Swaby finds net but denied spot in final

Despite an impressive showing by national defender Allyson Swaby, who scored her first goal of the new year, her Italian club AS Roma were denied an opportunity to compete for the first trophy of 2021 as they lost to Juventus 2-1 in the semi-final of the Italian Supercoppa on Wednesday.

Roma forced the game into extra time after a 1-1 scoreline at the end of regulation time. They were heading into penalties, but were denied by a late winner by Juventus striker Cristiana Girelli four minutes from the end of the second extra session.

Roma had a glorious chance to take the lead in the 17th minute when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on midfielder Manuela Giugliano. However Andressa Alves' effort sailed over the bar. It was a missed opportunity that they would regret minutes later when Barbara Bonansea fired Juventus into the lead, despite an initial save from Roma goalkeeper Camelia Cesar.

However, Swaby managed to equalise for Roma three minutes into the second half. After intercepting a pass in her own half, she found Paloma Lazaro and continued her run into the final third, where Lazaro slipped a pass to Swaby, who finished into the bottom corner for the equalizer.

Roma were reduced to 10 players in the 89th minute when Cesar was sent off for handling the ball outside the box while saving a shot from Maria Alves. Despite a great defensive effort during extra time with 10 players, Roma suffered heartbreak in the 116th, thanks to Girelli's header which sent Juventus to Sunday's final. Roma head coach Betty Bavagnoli said that the defeat will spur the team on to better performances for the second half of the season.

"We need to take the positives from this performance and go into the league looking to make amends for everything that didn't go right for us in the first half of the season," Bavagnoli said after the game. "I believe that after this display, there is both the belief and the quality within the squad to play against anyone and win, and we need to go into the upcoming games with the same courage we had today."

Roma are currently seventh in the league on 13 points and only won once in their last five games before the winter break. Their season resumes on January 17 , when they host bottom club Napoli.