Gotham FC falls to Chelsea Women in the August friendly

On Monday, NJ/NY Gotham FC played in a summer friendly against Chelsea F.C. Women.  This gave the Bats a game to play before the NWSL resumes on Saturday while the Blues are in the middle of their preseason.  It was expected to be a fun and competitive match.

Meanwhile, the USWNT gold medalists did not dress for the fixture.  Ann-Katrin Berger, who won the bronze with Germany, was available and on the bench.  She probably wanted the opportunity to play against her old team.  Jess Carter, who was signed this summer, started the match for the Bats.

Therefore, Juan Carlos Amorós went with a Starting XI that was similar to the lineups put out during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.  It was a little surprising that he did not give Bruninha another chance as an offensive player after doing so in the previous game.  Instead, the Brazilian slotted into the left-back position while Mandy Freeman played as the right-back.  Otherwise, the lineup made sense with the missing players.

Unfortunately, a rough start for the home side led Gotham FC to lose 3-1 to Chelsea.  It was not the worst match played this season, but the Bats could not score more than one goal.  One can only wonder whether they would have fought back more without the multiple substitutions normally seen in friendlies.

Gotham FC falls to Chelsea while some players return from injury

While the match was a friendly, Gotham FC still wanted to win.  They should have competed more with the players available.  Instead, Chelsea went up early in the seventh minute thanks to a goal by Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.  The Bats were not their usual compact self, allowing the player to move into the box on an angle and take her shot.

Kaneryd also scored a second goal after a giveaway by Nealy Martin.  This led to an easy counter and goal for Chelsea to go up 2-0 in the 15th.  It was clear Gotham was rusty and not their usual defensive selves.  It did not make sense based on how the ladies played in the Summer Cup.

It is possible the Bats were not expecting the London team to be as good as they were in the preseason.  So, after Chelsea went up 3-0 by the 26th minute, fans knew their home team was not going to accept defeat.  A switch went off, and suddenly the players were playing like their normal selves.

That was why it was not surprising that Gotham FC got on the board in the 31st minute.  Bruninha took a free kick that was won right outside the left side of the box.  She swept the ball in near goal and it met the foot of Carter.  The new defender kicked the ball immediately into the back of the net, sending it between Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton, and the post.

The NJ/NY side continued to attack for the rest of the first half.  Yazmeen Ryan had a major opportunity a few minutes after the goal via a free kick, forcing Hampton to send the ball over the bar for a corner kick.  Alas, the Bats could not find the second before halftime and before Amorós made multiple changes for the second half.

One of the players who came on was Esther González, who missed quite a bit of time due to an injury.  It was good to see her on the pitch again and for her to earn minutes.

The changes somewhat took away the energy the Bats had at the end of the first.  They did not play poorly, but they played differently.  The ladies worked well together and kept Chelsea off the scoresheet during those second 45 minutes plus stoppage time.

Berger also played well when she came on around the 66th minute.  She made a vital save late in the second half to keep the score at 3-1.  It was probably nice to play against her former team, but sadly Gotham FC could not find a way to score another goal.

At the very least, the friendly marked the return of some of the injured players.  As mentioned, González was finally back.  Kelley O’Hara also returned after months away from the pitch in the 85th minute.  It was a great moment, especially since she is retiring at the end of the season.

Ideally, Gotham FC will not suffer a similar loss to this during the rest of the NWSL season.  It would have been nice to win, but maybe one day in the future the Bats and Chelsea can play again.