A hard fought battle at Meadow Park came down to the wire as Arsenal fell out of the FA Cup once again. The competition’s record-winners have failed to win the tournament since 2014.
As for Liverpool, interim head coach Amber Whiteley will be ecstatic with her side’s performance in north London. The Merseyside club will now face Chelsea, Manchester United or Manchester City in the semi finals.
The Lineups
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**ARS:** van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Cooney-Cross, Little, Mariona; Mead, Russo, Foord
**LIV:** Laws; Fisk, Bonner, Matthews, Hinds; Kerr, Höbinger, Kapocs; Haug, Roman Haug, Smith
The Action
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Olivia Smith had the opening chance for Liverpool, beating Katie McCabe to storm the box with conviction. A fine intervention from Steph Catley blocked the strike.
Alessia Russo dispossessed Maria Höbinger on the half way line, before being dragged down as she attempted to carry possession forward. Arsenal were awarded the free kick as Höbinger was shown a yellow card.
Beth Mead sent a promising ball into the area from a corner kick only to be denied by Rachel Laws who palmed away the entry. Kim Little’s weighted header located McCabe on the edge of the area, who sent her strike into the stands.
Höbinger was lucky to escape a second yellow card after a high elbow brought Mead down strongly, but teammate Jasmine Matthews was fouled for kicking the ball away.
Daphne van Domselaar breathed a sigh of relief after saving a close range effort after coughing up possession to Sophie Roman Haug inside of the area.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2204170653)
Arsenal looked far more lively as the second half commenced, placing real pressure on the Reds defence. Liverpool centre-back pairing Gemma Bonner and Jasmine Matthews were both on yellow cards, meaning the Gunners had the space to be aggressive and test the partnership.
Höbinger coughed up possession on the edge of the defensive area, before Alessia Russo turned and hit her strike instinctively. Despite the power, the shot was misdirected up and over the bar.
Another goalkeeping blunder nearly gave Liverpool the lead as van Domselaar passed the ball to the feet of Roman Haug. A desperate attempt to save the ball resulted in a corner for the visitors, which didn’t transpire into anything.
The Gunners goalkeeper redeemed herself just moments later as Höbinger’s strike looked certain to hit the back of the net before a superb stretching save from van Domselaar palmed the shot away.
A corner at the other end from Kyra Cooney-Cross nearly gave Arsenal the lead as Steph Catley fired her volley just centimetres off target.
A pin-point delivery from Williamson nearly gave the Gunners the lead in the 64th minute, but Frida Maanum’s header was fired off target despite Russo being called offside at the back post.
Just as it seemed like the game may head into extra time, the Reds broke the deadlock. Roman Haug’s clever touch and shot rattled the post, before the deflection was sent into the back of the net by the back of van Domselaar.
The own goal was enough to seperate the two sides as Liverpool secured their spot in the FA Cup semi finals.
Arsenal Player Ratings (4-3-3)
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**Daphne van Domselaar – 3/10 –** Some uncharacteristic blunders at the back from the Dutch goalkeeper, almost awarding Liverpool the lead more than once. Made a superb save to maintain the deadlock, but her failed save ultimately led to Liverpool’s victory.
**Emily Fox – 7/10 –** Quiet in the opening half, but managed to go forward much more as the game ticked down.
**Leah Williamson – 8/10 –** A strong display from the England captain. Williamson was fantastic on the ball, becoming Arsenal’s main outlet when in possession. The partnership with Catley struggled for physical impact, but both were solid in isolation.
**Steph Catley – 8/10 –** Like Williamson, Catley’s performance was hard to fault individually. Two strong interventions in the opening stages of the match saved Arsenal at the death, and she carried that form on for the rest of the match.
**Katie McCabe – 7/10 –** Her battle with Olivia Smith was certainly one to watch, as neither player was able to gain the upper hand in what was an exciting matchup. McCabe works brilliantly to help Arsenal going forward, but perhaps should have converted some of her wasted long-shot chances into passes.
**Kyra Cooney-Cross – 8/10 –** Because of the time Liverpool awarded the Gunners in midfield, Cooney-Cross had a lot of possession and was strong when she held the ball. Another positive showing from the Australian.
**Kim Little – 6/10 –** Some shaky moments in the opening moments but certainly grew as the game went on.
**Mariona Caldentey – 5/10 –** Uncharacteristically quiet, struggled to get into the game.
**Beth Mead – 5/10 –** Not a strong performance from the Gunners number nine, withdrawn at half time.
**Caitlin Foord – 7/10 –** Probably Arsenal’s best attacking threat on the occasion, but didn’t offer anything remarkable.
**Alessia Russo** – 7/10 – Arsenal didn’t benefit from Russo’s strong hold-up play as much as they usually do, presumably because of the bobbly nature of the torn up pitch at Meadow Park. Russo still did well to draw the foul as well as connect possession into the channels.
**Frida Maanum (46′ for Mead) – 5/10 –** Very quiet, minimal impact.
**Stina Blackstenius (80′ for Little) – N/A**
**Lia Wälti (80′ for Cooney-Cross) – N/A**