Arsenal battle back to beat Notts and renew title charge

Notts County goalkeeper Carly Telford could not mark her rapid return from injury with a win against FA WSL 1 title rivals Arsenal, but insists she is fighting fit ahead of next weekend’s SSE Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

Telford suffered a shoulder injury while training with England in Canada en route to their third-place finish at the World Cup, leading County to sign Siobhan Chamberlain on loan from Arsenal.

And she was a surprise inclusion between the sticks at Boreham Wood for the Lady Pies, who took the lead in the fourth minute of the FA Women’s Super League with BT Sport contest through Jess Clarke.

Second-half goals from Dan Carter and Natalia Pablos Sanchon earned Arsenal victory, but Telford was pleased to be back in action ahead of schedule.

“The shoulder is OK,” she said. “It’s been a little rushed and I was going to give myself an extra week, but I think I did ok.

“Obviously Siobhan couldn’t play against her parent club, but I’m disappointed with the result despite it being an enjoyable game.

Chioma Ubogagu of Arsenal holds off Laura Bassett

“It’s good to be back on the pitch after the World Cup, so to go from playing to not playing much was frustrating, but I’m back and I’m looking forward to next week.

“I wasn’t restricted by the shoulder, it’s more of a confidence thing, being in training for only a week and Arsenal were a good test.

“They maybe shaded it with the chances, but I think if we tighten up at set-pieces, we’ll be allright at the Cup Dinal. I’ve got faith in us putting in a good performance and giving people a good show.”

Clarke opened the scoring on four minutes, but Arsenal piled on the pressure in response and Telford kept out Carter’s low effort.

Danielle Carter scores against Notts County keeper Carly Telford

The home side levelled when Carter headed in unmarked from a Marta Corredera corner after an hour.

And, 10 minutes later, another corner led to a scramble, with Jemma Rose hitting the bar and referee Richard Hart ruling that Natalia’s rebound crossed the line.

Emma Byrne was forced into a smart save late on, but Carter felt Arsenal were good value for the win.

“We’re really happy with the result,” she said.

Jess Clarke opened the scoring for Arsenal

“As a forward it’s great to score, but I’m really happy to get a goal that gave Arsenal the win.

“Emma made a great save at the end and she needs to get more credit for that. Natalia and I will get glory for the goals but for me, that was the match winner.

“I think there’s a lot of belief, they took their chance, but we came out fighting and I think we did deserve to win the game.

“We’ve got to ensure that we don’t have any more significant injuries. I don’t want to jinx it. It’s very tight at the top and if anyone slips up, it can be to everyone else’s advantage.”

Tickets for The Women's FA Cup final are on sale now.

Charter Standard football clubs from around the country are now being offered the chance to get up to TEN FREE tickets for the clash – just simply click here. And if you want to attend as a group, then check out this special offer.