Manchester City go clear at WSL summit as Shaw and Hemp down Everton
Manchester City moved to the top of the Women’s Super League table after defeating Everton 2-1.
City picked up where they left off in their first match since defeating Chelsea last month, with goals from Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp taking them three points clear of Emma Hayes’ side, who visit Leicester on Sunday.
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Shaw opened the scoring in the 15th minute, capitalising on a mistake from Justine Vanhaevermaet as she attempted to dribble out of her own penalty area, picking up the ball and calmly slotting past Courtney Brosnan. Hemp doubled the lead 10 minutes after the interval, advancing with purpose from the right flank before cutting in and firing home low from just over 20 yards out.
Hanna Bennison halved the deficit on the hour-mark with the goal of the game, turning smartly and then finding the top corner, in off the underside of the crossbar, from 25 yards. But the visitors could not find an equaliser and City held firm to go top, securing a 12th consecutive victory in all competitions.
“I thought we controlled massive parts of the game,” said the City manager Gareth Taylor. “They had to score a very special goal; apart from that they had only one chance just after half-time. It’s so important that we put three points on the board.
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“Our preparation was cut short because of the international break and we were only able to have a light training session yesterday, so to show the levels we did today was really impressive. The second goal is us all over. It was a special goal. We moved the ball really well between the lines, and what a finish from Lauren. I thought she was incredible today with and without the ball.”