Gotham had played more than two hours of FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ football without finding the net. In their semi-final defeat to SC Corinthians, the Bats managed 20 efforts on goal but fell 1-0 at Brentford Stadium.
The North American giants could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu creeping in as they struggled to break down a well-marshalled ASFAR defence in the third-place play-off. It took a moment of genius to end that drought.
In the 27th minute, Khyah Harper picked up the ball far on the left-hand side, skipped past the attentions of Nouhaila Benzina, glided away from Paulmiche Mahouna and confidently stroked Gotham on to the board, lighting up Arsenal Stadium in the process.
“It feels really good,” Harper said of netting the opener. “Obviously I got the start today, so that just shows the coach’s trust in me. I wanted to give my all for the team, and getting the first goal I think really helped our team get the result tonight.”
“In these kinds of games, you need that first goal,” Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amoros said of Harper’s fine solo effort. “It settles the team, it gives you confidence. I think in the first 15 minutes we were still a little bit nervous, there were a lot of changes in the line-up. That goal was crucial for the development of the game.”
Following the semi-final defeat to Corinthians, midfielder Savannah McCaskill said Gotham have to “find a way to be more ruthless”. The No13 led by example, doubling the lead with her first Bats goal just nine minutes later.
“It’s great. It’s always nice to be in the right place at the right time and be able to find the back of the net and open that account,” McCaskill said. [I’m] just happy for the role I could play with the team and help us get on the scoreboard today. As a group we played how we wanted to play and we ultimately got the win, which is what we wanted. We come away happy and ready to build towards our regular season.”
Kaedyn Shaw and Midge Purce netted either side of the break to make the game safe, and ensured the Bats ended the tournament’s maiden edition third on the podium.
“Mentality is something that we really pride ourselves on,” captain Mandy Freeman stated. “It wasn’t our best performance in the previous game so it meant a lot to us to be able to come back, put some balls in the back of the net and feel confident leaving the tournament.”
Gotham return to NWSL action next month looking to win back-to-back titles, while their Concacaf W Champions Cup defence begins in May. Should they retain the latter, they’ll have another chance to become intercontinental queens in 2027.
“At Gotham, we want to be the best,” Freeman continued. “We really pride ourselves on the excellence and the quality that we bring. At the end of the day, we want to win or lose being ourselves, and we didn’t have our best show in this tournament. So if we’re fortunate enough to be in it again, we want to really bring what Gotham can, which is progressive play and lots of goals.”
