The ACN Match Review 25/26 – London Bees (a)

The lineup

A continuation of the 4-2-3-1 from the week before, with one change in the lineup as Olivia Cook comes in for the absent Tash Snelling. Holly Mears continues in goal with a backline of Evie Williams, Hope Stauss, Grace Riglar and Millie Daviss. Eloise King, Freya Symonds and Ellie Smith start in midfield again, with Holly Kennard on the left and Cook on the right, allowing Eloise Hall to move to centre forward.

How did we play?

Very much a tale of two halves.

Though the first draw of the blood went to London Bees, City started strong. We looked to impose ourselves from the off and did just that, pressing aggressively whenever the hosts tried to play out to deny them time on the ball and force them to either kick it long and give the ball away or lose it in dangerous areas. Indeed, City are really building a playing identity that centres on relentless running to force turnovers high, then throw numbers forward hard and fast to take advantage of the resulting counter-attacking situation. Freya Symonds’ second goal followed this playbook almost to the letter, with an aggressive pressing of a Bees throw-in deep inside their half to force the turnover and our number 18 capping the sequence of play with a magnificent strike from range to put us in the lead.

The midfield was unchanged at first glance, with Eloise King anchoring and Ellie Smith and Symonds both pushing forward again. However, Smith and Symonds swapped roles, the former starting deeper as the nominal right 8 and the latter floating higher as the 10. This change suited them both since it saw Smith more involved in the game, and the more involved Ellie Smith is, the better Norwich City are. Nigh on impossible to dispossess, Smith is a one-woman attacking unit capable of dribbling her way across the pitch and past multiple defenders into the heart of the opposition third. Compared to the week before, there was a much greater emphasis on playing through the middle, getting Smith on the ball and letting her do her thing. Overall, it was another impressive performance from them both, with Symonds netting a brace and Smith involved in both goals, and City dominated the first half.

The second half was more subdued. The players’ intensity understandably began to drop off as minutes dragged on and legs got tired, and momentum slowly shifted. City sought to control the game through their intensity, and as intensity slipped, so too did control. Bees had the breathing space to finally get themselves into the game, and while the first half was one of dominance for City, the second half was much more even. The game became quite open-ended as both sides resorted to going long and fighting for the duels and second balls, and the downside of playing with two attacking midfielders became apparent. With both Smith and Symonds high, Eloise King essentially became a one-woman midfield, and I thought she did quite well given how isolated she was. Picking up the ball from the backline and spraying passes forward, King was the hook that linked up defence and attack, and Bees quickly wised up to it. They triggered their press whenever the centre backs played the pass to Kings, preventing her from turning and facing the direction of play.

King took to dropping into the backline to receive the ball facing forward, but that only exacerbated how light in presence City’s midfield was. With King even deeper and both Smith and Symonds high, the centre of the pitch suddenly became very vacant, and the backline and the frontline became quite disjoined from each other. And it was in this context that the game became ping-pong-like, with long balls going back and forth from one end of the pitch to the other, and Tash Snelling’s absence was acutely felt. With the strength to hold off defenders at her back and win duels, Snelling is the usual go-to whenever City need to get up the pitch and/or get out of the press, and Symonds had to take up the role of the target man – one which did not play to her strengths. City’s other get out of jail free card, so to speak, is Holy Kennard. Direct and pacey, Kennard is capable of single-handedly getting her team up the pitch with sheer individual quality, and her signature move is blasting the ball past down the flank then blazing past her defender with an explosive burst of pace they cannot hope to catch. However, last Sunday was a quiet afternoon for the winger. Bees marked her tightly and didn’t hesitate to double up when needed, and Kennard struggled to impact the game in her usual way. In the end, it was perseverance more than anything else that saw City get through the second half and grind out an all-too-important win.

Other thoughts & takeaways

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I was going to write a review for the game, and very nearly didn’t because of Ellie Smith’s injury. It looked pretty bad from the stands and overshadowed the whole game for me, and the football felt too trivial to even think about in that situation. Whenever a player is injured, the only thing that matters is their recovery, and all I can say is that I wish her well and that I desperately hope it won’t be as bad as it looked.

As for the less important things, it will obviously have implications for our season if she is sidelined for any significant period of time, and the question City now faces is simple: How do we cope without Ellie Smith? I’ve always thought that Smith is the player who elevates us more than anyone else. With her, City are genuine contenders; without her, the long-sought goal of promotion becomes much more difficult. The intuitive solution for me is moving from the pseudo 4-1-4-1 back to a more traditional 4-2-3-1, with Symonds at 10 and a more box-to-box midfielder next to King in the double pivot. Even before Smith’s injury, I thought that we would probably have to move back to a 4-2-3-1 to add more presence to our midfield, certainly for the toughest fixtures. No one can replace Smith, and I think the best thing we can do is try to replace her in aggregate. Symonds has got the vision and the bit of magic to make something happen in the final third, and I think she’s at her best when she has the freedom to float higher and not have to worry about progressing the ball. As for whoever comes in next to King, I think it needs to be someone comfortable operating as the anchor whenever King drops into the backline.

What was the best bit of the game?

Symonds’ second goal takes the crown. It was an unbelievable strike that made the away end absolutely erupt.

What was the worst bit of the game?

Smith going down, which was really tough to see.

What was the atmosphere like?

Amazing. City Women ultras, you leave me in awe. I didn’t do a headcount but there might have been more away fans in the stands than home fans. The atmosphere was great throughout.

Hero of the match

Freya Symonds takes the crown. She really showed her quality and her second goal was a moment of pure magic. Her first goal was a penalty but it deserves a mention as well because it was taken so well. Symonds didn’t seem the slightest fazed and her finish was as assured as she looked. She knew exactly where she wanted to put it and did just that without breaking a sweat.

Summary in five words

Grinded out a tough win.