Takeaways from the weekend’s WSL games | Matchweek 18
Every week we round up some of the biggest moments from the weekend's Women's Super League games, analysing the results and both team and individual performances.
Four games remain now in the Women’s Super League and everything is still to play for even if the likeliness of anything changing too dramatically is quite low considering the results in matchweek 18.
It was certainly an interesting Sunday with yesterday’s WSL games with some teams picking up very valuable victories as the season gets close to its conclusion and there were definitely some good moments and performances to get into and discuss.
You can let us know how you feel regarding your team’s performances or any other team or result that you may have thoughts on after the most recent WSL games ⬇️
West Ham have something going for them
The second half of this season has been one to be happy about if you are West Ham United, and it was another high point for them yesterday as they came from behind and drew with the league leaders Chelsea. It was an impressive comeback but also one that could have looked unachievable had the home side taken a few more of their opportunities to match the dominant showing they started the game with.
Chelsea had five shots alone in the opening ten minutes of the game yet it was in the 16th minute that Maika Hamano opened the scoring and was quickly followed by Aggie Beever-Jones doubling their lead.
It felt like Chelsea were on for a fairly comprehensive victory considering how they opened the game and it was their squad depth once again on show with young players Hamano and Beever-Jones impressing to begin with in a team that was understandably filled with changes after playing last Thursday in the Champions League. The problem they had though was they were a bit wasteful with their chances and there was a question of whether Millie Bright and Erin Cuthbert being subbed at half-time actually had an impact overall despite still being able to have possession and create chances.
The Hammers got their first goal towards the end of the first 45 as Shekiera Martinez hammered it in from inside the penalty area. Then after a second half where they started to find some momentum and force some saves from Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton, Shekiera Martinez would provide the moment of the game as she scored what was a deserved equaliser in stoppage time to become the third WSL team that Chelsea have dropped points against in the WSL this season. The saving grace for them is still being pretty clear enough that it is hard to see them not being crowned champions come the end of the season.
The draw for West Ham meanwhile means that they move up to seventh in the WSL table and it was their German forward Shekiera Martinez who shined for them in this one having been the scorer of their two crucial goals. I’ve written about her before and once again she has proven to be quite the buy for West Ham in the summer. Sending her on loan to Freiburg where she had success in the first half of this season really allowed her to play with confidence and now she is showing that with West Ham.
It’s 11 points that West Ham have gained now since the beginning of January with three wins and two draws in their eight games since then and now they are on a three-game unbeaten run with the next WSL game being against Manchester United at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
A great weekend for Aston Villa
Not a bad weekend to be an Aston Villa fan if I say so myself and yesterday saw the end of their horrible run as they came from behind to beat Liverpool at the St Helens Stadium courtesy of a Kirsty Hanson goal and an own goal from Liverpool centre back Jenna Clark. Marie Höbinger was the scorer of Liverpool’s goal from the penalty spot to put them ahead as Ceri Holland was brought down by Sabrina D’Angelo when she found herself through on goal.
It feels like a bit of an understatement to mention just how important the three points were for Villa in this one as they find themselves in a relegation battle with Crystal Palace. However, they may have steered themselves closer to safety after yesterday’s win. It was also their first win in the league since December.
In the first half, it was Liverpool who went the closest to scoring and were having more of the chances overall with Villa not offering a lot in the attacking sense. But once Liverpool went ahead, Villa were starting to get on the ball a lot more and found themselves getting a lot more opportunities up front with their substitutes proving vital when they came on.
They also were rewarded for continuing that persistence and trying to win the game as they pushed forward more and it was a cross from Ebony Salmon that went in off Jenna Clark to finally give a first WSL victory for Natalia Arroyo after six attempts. While the overall performance maybe wasn’t the best, they did do what they needed to do and fought back well which is something that has not been on show in recent games.
One player who had a good performance was Missy Bo Kearns as she started against her old side. She’s been someone who has been in and out of Villa’s team this season after the summer move from Liverpool having made just eight starts and I thought she did really well in the midfield, winning a lot of her duels, recovering the ball a lot, showing the determination that has been needed more of in this team. Also, the assist to send the ball over for Kirsty Hanson deserves a lot of praise for how good it was to pick out.
After all the problems and strains they have had in recent months, they have picked up a valuable win against an opposition that not many would have had them beating, which in turn does have the potential to be enough for them to survive based on Crystal Palace’s upcoming games and whether they can make up what is now a four-point gap between Villa in 11th and Palace in 12th.
As for Liverpool, the manner of the loss will be hugely disappointing and it asks the question again of what went wrong for them. It did feel like they made it difficult for themselves and it is also bad considering it’s a third own goal they have conceded now in their last two games. The international break gives them a chance to regroup and possibly end the season on a high.
