Match report
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Casey Stoney, the Manchester United manager, says she was encouraged by her side’s performance. “We started 14 months ago and to be able to come here, in front of a crowd like that with players that have never played at this level, I cannot be any more proud of my players. They left everything out on the pitch, they did everything I asked [of them]. We just came up a little bit short.” Nick Cushing, the Manchester City manager, adds: “I thought our standard of play in the first half was not at the level. I thought their goal was coming. It was unlike us to be so sloppy and so loose. You cannot win trophies with a performance like we did in the first half. In the second half, we started to move the ball quicker and showed more intent. We need to get back on the training pitch to improve because the games are coming thick and fast.”
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Some Manchester City reaction to that Caroline Weir winner. “Caz does that in training every week against me, so I knew it was going in as soon as it left her left foot,” says Ellie Roebuck, the City goalkeeper. “It was quite a big occasion at the Etihad – we had unbelievable support and we thank the supporters for that.” Returning the compliment, Weir says: “I’m delighted we got the result, Manchester United played really well in the first half and Ellie had to pull off a couple of saves.” Down at Ashton Gate, it’s a point apiece for Bristol City and Brighton, who had a first-half penalty kept out by Sophie Baggaley.
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Full-time: Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United
The city is blue? Nick Cushing’s side prosper in front of a record crowd of 31,213 at the Etihad Stadium, with a corking Caroline Weir strike ultimately the difference. United spurned several golden first-half chances but Ellie Roebuck, the City goalkeeper, frustrated and, in the end, Casey Stoney’s side appeared to run out of puff as City edged over the line to take victory in an entertaining derby.
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90+2 min: United get the chance to run at tired City legs but Lauren James gets the ball caught up in her feet and the move collapses. The City captain Steph Houghton breathes an audible sigh of relief. They’re almost over the line.
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90+1 min: A cute bit of a keep-ball by Weir ensures City do not do anything silly. Weir and Lee Geum-min will attempt to shut the game down.
90 min: There will be at least four added minutes.
89 min: Caroline Weir is given the player of the match award. Her stunning goal remains the difference as stoppage-time looms.
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87 min: Groenen is trying to up the ante as United search for an equaliser at the Etihad. They are finishing strongly if nothing else. Also in the WSL, Bristol City and Brighton, who had a penalty saved, are still goalless down at Ashton Gate.
83 min: Jackie Groenen comes within inches of a comical equaliser! It turned from the sublime into the ridiculous for the Manchester United midfielder, who did magnificently to nab the ball away before driving at goal. As she did, Groenen got her feet in a muddle, into a tangle as the chance appeared to vanish. But then Mannion’s clearance ends up cannoning off the shins of the Dutch midfielder, and it very nearly squeezed inside a post and into a corner of the goal. In the end, it bounces off the woodwork and City survive. Nick Cushing attempts to rally the troops as City seek to close the game out. City get away with it. It would have been an odd leveller.
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81 min: Georgia Stanway almost doubles City’s lead! A neat triangle on the edge of the area releases Stanway, who sends a piercing shot towards goal but it flies into the side netting. Wullaert is replaced by the South Korea captain, Lee Geum-min.
80 min: Jane Ross is withdrawn. The 17-year-old Lauren James, who scored 14 goals last season, including four against Crystal Palace, is also on for her WSL debut. Can United fashion an equaliser at the Etihad? They’re pushing.
77 min: ... Houghton makes a rare error and Hanson happily seizes on it on the edge of the 18-yard box. She attempts to curl the ball beyond Ellie Roebuck but does not master the execution. Meanwhile, Stoney is readying another change.
76 min: Casey Stoney opts to make another change as Kirsty Hanson replaces Leah Galton, who was United’s shining light in the first half. For Hanson, the Scotland forward, this is her first taste of the WSL. Her first touch is rusty but ...
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74 min: A record WSL attendance of 31,213. As confirmation of the crowd is read out aloud, there are great cheers inside the Etihad. Great news, which dwarfs the previous record of 5,265 that witnessed Brighton v Arsenal last season.
72 min: The game has died a death. The intensity has plummeted, which semi-suits City – they are far better when they are fizzing the ball around – and makes it harder for United to find a route back in.
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68 min: Weir bends a free-kick towards goal – but it lacks venom and Mary Earps comfortably gathers in the United goal. The risk for City, who are knocking the ball about for fun and increasingly finding pockets of space, is that they switch off and get a little lax. There are no signs of that happening anytime soon, though.
65 min: Janine Beckie shows a turn of pace and eventually takes aim just inside the box after charging forward, carrying the ball around 45 yards. Amy Turner stands off the City forward, with the defender grateful her effort is wayward.
64 min: City have lost just twice in their last 37 matches – and United frankly need to ask more questions of Nick Cushing’s side. Right on cue, the impressive Leah Galton stings the palms of Ellie Roebuck and United need more of that pace and power to hurt the hosts. Back come City on the counter ...
60 min: City are cruising. That goal has sapped all of the life out of a United side that had shown glimpses of real quality.
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59 min: Beckie skews an effort over after more positive buildup play courtesy of Caroline Weir and Georgia Stanway, whose influence is growing.
56 min: Amy Turner replaces Okvist. Earps remains on – for now.
