Takeaways from the weekend’s WSL games | Matchweek 19
Every week, we round up some of the biggest moments from the weekend's Women's Super League games, analysing the results and team and individual performances.
Just the four games this weekend in the Barclays Women’s Super League this weekend and following it most of the teams now have three games left to play and dictate where they will finish once the season ends in over three weeks.
After this weekend’s results, the top three spots in the league look to have been decided after Manchester City failed to capitalise on Manchester United dropping points the day before. Plus, Aston Villa look to have affirmed their place in the WSL after a good win yesterday. Also, Liverpool managed to get a victory to that moved them up the table as well.
Here is our review and takeaways from those weekend games, and you can let us know some of your thoughts in our comments section as well regarding your teams’ performance and any players you think played well this weekend.
Man City’s top-three hopes look all but done now following draw with Everton
Is that the end of Manchester City’s chances of finishing in the top three now following their 1-1 draw with Everton at the Joie Stadium? Kerstin Casparij had given them the lead in the 13th minute of the game after a cross from Kerolin was tucked away by the Dutch defender.
20 minutes later, Everton were level when Karen Holmgaard was on the end of a cross from her sister Sara Holmgaard, heading it in with Khiara Keating failing to collect the ball. It was Karen Holmgaard’s first start this season for the Toffees and the goal provided also lovely moment this weekend with the Danish twins linking up to produce a goal for their team, and there was even a moment in the second half where they could have done so again in similar fashion.
Both teams were missing forwards in this game, obviously we know of Manchester City’s injury list at the moment, but Everton also were without their January transfer signing Kelly Gago who has settled well into the team and would have been a miss for them in this one.
I did think that Everton would have their moments in this game before kick off considering how Man City have looked like they have struggled lately and now their on a run of just two wins from seven games, which was the start of the interim period of Nick Cushing taking over the team after he replaced Gareth Taylor. They only had three shots all game yet they only needed one to get a goal and ultimately, they did enough defensively in that City’s attack didn’t produce enough, nor were they clinical.
Kerolin was used down the middle as a forward in this game and while she was able to be a threat still with her pace and skill, that was something we only really saw in the first half. It didn’t feel like there was anybody else in that City team that was able to produce that moment of quality that they were requiring in that moment and it made the task harder against a strong Everton backline.
Everton’s defending deserves praise in this game, as does goalkeeper Emily Ramsay who made six saves after starting the game ahead of regular Everton No:1 Courtney Brosnan. It was also Ramsay’s first start in the WSL this season and her only other appearance in this campaign came in the Subway Women’s League Cup against Liverpool back in December. A very good showing from the 24-year-old yesterday, which showed she can be just as reliable in goal for Everton when called upon.
West Ham frustrate Manchester United in 0-0 draw
Despite having most of the momentum in the game, it was just one point taken away from the Chigwell Construction Stadium for Manchester United against West Ham and the result dents whatever hope remains of an unlikely late title push for Marc Skinner’s side. The win also would have ended a chance of them finishing outside of the top three, although the likelihood of that following this weekend is still slim anyway.
Man Utd had been the more dominant team in the match yet they failed to make the most of any of their chances, ending with 17 overall in total and just the five of them were on target. Two of the better opportunities in the game hit the woodwork, with Celin Bizet shooting and hitting the post and then a corner hit the crossbar both in the first half.
Elisabeth Terland had the best chance though, when a header at the start of the second half was stopped well by goalkeeper Kinga Szemik making sure the ball never went into the bottom right corner, keeping her team level with Man Utd and making sure they held on to clinch a point and continue this good home form that the Hammers seem to have found.
West Ham have made themselves a tough team to play against at home lately and that is now five unbeaten at home with just two defeats in Dagenham in their last ten games. Overall in the league they are now unbeaten in their last four and all of those results have been impressive considering some of the opposition they have faced which includes three of the sides above them in the table.
In terms of attacks for themselves in this one, it was only as the second half went on where they started to show a bit of intent on the counter attack, where Riko Ueki was looking bright for West Ham as was Viviane Asseyi, but neither managed to have an effort at Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
For Manchester United, this result would have been seen as a missed opportunity to put some pressure at the top of the league and cut the gap to three points with Chelsea’s game in hand this Wednesday vs Crystal Palace. The saving grace is that they are seven clear of Man City as mentioned previously, and they will have to lose all of their remaining three league games in that case as well.
A last word on Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who now has a 13th clean sheet for the season having started in every WSL game. She really has been a bit of a revelation after not featuring much at all before the 24/25 season and there’s no doubting at all that she will be named the best keeper for this season as well and I do wonder if you could make a case for her as well in terms of overall best player given the performances we have seen from her. It’s been such a standout season from the American goalkeeper.
