.

Grant was the only Aussie to feature in the game, starting for Vittsjö GIK and coming off in the 87th minute. 

Meanwhile, Aivi Luik's BK Häcken made it three consecutive victories with a 3-0 win over Kalmar. Luik played the full game for Häcken as they hold on to fourth place on the table. 

Norway

Our last stop takes us to Norway, where Tameka Yallop and Larissa Crummer's SK Brann faced their first defeat of the season with a 3-2 loss to Vålerenga.

Crummer made the start for Brann, with the home side opening the scoring just six minutes into the game through Alyssa Mae Walker. 


Vålerenga found the equaliser through Olaug Tvedten to send the game into the break locked at 1-1. 

Three goals in the final 10 minutes of regular time saw Vålerenga score two late goals to seal a 3-2 win and keep their spot at the top of the table.