KATIE MCCABE has a knack for scoring corkers even with a swollen foot.
Her thunderous finish today may go down as the shot that reignited Arsenal’s title charge as they dented Manchester City’s with a 2-1 win.
In a game where the Gunners suffered a fresh injury blow with Caitlin Foord crocked, McCabe’s rocket injected energy into their hopes of a first WSL crown since 2019.
Her strike, that saw Arsenal go second before Chelsea’s duel with Aston Villa, was made more special by the fact it came off her left foot.
A foot that was last Wednesday covered by a protective boot with the Republic of Ireland skipper on crutches.
That night the WSL ace hobbled off injured during the Gunners’ Champions League defeat of Bayern Munich.
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McCabe said: “It (my foot) wasn’t good on Wednesday.
“It was absolutely rattled. I don’t know whether you have seen the video.
“Our medical team have done an unbelievable job on the quick turnarounds.
“My foot has been in ice for the last four days trying to get the swelling down but it still works!”
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McCabe’s winning goal ended Man City’s 14-game unbeaten run before the international break and final stretch of the title race.
It also saw the Gunners show their resilience after an injury to yet another key attacking player with Foord coming off in the 36th minute.
McCabe added: “When you get injuries to players like Kim and Caitlin, and early on in the season with Beth, Viv and Steph, unfortunately, it’s a long list for us.
“But we’ve got the players to step-in and do a job.
“You have Kathrine (Kuhl) who is 19 and coming in and seeing the game out for us.
“It’s all about staying together and I guess we showed that today.”
On the character his side have shown in two of their biggest games, Eidevall said: “I’m lost for words.
“This block, from my time as an Arsenal manager, has been by far the most competitive block.
“We played Chelsea twice, Bayern Munich twice, City, Tottenham away.
“The amount of games we have played, and then you look at our injury situation and how it changed during the games, managing results not going our way, be at times not having the greatest refereeing against us either.
“We just kept putting our left foot in front of our right foot and thinking of the next action, of solutions and sticking in the game.
“These situations may have been a problem in the past, but now it feels like we’re thriving in them instead.”
On McCabe’s performance added: “This period here is the best we’ve seen Katie McCabe since I’ve been a coach here. She has been a tremendous player
“We didn’t even have her out kicking long balls yesterday just to save her foot.
“Then she manages to play 80 mins on that yellow card, which was extremely harsh, and then she tops it off with that goal.”
The game’s first four minutes saw McCabe enter the ref’s book after her throw-in bounced off Chloe Kelly’s head.
Kelly provided the assist as Man City took a fifth-minute lead with Khadija Shaw’s glancing header home.
They dominated in attack early on with Arsenal looking to battle their way back. prompting a brave block from Alex Greenwood.
The defender took a long-range Leah Wliliamson shot face-first before Ellie Roebuck pulled off an impressive stop to deny Blackstenius in the 26th minute.
The second spell saw the hosts pile pressure on Gareth Taylor’s side.
They equalised with Frida Maanum slotting home in a congested six-yard box.
McCabe sparked jubilant celebrations in the dugout and the stands smashing in a 74th-minute winner following a corner-kick
An away clash with Manchester United awaits the Gunners later this month.
However they will be without McCabe’s services with the player suspended for her side’s next WSL game.
Meanwhile Man City will host West Ham before clashes with Reading and Liverpool.
They are then set for a Manchester derby battle with United before and end-of-season duel with Everton
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After their loss to Arsenal, City boss Taylor said “I feel disappointed for the players and the players because we’ve given the game away.
“But there are still important games to play including five games left for us.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
