Swaby stars as Roma capture Coppa Italia

Backed by an impressive performance by national defender Allyson Swaby, AS Roma defeated AC Milan 3-1 on penalties to win the Coppa Italia Femminile title yesterday at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

After both teams ended 0-0 in regulation and extra time, the final went to penalties where Roma goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar made crucial saves in the first and third rounds as Roma took advantage by scoring their first two penalties. Despite missing in the third round themselves, Milan hitting the post in the fourth round allowed Roma's Vanessa Bernauer to convert the decisive penalty. With the victory, Roma captured their first piece of silverware in their team's short history. The women's team was launched in 2018.

Swaby was instrumental in helping Roma get to the penalty shoot-out as she prevented Milan from taking the lead in the first half of extra time. A low cross from Milan's Claudia Mauri managed to get across Roma's six-yard box and Swaby's last-second intervention denied Milan a great chance to break the deadlock.

Journalist Conor Clancy who writes for Spanish sports newspaper MARCA, Bleac her Report and most recently for ForzaItalianFootball.com praised Swaby's performance in the final as her defensive work helped to limit Milan forwards Valentina Giacinti and Natasha Dowie.

Flawless from start

"The Jamaican defender was not to be beaten on the night. While Milan found an early gap to exploit in the opening minute, it wasn't on her side of the backline and she was flawless from start the finish," Clancy wrote in his player ratings.

In Roma's road to winning the Coppa Italia Femminile they have now managed to beat league champions Juventus and second-place AC Milan, the top two teams in the country. Roma defeated Juventus on away goals in their semi-final series.

Swaby now joins national teammate Tiffany Cameron as Reggae Girlz who have captured silverware for their clubs this season. Cameron completed a domestic double with her Hungarian club Ferencvarosi, helping to secure the club's fourth Hungarian league title last Thursday. She had previously won the Hungarian Cup on May 7. Both Swaby and Cameron have been called up for the national team for two international friendlies against Nigeria and World champion the United States on June 10 and June 13, respectively.