United turn draws into wins as Parris maintains perfect start
MANCHESTER United may well have drawn games like this last season. Marc Skinner’s side missed out on Champions League football by five points, and there were too many dropped points from winning positions last season.
That could have been the case at Leicester yesterday, after taking the lead in the first half but failing to kill off the game in the second.
But it wasn’t. They held on for a 1-0 victory to go joint top of the Women’s Super League table and leave the Foxes rooted to the bottom.
If United are to finish in the European spots this term, they have to win games like this even when they are not at their free-flowing best.
There were times when United looked like they had run out of ideas in attack, with a stubborn Leicester defence sitting deep.
In the end it was a set-piece that gave Skinner’s side the goal they needed, with Nikita Parris heading in from Katie Zelem’s free-kick.
‘It wasn’t our best performance, I get that, but last season we drew too many,’ said Skinner.
‘I’m really pleased with the resilience and the mindset. We’re not always going to perform brilliantly, but we must try to win. I’ve signed players to make sure that in games like this we can get across the line and we’ve done that today.’
United will have to be better against in-form Everton next weekend, but to have maximum points from their first four games is impressive.
It is more than can be said for Leicester, who are yet to put a point on the board this term.
The main issue is in attack. The Foxes have scored just once in their last nine league games dating back to last season — and that was an own goal by Tottenham’s Drew Spence in their opening day defeat this term.
It is now just one point from their last 12 WSL games. There is no getting away from the fact they are in a relegation battle.
But this campaign will not be defined by games like this but against teams such as Reading and Liverpool, who are also likely to be fighting at the bottom.
United struggled to find rhythm in the opening stages but the breakthrough came in the 34th minute. Zelem has become something of a set-piece specialist for United.
Last season she twice scored directly from a corner and no player has created more chances from set plays this term.
So it was only right that it was her free-kick delivery that helped break the deadlock. The midfielder’s pinpoint delivery picked out Parris and she powered a header past Kirstie Levell and into the left corner.
The closest Leicester came to an equaliser was Josie Green’s volley from the edge of the box, which Mary Earps did well to claw away from the top corner. A game that will not live long in the memory, but it could be three points that prove crucial to United come the end of the season.