Matildas Abroad Review: Carpenter makes her return; Arnold stars for West Ham

Ellie Carpenter made her return for Lyon, Mackenzie Arnold starred for West Ham United and Courtney Nevin made her WSL debut.

Read the review below!

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Kicking off in Leicester, Remy Siemsen and Courtney Nevin's Leicester City went down 2-0 to Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy's Manchester City.


Manchester scored two second-half goals to secure their eighth win of the season and extend their unbeaten streak to 16 games. Nevin made her WSL debut in the game, coming off in the 81st minute. 

Raso and Fowler came off the bench in the 79th minute, replacing goalscorers Khadija Shaw and Chloe Kelly. Kennedy did not appear in the matchday squad. 

Meanwhile, Lydia Williams' Brighton & Hove Albion held Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw. 

An own goal for Seagulls' forward Kayleigh Green gave Villa the 1-0 lead going into the break. Brighton scored one of their own in the second half to finish the game 1-1. Williams remained on the bench in the draw while Gielnik came on in the 63rd minute. 

Clare Wheeler's Everton impressively held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw, knocking off the Reds from the top spot in the WSL.


Wheeler came off the bench in the 56th minute to see out the stalemate for the Toffees, with Everton holding on to fifth place on the table.

Meanwhile, Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur went down 3-2 to Sam Kerr's Chelsea. Jess Carter opened the scoring just eight minutes into the game, with Carter scoring just her second goal in six seasons. 

Two former Blues in Drew Spence combined Beth England to clinch the equaliser for Spurs, with a frantic first half ending with Lauren James putting the reigning champions up after a brilliant solo run. 

Lauren James of Chelsea celebrates with teammate Sam Kerr after scoring the team's second goal during the FA Women's Super League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Brisbane Road on February 05, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images )
Lauren James of Chelsea celebrates with teammate Sam Kerr after scoring the team's second goal during the FA Women's Super League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Brisbane Road on February 05, 2023, in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images )

Kerr set Guro Reiten up for Chelsea's third of the afternoon after the break, with Spurs netting another just before the end of the game.  

Lastly, Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United held Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord's Arsenal to a 0-0 draw, with Arnold staring in goal to keep the Gunners at bay. 

West Ham United goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold shakes hands with Arsenal's Leah Williamson at the end of the Barclays Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday February 5, 2023. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
West Ham United goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold shakes hands with Arsenal's Leah Williamson at the end of the Barclays Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday, February 5, 2023. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)

All three Aussies made the start for their respective sides, and it was the shot-stopper that was called into action early to deny the visitors. 

Arnold made nine game-changing saves, to clinch a point for the Hammers. 

France

Next up in France, Ellie Carpenter made her much-anticipated return for Lyon in their 5-0 win over Rodez AF. 

Just 295 days after rupturing her ACL in the UWCL final, the defender came off the bench to replace skipper Wendie Renard to help see out Lyon's victory. 

Goals to Delphine Casacarino, Wendie Renard, and Amal Majri and a double for Dzsenifer Marozsán sealed the win.

Tweeting after the game, Carpenter said “Very proud and grateful to be back,”

“I have learned a lot during these months about myself. The ones who have been there since day one. Thank you, my support system has been second to none. Would not be here without you guys. I’m just getting started.” she tweeted.

Sweden

Our last stop takes us to Sweden, where Kyra Cooney-Cross found the back of the net for Hammarby in their pre-season friendly loss to Vålerenga.

Cooney-Cross found the equaliser for Hammarby just before the break, sending a rocket into the top corner. However, Hammarby were unable to claw back two goals to see out a draw.