Villa win it late on after a thrilling second half at Brisbane Road
A Kirsty Hanson winner in the 91st minute of the game might just be one of the most important goals of Aston Villa’s season as they beat Tottenham Hotspur after the fact that they let a two-goal lead slip away from them at Brisbane Road.
The first half seemed to be going rather well for Villa when they started having the better chances in this one and then eventually went ahead as Anna Patten headed from very close range when a Rachel Daly header had rebounded back down from the air off the bar. A birthday goal for the Irish defender as well as she turned 26 yesterday.
It was a pretty scrappy game truth be told, but it looked like it was going Aston Villa’s way when Ebony Salmon made it 2-0 in the 56th minute, scoring a low strike as she got one v one with Lize Kop in goal.
It was a less than ideal circumstance for this out-of-form Tottenham side, however if there was one thing that Tottenham had going for them though, it was an ability to win points having been in a losing position (15 points), something which only Manchester City and Arsenal have been better than them at since the start of last season. Also, Aston Villa have dropped more points from winning positions than anybody in that same timeframe (34 points).
So it was on for Spurs when Jessica Naz was able to poke in the six-yard area in the 65th minute. Then five minutes later, a ball was launched upfield and Ella Morris made the run for it and was afforded a chance as Villa keeper Sabrina D’Angelo mistakenly came out to claim it, even though it didn’t look like she had much chance of getting there. Morris beat her to it and then finished the ball into the empty net to level things up.
Just when things were looking up for Tottenham, that heartbreak happened at the start of stoppage time, with substitute Kirsty Hanson having the pace ahead of the Tottenham defenders and she slotted it in to make it back-to-back wins for Villa and their manager Natalia Arroyo. And a massively important three points it is as they now sit seven points clear in eleventh ahead of Crystal Palace at the bottom, leaving Palace with a mountain to climb seemingly now to survive relegation.
Tottenham on the other hand will obviously have been massively disappointed to have not at least held on at the end. While it wouldn’t have ended the winless run they currently find themselves on, it would have boosted their confidence due to the manner of the comeback they produced. There are positives to take from it despite the defeat and one other thing they will be happy about is having Bethany England back after she came on as a sub in the second half before the comeback started interestingly.
Liverpool move ahead of Brighton after victory
After the last meeting between these two teams ended 2-1 to Liverpool when they faced off in January, it was Liverpool who once again beat Brighton & Hove Albion by two goals to one in a good response from Amber Whiteley’s side to last week’s FA Cup loss in the semi-finals.
The first half saw Liverpool have a lot of the momentum early on, which they made count with Olivia Smith giving them a lead in the second minute, less than 90 seconds into the game and Ceri Holland got the assist for it.
After that initial pressure from the away side, Brighton started to have some moments of their own, but couldn’t make anything count and after the spell, Liverpool got back into their tempo and went and made it 2-0 before half-time after latching onto passing mistake from Marit Auee, where Ceri Holland assisted for a second of the game this time for Leanne Kiernan to finish.
There has been talk in the aftermath around Olivia Smith and whether she is being protected well enough by referees given that she went off in added time of the first half after appearing to be injured off a tackle from Poppy Pattinson. Their had been a few fouls on her during the game and it isn’t the first time this has happened because we have seen this with her in games this season where teams have struggled up against her.
It’s not known the extent of any possible injury for Smith, but it does add more to comments that had been made by ex-Liverpool manager Matt Beard back in January, coincidentally they were made in the aftermath of the last meeting with Brighton when he spoke about how the winger “was going to get hurt” if that protection wasn’t there. Smith was substituted in that game as well.
Going into this second half, Brighton needed a response and they got one as they started the second half with a goal three minutes into it, and Michelle Agyemang got it on what was her first WSL start for Brighton this season. Kiko Seike crossed it in well to find the England forward for a strong second-half impact to start with by the Seagulls. Brighton boss Dario Vidošić had spoken highly of the promising young forward when asked about her in his pre-match press conference, where he said she will be “a household name sooner rather than later”.
Unfortunately for Brighton there wasn’t to be a comeback, as chances were few with a Fran Kirby volley and another shot by Michelle Agyemang the closest they went to finding an equaliser. It is a third straight defeat for them and it also meant they dropped behind Liverpool in the table, losing their spot in fifth place, which they had held onto for a large part of the season.
It’s hard to work out what has caused this dip in form for Brighton after such a good start to the campaign that had us at one point thinking they could be aiming for more than a fifth-place finish. Sadly for them it just hasn’t been as positive in this second half of the season. However for me, I would still say this has been a good season overall in terms of their progression from what they have been like in seasons previously. They have left themselves with things to work on ahead of next season, but they can also take a lot of positives from their first season under Dario Vidošić.
