FC Twente prove too strong for Cardiff City in UEFA Women’s Champions LeaguePosted in Genero Adran PremierCardiff City Ladies were defeated 7-0 in their UEFA Women’s Champions League first qualifying round semi-final against Dutch champions FC Twente.
The task lying in front of the Bluebirds was monumental. Twente are nine-time Eredivisie champions, and defeated rivals Ajax 6-1 to win the Dutch Supercup over the weekend, and the team from Enschede picked up where they left off, as Netherlands international Kayleigh van Dooren gave them the lead just five minutes in.
Iain Darbyshire’s side responded well as Mikayla Cook tried to provide a spark with a blistering run into the box, but she was muscled off the ball by a swarm of red shirts. Twente replied after the 15-minute mark, as van Dooren picked up her and her side’s second of the evening.
A lot of sides would have wilted quickly in front of higher seeded opposition, but the Bluebirds stayed in the game incredibly well. Ceryn Chamberlain made a great save to deny Ella Peddemors, while at the other end, captain for the night Megan Bowen went very close from a set-piece. At the break, the Genero Adran Premier champions were 2-0 behind, but certainly not out the fight.
As the second half started, City held their own once more, but as the game ticked over the hour mark, the steam ran out of the Bluebirds’ engine. Sophie te Brake added a third, before Twente scored three in the space of five minutes through Anna Knol, Amanda Andradottir, and Suus Verdaasdonk.
The seventh came in stoppage time when the hosts were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Jaimy Ravensbergen, who dispatched past Chamberlain. While the result will show one thing, City can take a lot of pride from their first half performance, but Twente’s quality shone through in the second period.
After this evening’s defeat, Cardiff City will play FK Ljuboten of North Macedonia in the third-place play-off on Saturday. The North Macedonian champions lost their semi-final match 10-0 to Valur of Iceland earlier in the day.
If the Bluebirds are to come out victorious on Saturday afternoon, they will be the first Welsh team to win in the UEFA Women’s Champions League since 2019 when Cardiff Met defeated Tbilisi Nike of Georgia 5-1.
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