Arsenal and Manchester United move closer to a top-three finish
It was a fairly easy victory for Arsenal as they put four goals against Crystal Palace making it the second WSL game in a row where they have scored that many in a fixture. Beth Mead scored twice to make it 51 WSL goals now in her career. Alessia Russo scored her 11th of the season and the other was an own goal from Allyson Swaby.
It was continued momentum for Renee Slegers’ side after the high of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last Wednesday as they eased their way to the win away from home. Although, it largely felt like a home given the travelling Arsenal support didn’t have far to travel.
Chloe Kelly also impressed once again in her third consecutive start for the Gunners where she was delivering in some great crosses, getting assists and proving her worth as she shows exactly just how good of a player she is when given the minutes. Arsenal fans also showed her their support by wanting her to stay at the club when chanting ‘We want you to stay’ at the Lionesses international.
They stay second in the league with that outside chance of catching Chelsea although their goal difference isn’t too far off the league leaders’ so there is that to be a little aware of. However, Manchester United are still on the same points as them after they beat Everton 2-0 at Leigh Sports Village.
Another three points for Marc Skinner’s side moves them even closer to being in next season’s Women’s Champions League after it started with an error in catching the ball of a free-kick from Courtney Brosnan which allowed Dominique Janssen to take advantage and make it 1-0.
Grace Clinton doubled the lead near the start of the second half with a little flick from a cross by Leah Galton, who was also named player of the match after a good performance in a game where United were having more of the chances and really limited Everton’s opportunities.
Similar to that of Arsenal, they do have a small chance of still being able to catch Chelsea, however you would think that their mind will be on assuring their place in the top three overall and also thinking about the FA Cup which will be their first game back after the international break when they face their rivals Manchester City.
This season as a whole will probably go down as a success even with their still being some discontented voices around manager Marc Skinner and whether he should still be manager or not. But that is a decision for the club to make with his contract expiring at the end of the season and for me, unless he decided otherwise it is hard to see why the club themselves would want to him to leave despite fan opinions.
Manchester City face tough task in qualifying for the Champions League
It was a better feeling in the aftermath of a game for Manchester City yesterday as they beat Brighton by two goals to one with goals from Dutch pair Kerstin Casparij and Vivianne Miedema, with Charlize Rule scoring the consolation for Brighton in stoppage time.
Winning games right now is a must for Manchester City, although the task of Champions League qualification is looking like one that is now slightly out of reach with it being out of their hands and certain scenarios needing to play out for them to find a way to finish in the top-three places.
It was Kerstin Casparij’s first-ever WSL goal as well which added another bright moment to what has been a pretty good season for her at right-back and it was a seventh assist of this season for Mary Fowler which takes her top of those charts now ahead of Celin Bizet.
Overall, it was the quality that City had in their team that got them over the line despite the few chances that they actually had after Brighton made themselves organised, making it difficult for the forwards to create much. The hosts though had 23 shots in the game and will probably regret not having taken a few of them considering how well Fran Kirby was playing and making opportunities with quality passing. The positives might have been there for Brighton, but yet again it’s another loss and their chances of finishing fifth become increasingly at threat.
Tottenham end their losing run with draw against Leicester
The losing run has ended for Tottenham but it wasn’t by winning at the King Power Stadium, however they did find a quick equaliser via Drew Spence after they went behind from another own goal for Josefine Rybrink after she conceded one last week.
The performance was an improvement from Spurs where it did feel like they were in control of a lot of the game and maybe should have gone in front in the first half when Martha Thomas found herself through on goal and with a chance to finally end her goal-scoring drought. Janina Leitzig was able to save it and keep the game level.
The missed opportunities that they had would have added to the disappointment of going behind when Hannah Cain had an effort saved by Lize Kop which then bounced back off Rybrink and went into the Spurs net. But they responded well and Drew Spence’s goal was very well taken as she scored from close range following a ball in from Jessica Naz who cutback inside well to get the assist.
The result means Tottenham avoided dropping down to tenth with Leicester still occupying that position. Even at full-time you could see they weren’t happy to have only taken a point from this game and the lack of chances taken will be looked back on as the thing that cost them the most for me. They have scored just one goal in five league games and conceded eleven in that timeframe as well. It adds to the question of whether there has been an over-reliance on Bethany England their top scorer with eight goals, who is out with a quad injury currently.
If there was another positive to take from this from a Tottenham perspective, Ella Morris had a good performance and was named player of the match as well. She has been one to watch this season for Tottenham and it was unfortunate that she picked up an injury a while ago which would have had an effect on her being able to adapt to the team, but she did well for Spurs yesterday.
