Ladies: Lyon 0 - 0 Arsenal

By: Inara | November 15th, 2007

Yesterday was the first leg tie of the UEFA Women’s Cup quarterfinals, with Lyon playing first leg against the title holders Arsenal at the Stade de Gerland.

Arsenal, who’ve steam rolled every team they’ve come up against so far, were forced to content themselves with their first scoreless draw in the competition. Lyon on the other hand, had to start off in the first qualifying round due to their being newbies in Europe, but they more than proved they belong in the tournament by holding off England star striker Kelly Smith.

The first half was pretty much dominated by Arsenal, though Lyon took over in the second half. Despite the lack of goals, it was a fun, entertaining affair that featured a lot of attacking displays. While Lyon failed to capitalize their home ground advantage, Arsenal missed the chance in scoring an away goal, which is always a good thing (though I think Arsenal have the advantage over Lyon right now). Read what an Arsenal player has to say about the match here.

The match drew a very respectable 5,000 spectators, and as you can see from the picture above, OL supporters made sure they were that 12th player on the pitch.

The second leg takes place next Wednesday, November 21st in London, at Meadow Park Stadium in Boreham Wood. With a total capacity of around 4,000, this stadium is far less impressive than the Gerland (I guess Arsene Wenger doesn’t like sharing Emirates Stadium with the ladies side), but I imagine Arsenal Ladies will draw more supporters for their home game against Lyon than they do for their usual league games (normal attendances are in the hundreds - same as Lyon’s).

Lyon have their work cut out for them in order to qualify, but their UEFA Women’s Cup dream can still be a reality.

Question: why does the Lyon club badge say LOL and not OL? Or is that just for OL ladies?

Pictures:

Domestic results:

Lyon are dominating D1 (France’s top women’s division). After defeating Evreax 2-0 this weekend (Katia, Cruz Trana), OL Ladies are six points ahead of nearest rivals Juvisy, and barring a crisis, I don’t see anyone challenging the women for first place this season. It’s obvious that Aulas wants the women’s side to become as successful as the men’s, and perhaps this season the ladies can add a cup or two to their (probable) domestic championship win.

Current D1 standings:

1 - LYON, 28 pts, +28
2 – JUVISY, 22 pts, +15
3 – MONTPELLIER, 21 pts, +13
4 – St ETIENNE, 18 pts, 0
5 – VENDENHEIM, 17 pts, -9
6 – PSG, 15 pts, -3
7 – SOYAUX, 14 pts, -2
8 – LA ROCHE 14 pts, -3
9 – TOULOUSE 14 pts, -7
10 – EVREUX, 14 pts, -9
11 – HENIN BEAUMONT, 13 pts, -14
12 – ST BRIEUC, 12 pts, -9