Man City claim top spot in the Women’s Super League (WSL) standings as Shaw and Miedema secure three points over Everton.
Manchester City took advantage of Chelsea dropping points on Saturday to move to the top of the WSL table, after a hard fought victory over Everton at Goodison Park. Khadija Shaw’s second half header proved to be the difference, despite a spirited second half from the Toffees that came close to snatching a point
The Lineups
EVE: Ramsey; Pacheco, Ishikawa, Mace, Fernández, Van Gool, Wheeler, Hayashi, Vignola, Payne, Gago
MCI: Yamashita; Ouahabi, Rose, Knaak, Casparij; Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa, Miedema; Fujino, Shaw, Beney
The Action
Ever since losing their opening game of the season, Manchester City have been the form side of the WSL, winning six matches in a row and knowing a seventh would send them top after Chelsea’s draw to Arsenal. In the opening exchanges it was clear they understood the assignment at hand.
90 seconds were on the clock when Shaw spun in the Everton box and shot, only for Emily Ramsey to block at close range. Two minutes later, Vivianne Miedema saw an effort deflected over. Manchester City were rampant, with Shaw and Miedema a constant threat. It came as no surprise when the latter broke the deadlock, the Dutch striker slipping behind Ruby Mace, latching onto Iman Beney’s pass and slotting the ball past Ramsey.
Everton, to their credit, responded well. Strikers Toni Payne and Kelly Gago were proving to be a potent threat for the home side on the counter before they had fallen behind. Payne must have wished she had worn longer studs before stepping onto the pitch, after the Nigerian forward twice slipped over in the penalty area to foil promising attacks. Five minutes before the break, she found her footing to race onto Mace’s ball over the top and behind the Manchester City defence. Caught out by the speed of the counter, the present league leaders could not get the defence back in time, and Gago was able to covert the low cross with brilliant near post back-heel flick.
Stung by this setback, Man City tried to retake the lead before the half time whistle, and wondered how they hadn’t managed to when Shaw headed over in injury time with the goal gaping. However, she made no mistake nine minutes into the second half, as Ouhabi swung the cross in and Shaw was there to crash home another trademark header.
The rest of the game proved to be a thrilling battle as both sides spurned great chances to add to the scoresheet. Substitute Lauren Hemp’s cross landed perfectly at Shaw’s feet, but instead of shooting she attempted to control the ball, ultimately nudging it back to Ramsey. At the other end Ornella Vignola, whose trickery was proving to be a menace for the Cityzens defence, was left with her head in her hands when her low drive evaded the dive of Ayaka Yamashita, only for the ball to strike the inside of the post and spin away to safety.
Substitutes Katie Robinson and Hikaru Kitagawa almost combined to find the equaliser, but Yamashita was equal to them. and then in injury time, Fujino burst through a tired Everton backline and squared the ball to Hemp, but Mace managed to get across quickly enough to make the block. It mattered not, as seconds later, the ref ended the match, confirming that Manchester City had deposed Chelsea at the top of the table, and the WSL Title race was now well and truly alive.
Hope in defeat for Brian Sørensen
The Merseyside Derby win at Anfield must feel like a distant memory for Brian Sørensen and his side. Ever since Vignola scored that memorable hat-trick, Everton have failed to win any of their WSL matches, and the move to Goodison Park for the new season hasn’t see an improvement in form. And whilst they may have failed to find the win today, they more than matched Manchester City with a strong effort that on another day may have yielded a point.
There is plenty of talent amongst the Toffees for them to climb back up the table after a sluggish start. Ruby Mace may have been caught cold for Miedema’s goal, but she was a rock at the back for the rest of the game, and it was her long pass that unlocked City’s defence for the equaliser. Vignola, Gago and Payne all carried enough threat on the day to keep Everton in the game. The trick for Sørensen now is take this level of performance and convert it into something more tangible on the league table. Heroics defeats are one thing, but wins are what is required now.
Andrée the Great as City finish the weekend on top
It’s seventh heaven for Manchester City, as their seventh win in a row sees them move to the top of the WSL Table. It’s an impressive run of form under new manager Andrée Jeglertz, as his side continue to reshape themselves to his style. Too long have Manchester City failed to live up to the hype and investment, with last season seeing them suffer the nadir of missing out on European Football altogether. But Jeglertz has pushed them right back into contention, and with less games to contend with this season, they have a real chance to staying up top. Shaw and Miedema, two of the WSL’s greatest ever strikers, were both on the scoresheet, and if Jeglertz can ensure both stay fit and in form, they will be danger for any WSL defence.
Their defence, however, is the one thing that may hold them back. Manchester City have once again lost captain Alex Greenwood to injury, the impact of which devastated their campaign last season. Since the start of the season, Manchester City have kept only one clean sheet in the WSL, in their 1-0 home win over West Ham, a game in which the Irons were guilty of missing guilt edged chances of their own to get on the scoresheet. Whilst the technique by Gago to level the match was world-class, the manner in which Everton were able to create the equaliser, and continue to have further chances in the second half, will be of a concern to Jeglertz. Chelsea will respond, and Manchester City can’t afford to allow leads to slip away so easily like they did here. Otherwise, their stay at the top will be merely a fleeting one.
