Everton claimed a famous 1-0 victory in the last ever Women’s Super League (WSL) Merseyside derby to be played at Goodison Park on Sunday, though the three points did not come without controversy.
Brian Sørensen’s team had been the better team in the first half without putting Liverpool goalkeeper Teagan Micah under drastic pressure, but that changed when Fuka Nagano tripped Honoka Hayashi on the edge of the area, causing referee Abigail Byrne to point to the spot.
Replays subsequently showed the contact between the players came well outside the box, though there is no video assistant referee in the WSL and Katja Snoeijs slotted the penalty to earn Everton a precious lead which they refused to let slip.
Liverpool huffed and puffed in the second half to no real avail, the best chance coming early in the period when Nagano collected a ball across the box from Olivia Smith and fired goalwards — only to be denied twice by Courtney Brosnan.
Eight minutes of stoppage time brought groans from the Goodison faithful but the blue wall held firm, Brosnan parrying clear from a Gemma Bonner effort after something of a scramble in the area proving to be the only moment of real danger.
Everton move off the bottom of the WSL table and into 9th with the win, their first of the campaign. Liverpool are left meandering in 6th, six points behind the team above them.
Elsewhere, Manchester United held off Leicester City to claim a much-needed three points with a 2-0 win that keeps them in touch with their rivals for UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification.
Though the final margin of victory was not huge, it was a vastly improved performance from Marc Skinner’s team compared to their listless 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last week, with Elisabeth Terland‘s powerful header handing them a 1-0 lead in the first half, before Celin Bizet all but secured the points with a calm finish past Janina Leitzig after capitalising on an errant backpass.
United are now fifth with a game in hand on many of the teams above them, and will be glad to see the back of a run of three straight draws.
Perhaps the game of the day came in the earlier kickoff between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
My Cato scored in the 30th minute to give Palace the lead, only for Villa to bounce back through Anna Patten and Rachel Daly to lead at half-time.
Villa couldn’t capitalise on their momentum in the second half and looked like they would be made to pay for their profligacy when Annabel Blanchard levelled proceedings in the 86th minute with a volleyed finish.
However, Villa’s summer signing Ebony Salmon had other ideas. The 23-year-old forward gathered the ball on the edge of Palace’s box in the dying minutes of the game, turned expertly onto her right foot and lashed a powerful strike into the top-right corner to send the Villa Park crowd home happy.
