ALTHOUGH their prospects of reaching the quarter-finals of the Uefa Women's Champions League are not good, Glasgow City's untiring work behind the scenes will be rewarded when another milestone is reached tonight.
A record crowd of 1300 is guaranteed for the last 16, second-leg tie against Arsenal, The few remaining tickets were sold yesterday and, were the council-owned Petershill Park able to accommodate more people, it is likely that the attendance would be much higher.
Although over 1100 fans turned up to watch the first ever women's Champions League match in Glasgow two years ago - against Icelandic club Valur Reykjavik - City had never sold more than 450 advance tickets for any game before this one. Clearly Arsenal are a big draw, even when their 3-0 first-leg lead almost guarantees they will progress.
Those who were in London on Saturday will continue to debate the tactics employed by City. The Arsenal midfield was given too much time and space and consequently called all the shots as the visitors withdrew more and more into their collective shell.
Eddie Wolecki Black, the City head coach, defended the performance yesterday, admitting that he was still haunted by the 10-0 away defeat to Turbine Potsdam at the same stage two years ago. "We nullified virtually every area that was a strength for Arsenal," he said. "Never once did they get in behind us because we killed that space.
"They have a lot of pace and are great threats going forward. The key for us was not to lose the tie down there. It's hanging by a thread, I know that, but two years ago we were humiliated over in Germany. I have to take the blame for that because of the way I set that team up to play - and I've had that rammed down my throat ever since."
Eilish McSorley, the City central defender, misses tonight's tie after being booked for the second time in the competition on Saturday but Northern Ireland internationalist Julie Nelson is a very competent deputy. The home side also await fitness tests on striker Suzanne Mulvey, who was unable to play in the first leg, and right-back Leanne Ross.
"I'm not going to set targets and goals, but we are looking for a good performance," Wolecki Black said. "The game is a sell-out so we're due the supporters that. We're looking to win the game on the night and see where that takes us."
"To get through to the quarter-finals we need to score a minimum of three goals against a side which is strong in every area of the pitch," said captain Rachel Corsie. "We'll have to play a lot better than we did but everybody knows we can do that."
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