Leicester City survived another early goalkeeping error to triumph 2-1 over a toothless Liverpool.
An early blunder by Janina Leitzig was negated thanks to goals from Janice Cayman and Missy Goodwin, and a strong defensive display in the second half that Liverpool could not find a way through.
The Lineups
LEI: Leitzig, Ale, Thibaud, Howard, Bott, Tierney, Mace, Goodwin, Momiki, O’Brien, Cayman
LIV: Micah, Bonner, Fisk, Clark, Parry, Nagano, Kerr, Holland, Hinds, Enderby, Smith
The Action
Liverpool were gifted the lead after just three minutes, thanks to an error from Leitzig for the second weekend in a row. What should have been a routine clearance from a Julie Thibaud back pass instead cannoned off Olivia Smith and into the exposed net. The goal understandably rocked Leicester City, as Matt Beard’s side began to dominate the territory, although struggled to invent a second opening.
Liverpool’s failure to capitalise on their lead was punished after 17 minutes, as Leicester City found an equaliser through Cayman. Mia Enderby conceded a needless foul on the halfway line, allowing Amandine Miquel’s side to load the Liverpool penalty area. Goodwin sent the free kick long, Sophie Howard won the flick on, and Cayman stole between Taylor Hinds and Fuka Nagaro to volley the ball past Teagan Micah.
From then on, the game deteriorated into midfield scrap, with neither side possessing the creativity to provide any fluency to their game. Unsurprisingly, set pieces provided the main source of jeapordy. Yūka Momiki’s free kick was headed into the side-netting by Thibaud, whilst at the other end, Hind’s back-post head was well saved by Leitzig, redeeming herself after that earlier error.
There was to be one more goal before half time, and again, it came from a defensive mistake. This time, it was the Reds who were the guilty party, losing possession from their own defensive throw in. Ruby Mace was alert to intercept, Cayman played it to Sam Tierney in the box, she passed it across to the unmarked Goodwin, and although her connection was not the cleanest, she managed to find the bottom corner nonetheless.
Matt Beard shuffled his pack at half time, bringing on Gemma Evans for Lucy Parry and Leanne Kiernan for Enderby, as Liverpool hunted for the equaliser. It gave the Reds greater energy in attack, and soon the chances started to stack up. Ceri Holland had an effort fly wide, whilst Hinds struck a low drive straight at Leitzig. The goalkeeper was then almost guilty of repeating her earlier blunder when her clearance was charged down by Smith again. In this instance, fortune favoured her as the ball flew wide.
Smith was in the wars, taking a hefty knock when her run into the box was closed down, and then again when Las brought her down on the halfway line, earning the first booking of the match. The Foxes were fighting hard to defend a valuable three points in their quest to remain in the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) for another season, and their collective rearguard action limited Liverpool to efforts from range that were easy for Leitzig to claim.
Beard emptied his bench in pursuit of a second goal, but none was forthcoming. The Reds had run out of ideas, unable to find a means of breaking down the Foxes’ stubborn resistance. When Kiernan’s shot hit the side-netting in the 96th minute, the game was up.
A fifth loss in six matches saw the Reds fall further away from the higher order, in what is quickly becoming a disappointing season. The Foxes, on the other hand, could rightly celebrate a priceless win, their first in the WSL since the 20th October. With Crystal Palace suffering an injury time defeat to Spurs, they now have a 4-point buffer on the relegation zone.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Missy Goodwin
Goodwin’s set piece delivery set up the equaliser and scored the winner to give Leicester City only their second League win for the season. A constant menace throughout, especially on the counter. This was a hard-fought win for Leicester City, and Goodwin’s efforts in the final third secured them three valuable points.
