Arsenal Ladies Stumble in Continental Cup

Arsenal 0 - Reading FC Women 2 (Kirby, Bruton)

Arsenal Starters: Byrne, Scott, Williamson, Stoney, Hoogendijk, Kinga, Weir, Murray, Mitchell, Ohno, Carter

Subs Used: Ayisi for Weir, Yankey for Hoogendijk

Unused Subs: Chamberlain, Smith, Ayisi, Fahey, Yankey, Bailey

After a fabulous performance vs Chelsea on the road to an FA Cup, Arsenal Ladies fell to Reading. No offense to Reading by any means, but this is a team that the Gunners are expected to beat. Even if its just a 1-0 or 2-1 scoreline, it was fully expected for Arsenal to pick up three points today and keep them on track with Chelsea in group one. It almost seemed at times in this game as if Arsenal didn't really feel like defending the Continental Cup.

Now before we get all "TEAM IN CRISIS" here, let's take a moment to relax and take a deep breath. This is just the second group game for Arsenal. They still have quite a few more to play, and they will play this Reading squad once again. Another silver lining? Well that Chelsea team they performed so well against is in their group as well. If Arsenal took care of business against them once, on the wings of Kelly Smith, I'm certain it can happen again. Its also a comfort that the Gunners have games in hand. Being successful in the FA Cup means they've only played two group games, while every team in the group but the London Bees have played three.

Essentially this all boils down to this: its early and Arsenal still have plenty of games left to get things in control. I'm calm. You're calm. We are all calm.

What's next for us to be calm about? Arsenal will take on Manchester City in FA WSL play this Sunday, May 18th. It's been a minute since the Gunners have had a FA WSL game due to all these fun tournaments, so it will be nice to get back to normal business. As usual, we will have coverage right here on the Short Fuse.