Brazil's Corinthians defeats Gotham FC 1-0 in Women's Champions Cup semifinal

LONDON (AP) — Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti scored late as her team beat Gotham FC 1-0 in the semifinals of the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup intercontinental competition on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old Zanotti stopped a cross on her chest, then shot the dropping ball with her left boot to the right of Gotham’s German international goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who got her hands to it but couldn’t stop it slipping through in the 82nd minute.

It had been a scrappy game of few clear-cut chances for either team.

New York-based Gotham, which qualified for the inaugural FIFA event by winning the first CONCACAF Champions Cup, had pushed hard for the opener in the second half. Jaelin Howell forced Leticia in the Corinthians goal into action, then fired another good chance high and wide.

But Corinthians defended smartly and the Brazilian team made it count with the 38-year-old Tamires producing the cross for the oldest player on the field to score the goal that mattered.

Gotham made a desperate push for a late equalizer with Berger going up for a free kick deep in stoppage time, when one of the Corinthians backroom staff was sent off, presumably for calling too frenetically for the full-time whistle. Jaedyn Shaw sent the free kick to the right of the post in the last action of the game.

It was Gotham's first competitive match since winning the NWSL championship as the eighth seed in November.

Gotham’s Gabi Portilho needed treatment after being kicked on her right foot before the break and eventually had to go off early in the second half. Team captain Rose Lavelle also went off injured in stoppage time.

Corinthians, the Copa Libertadores champion, awaits the winner between Arsenal and African champion ASFAR of Rabat, Morocco in the second semifinal later.

Both the final and third-place match are to be played Sunday at Arsenal’s stadium, with $2.3 million going to the competition winner. The runner-up takes home $1 million.

The six-team Champions Cup was created as an event for club teams. It builds on a growing number of regional club competitions, led by the success of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Two continental champions were eliminated in earlier rounds: Auckland United from Oceania and Wuhan Chegu Jiangda representing Asia.

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