Finnish striker Jutta Rantala topped the women’s FA Cup goalscoring list. The Finns also saw Tottenham’s Eveliina Summanen and Olga Ahtinen in the semi-final.
Eveliina Summanen and Olga Ahtinen represented by Tottenham continued their amazing season in the Women’s FA Cup, when the team, which played in the semi-finals for the first time, advanced to the final after knocking out Leicester 2-1 at home after the overtime match.
The visiting team Leicester also played in the top four for the first time.
Martha Thomas header scored the winning goal after a corner kick given by Olga Ahtinen.
Tottenham dominated the beginning of the match, but Leicester dominated Jutta Rantala opened the goal taps in the 12th minute.
The Finnish striker got to show off his great shot when he cut in from the right side and with his left foot raced the ball handsomely into the goal from the edge of the penalty area.
– What a goal! He was given way too much space, knowing what kind of player he is. A real rocket from Rantala, former Arsenal and England national team defender Gilly Flaherty said on the BBC.
Also the star winger of Bayern Munich and the Dutch national team at the time Arjen Robben became known for similar goals in the 2010s.
Rantala took the shared top spot in the FA Cup goal exchange with his three hits. He scored both of his team’s goals in the quarter-final against Liverpool. Rantala also has two goal assists under his belt in the Cup, none of the others sharing the top spot.
Rantala, who moved from Vittsjø to Leicester for this season, has had a great season in England. The Finn is his team’s best scorer in the Superliiga with six hits. In the series goal exchange, he is tied for ninth place.
Tottenham’s Eveliina Summanen headed the ball narrowly over the goal from a corner kick in the 40th minute and received a yellow card in the second period. Olga Ahtinen of “Spurs” replaced Summanen in the 77th minute.
About seven minutes before the end of the regular game time Jessica Naz was able to run away from the Leicester defense and put the ball past the goalkeeper Lize Kopin.
After the equalizer, Tottenham got a hold of the game and on a few occasions took the lead in extra time, but a solution was sought in the follow-up match.
Rantala was close to scoring from a free kick in the opening half of the second leg, but Spurs Rebecca Spencer barely missed his key and the ball hit the top bar.
In sixth place in the main league, Tottenham went into the match as great early favorites, as they had won the second meeting between the clubs in the Superliga 1–0. The first ended in a tie 1–1. Leicester is ninth in the Superliga.
Tottenham’s opponent will be decided in the second semi-final starting at 16:30, where last year’s finalists Manchester United and Chelsea will meet. The FA Cup final will be played at Wembley on Sunday 12 May.