Katie Stengel joked that she was just trying to avoid embarrassing herself in her Super League Women debut; instead, she lifted newly promoted Liverpool to a 2–1 victory over defending champions Chelsea.
Three penalties ultimately decided who came out on top in front of a record 3,006 fans at Prenton Park, with Fran Kirby scoring the dominant visitors on the scoreboard inside three minutes.
But the Reds capitalized whenever they could, Stengel equalizing from the penalty spot in the second half and then sending Zecira Musovic the wrong way in the 87th minute to seal Liverpool’s triumphant return to the top flight.
“I told myself don’t miss out, please don’t miss out, all these people here will make fun of me if I fail,” the 30-year-old American told Sky Sports.
“I thought, I have to change it, and I was lucky, I guess.”
Wow!
One second to @ksteng12! pic.twitter.com/ARCH5vJeX8
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) September 18, 2022
The forward, however, insisted the final scoreline wasn’t the result of good luck so much as sheer determination, and an uplifting halftime talk from head coach Matt Beard.
“It just reiterated that we have to believe in ourselves,” he added. “We can win this game and it’s just another team, 11 other players, and we’ve been preparing all preseason, why not believe in ourselves?”
Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes was frustrated with what she felt was an unbecoming effort from a team seeking their fourth consecutive WSL title.
“Listen, (Liverpool) scored from a throw-in that (led to) a penalty, and the second was a transition that was another penalty,” he said.
“It’s not like in the open game they’ve had multiple shots, they’ve just maximized situations, and for us going forward, I don’t think we can hit a barn door today.”
But the Blues boss was far from panicking at the result.
“I say it all the time, what’s there to worry about losing a football game?” she said. “I’m not emotional about it. I think we have to reflect, look back and next week will be a new week.”
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