Goal in 60 secs, but winless Foxes fail to build on bright start

MANCHESTER City recorded their first FA Women’s Super League victory since the opening weekend of the season as they came from behind to beat bottom of the table Leicester 4-1, writes Matt Wright, of Sportsbeat.

Gareth Taylor’s side had to recover from conceding in their first minute at the King Power Stadium but they controlled the remainder of the match against a Foxes side still looking for their first points of the season.

Leicester sensationally took the lead after 58 seconds when Jess Sigsworth robbed Jill Scott of possession on the edge of the Manchester City box and finished under goalkeeper Karima Taieb.

It wasn’t long before the visitors threatened an equaliser, however, as Kirstie Levell did well to tip Ellen White’s header around the post before Georgia Stanway hit the top of the bar with a terrific strike from outside the area.

The scores were level midway through the first half when Abbie McManus was unable to clear Demi Stokes’ cross, allowing Caroline Weir to smash in the loose ball.

City then completed the turnaround after 37 minutes when Keira Walsh lashed in an unstoppable drive from just outside the area, after Weir and Filippa Angeldahl had shots blocked.

Levell made good saves from Jess Park and Lauren Hemp, twice, before the latter finally gave City a two-goal cushion in the 71st minute by running on to Stanway’s fine pass and powering her shot home.

Substitute Laura Coombs then gave the score a look that reflected the visitors’ dominance when she slid a shot into the bottom corner after being left in too much space.

Leicester City manager Jonathan Morgan said: “Maybe if we’d had a couple of seasons in the WSL, we might have been able to match them from a physical point of view. It was a little bit of a surprise, going ahead so early on in the game and we planned that particular press.

“It worked straight away, but the difference is that City clocked that and they changed the way in which they were playing out, and we had to try and adjust.

“It took us a little longer to adjust than we would have liked in the first half and it ended up forcing us to sit a little bit deeper.

“But I think it was nice to give the crowd something to cheer about and it was nice to see all the young faces smiling from that goal.

“Ultimately, we didn’t win and that goal doesn’t really mean a lot now, but it’s something we can build on.”

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor said: “I’ve always spoken really highly of Lauren Hemp. She’s a fantastic player for us and a fantastic outlet – at times, I think we can overuse her and I think one of the challenges for Lauren in the past has been to connect with the final third.

“In terms of goals and assists, we know she produced a lot of numbers in half a season last year, and I thought today she looked so dangerous from the start.

“She took her goal really well and created another couple of good opportunities – she was involved with Caroline’s goal as well, so she was a constant threat today.

“We have been in a tough moment and then when we start like that, and make an error, all eyes are on you and you’re thinking if it’s going to be another of those days.

“But we had a lot of the game to come and we continued to play our way.”

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