Serie A Women's Cup, Inter-Como Women: the match report

Como Women claim a 1–0 win at the Arena Civica against Inter, in the third matchday of the Serie A Women’s Cup, Group B.

The hero of the first official victory under coach Stefano Sottili was Alisha Lehmann, who scored her first goal in a Como Women shirt.

Match Report

The home side tried to impose their rhythm from the opening minutes and created the first real threat in the 14th minute, when Santi struck from distance. Her shot, however, was central and comfortably saved by Gilardi. Como Women quickly responded. In the 18th minute, Lehmann delivered a perfect cross from the right, finding Pavan in the box, who struck first-time with her left foot. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post, denying the Larians an early lead.

Como kept pressing and came close again in the 25th minute. Bergersen, who had come on moments earlier for Marcussen (forced off after a blow to the face), fired a right-footed effort from the right side of the box that narrowly missed the target. Just two minutes later, another big chance arrived. Nischler received the ball in the area and aimed for the far corner with a precise right-footed shot, but Belli reacted well with a crucial save. In the 40th minute, Inter threatened again from a corner: Milinkovic headed from close range, but Nischler — this time in defence — made a goal-line clearance to keep the score level. Shortly after, in the 43rd minute, Consolini tried her luck from distance with a powerful shot, but Gilardi was well positioned to make the save. The first half ended 0-0.

After the break, Inter came out strongly and tested Gilardi in the 54th minute with a close-range header from Polli following a corner. The shot was well-placed toward the bottom corner, but the Como goalkeeper got down quickly to save. A minute later, Magull attempted a long-range effort to catch Gilardi off her line, but her shot went wide.

Como responded with confidence and created a great chance in the 67th minute through Berisha, who had come on for Kerr. The Albanian striker found herself one-on-one with Belli, but the Inter goalkeeper closed down the angle and blocked the attempt. Just four minutes later, Nischler again came close to giving Como the lead with a shot from inside the box, but Belli was once more equal to the task.

In the 76th minute, Petzelberger had a go from the right side of the box with her left foot, but the effort missed the target. Then, in the 78th minute, came the decisive moment. Alisha Lehmann broke the deadlock with a strike from distance. Her right-footed shot, helped by a slight deflection off an Inter defender, beat the goalkeeper and found the back of the net — her first goal in a Como Women shirt.

In the closing stages, Nischler came close again from a direct free-kick over 25 metres out, sending the ball just over the crossbar. In stoppage time, Berisha threatened again with a left-footed strike from the centre of the box, but it was well saved by the Inter keeper. The final chance of the match fell to Vilhjálmsdóttir, whose shot from a wide position was once again stopped by Gilardi.

A well-deserved and hard-fought first official win of the season for Como Women, built on a strong team performance and decisive moments.

Match Summary

Inter: 32 Belli; 31 Bartoli, 24 Milinkovic (60’ Schough), 44 Consolini; 3 Bowen, 20 Detruyer (74’ Vilhjalmsdottir), 6 Santi, 16 Tomasevic (45’ Magull), 13 Merlo (45’ Robustellini); 9 Polli, 11 Van Dijk (60’ Glionna). Allenatore Gianpiero Piovani

Substitutions: 1 Runarsdottir, 4 Gram, 5 Andres Sanz, 12 Piazza, 27 Csiszar, 31 Wullaert. 

Como Women: 22 Gilardi; 2 Marcussen (21’ Bergersen), 5 Howard, 17 Sagen, 18 Szabò; 28 Madsen, 20 Vaitukaityte © (45’ Petzelberger), 19 Pavan (68’ Picchi); 77 Lehmann, 7 Nischler, 9 Kerr (59’ Berisha). Allenatore: Stefano Sottili

Substitutions: 1 Schroffenegger, 16 Bernardi, 24 Rizzon, 30 Ruma, 33 Kramzar. 

Scorers: 78’ Lehmann (Como Women)

Yellow Cards: 18’ Tomasevic (Inter), 29’ Vaitukaityte (Como Women), 83’ Vilhjalmsdottir (Inter), 87’ Santi (Inter)

Red Cards: 0 

Referee and assistants: Teghille Vittorio Emanuele, Ambrosino Simone, Mititelu Gheorghe e Borello Edoardo