It was a historic week in the Women’s Super League with Old Trafford hosting their first game and Manchester United claiming a 2-0 win over West Ham United.
The occasion was tarnished by the lack of supporters in the stands, but it didn’t stop 19-year-old Lauren James from putting in a flawless performance and leading her team to the three points.
James, the younger sister of Chelsea and England full-back Reece James, added the title of first woman to score in a WSL game at Old Trafford to their list of awards – she also scored the Reds’ first goals in the WSL. Championship and FA Cup. American striker Christen Press shortly thereafter extended her team’s lead to two.
Despite the result, United head coach Casey Stoney came out of the game with a sense of disappointment after a poor performance in the first half.
“I was a little disappointed with the way we played in relation to an exhibition at Old Trafford but of course we all want to do it all over again and get a little better in front of a large crowd the next time we come here are. ” She said.
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Just over four miles away, another game took place on Saturday night, with Manchester City’s neighbors having to wait until the final minutes of the game against Reading to break through and save the three points.
A wonderful run by Lauren Hemp, in which she passed four players, allowed her to direct the ball to Chloe Kelly, who atone for the waste her team had shown during the remainder of the game.
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It had looked like the Blues were going to play a goalless draw that would have hampered their title ambitions, but the late goal addressed those concerns.
In the other game on Saturday, Arsenal scored a comfortable 3-0 away win against Spurs in the last North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It was Vivianne Miedema who stole the show. Her first volley from a Katie McCabe corner was the best moment of the game. McCabe and Caitlin Foord were also on the score sheet.
“They always want to win these games by as many goals as possible and we probably scored the harder ones than the easy goals today,” said Arsenal head coach Joe Montemurro after the game.
“The most important thing for us is that we get into these positions where we create these opportunities, and we do it in our own way with game controls. Today was a good example of that. “
Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema celebrates with Caitlin Foord, Jordan Nobbs, Danielle Van De Donk and Kim Little
(Getty)
In a six-pointer at the bottom of the table, the loot was split between Bristol City and Birmingham City.
Charlie Wellings shot in the first shot from close range for Bristol and stuck to Carla Humphrey’s attempt, which failed to hit the target.
Blues captain Christie Murray responded for the hosts in the second half, shooting from the edge of the box to the top right after picking a loose ball from a corner.
Bristol are now two points ahead of West Ham despite the Irons holding two games. Carla Wards Birmingham is four points from the foot of the ladder after playing one more game than the Hammers.
Everton returned to winning ways on Sunday afternoon, recording a 5-0 away win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Izzy Christiansen opened the game with a penalty, which was followed a minute later by Hayley Raso’s first goal of the game.
Raso then converted twice more to get a perfect hat trick while Simone Magill scored one too.
League leaders Chelsea, meanwhile, saw another win to keep the women’s Super League title.
Sam Kerr celebrates the goal for Chelsea against Villa
(Getty)
After a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg, in which Sam Kerr opened the gate, the joint combination of Kerr and Fran Kirby came together again for both goals for the London side when they put Villa aside 2-0.
It was an uncomfortable performance for Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes that she thought her team should have done better.
“I was disappointed with some of the standards that I really appreciate about what you have to do to win football games,” she said after the game.
“I expect certain fundamentals from the group that have not been followed. We did enough to get over the line but we have to improve. I liked my team’s answer at halftime. “