55 min: Ah, Mary Earps is down injured once more. She is shaking her head and puffing her cheeks. She looks thoroughly fed up.
53 min: Whatever Nick Cushing said at the interval, it has worked. Just as City begin to purr, with Weir skirting her way beyond not one but three United defenders, the move breaks down with Stanway not quite on the same page. United just need to re-gain the kind of composure they showed in the first half.
50 min: United finished the first half convincingly but they have been all at sea in the early stages of the second. A sloppiness in defence led to that wondrous Weir strike, with Abbie McManus among those that struggled to clear United’s lines. That goal, as you’d expect, has settled City. They’re striding around the field with much more conviction and confidence now.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United (Weir, 48)
A 25-yard peach by Caroline Weir to open the scoring. United make a mess of things, failing to truly clear the ball and when it drops to Weir way out, the winger nudges the ball on to her left foot, steadies herself and thumps an arrowed effort into the top corner beyond Mary Earps. That was a beautiful hit.
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46 min: Georgia Stanway gets the second half under way.
The teams are back out on the pitch at the Etihad.
It’s also half-time at Ashton Gate, where Bristol City and Brighton head down the tunnel level-pegging at 0-0. The visitors squandered the best chance from 12 yards, when Sophie Baggaley brilliantly saved Victoria Williams’ penalty.
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Half-time: Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United
Millie Turner nods wide right on the brink of the interval and, in truth, United have enjoyed much the better of the first half. Casey Stoney’s side have carved out a couple of glorious chances without finding a way past Ellie Roebuck.
45 min: There will be three added minutes.
43 min: Beckie almost profits in the box for City! But the forward tries to hook the ball goalwards with her preferred right foot and the chance is gone. It stemmed from a Weir free-kick, which United inadvertently cleared into the path of Beckie, with a header landing within Beckie’s radius. Earps is wrong-footed but Beckie makes the wrong choice and the ball bobbles away from danger.
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42 min: City really have struggled to give United any kind of fright. Casey Stoney’s side started on the back foot but have really grown into the game.
39 min: City pour forward through Keira Walsh but Caroline Weir cannot steer her effort into the corners either side of Mary Earps’s goal. Weir has been lively for City – but not as influential as Cushing would like. Earps seems to be OK after being hampered by an ankle injury early on at the Etihad.
37 min: City have their own sniff of goal, with Hayley Ladd caught cold at full-back and Janine Beckie fools Abbie McManus before lashing a low ball into the box. City have come alive once or twice but Nick Cushing needs to coax that kind of intensity out of his side more often. United have been knocking on the door – but have nothing to show for it. Still, Stoney will be the happier manager.
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35 min: United are piling on the pressure – and Galton passes up another chance! A wonderful ball is flighted in from the right towards the back post and the forward rises highest to meet it. But her header drops off target. After a quiet and fairly meek start, Casey Stoney’s side are really in the mood.
33 min: Groenen makes a crucial interception on halfway to prevent City flying forward on the counterattack. With regard to that chance a moment ago, there were only half-hearted appeals but Bonner flew in on Groenen, wiping the Dutch forward out at the front post. The referee Rebecca Welch was unmoved.
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30 min: City survive another United attack! It’s a great move, with Leah Galton again at the heart of it. It was Jane Ross that was the catalyst once more, too. United release Galton free wide on the left, who fires the ball in towards the front post. There is Sigsworth ready to prod home but she has Demi Stokes for company and Bonner also makes life difficult for the United front line, flying in on Jackie Groenen and Roebuck gratefully gobbles the ball up.
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29 min: City take a bit of a breather, with the skipper Steph Houghton calming things down, putting her foot on the ball to take the sting out of United’s buzz. “I bet that Houghton’s ability to pick a pass is causing Casey Stoney some headaches,” emails Adam Kline-Schoder. “The entire United forward line and midfield is being taken out of the game by her passing, with Scott and Stanway routinely finding space to receive them between the midfield and the back line. If City could just get a few more women in the box after bypassing the press, they clearly have the tools to hurt United. United look like they need time to gel, but there’s clearly potential for them to be highly watchable as well.”
25 min: Sigsworth looks for Ross at the front post – but Steph Houghton goes to ground to clear the ball away. United look really revved up, with Ross causing problems inside the channels, particularly against Demi Stokes.
22 min: What. A. Save! A wondrous right-handed stop by Ellie Roebuck to prevent Manchester United from taking the lead at the Etihad. The ball sprung down the left flank, with an exquisite pass by Zelem supplying Leah Galton, who then spread play across the box for Jane Ross. The striker does everything right, stabbing a right leg at the ball to prod home – but Roebuck is equal to it.
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18 min: City continue to probe but as Weir and Stanway attempt to combine on the edge of the area, there is Abbie McManus to intervene once more. She’s been a rock in these early stages.
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15 min: City fail to make the most of a corner and then, after regurgitating the ball, they try to slide in Caroline Weir but the forward is flagged offside. Smart work by Abbie McManus, who knew exactly where she her marker was. As the move breaks down, Weir tries to kickstart foray upfield but she is guilty of being a little overzealous in the challenge on Hayley Ladd.
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13 min: United piece a few passes together and suddenly look a whole lot more comfortable. They knock the ball around in defence between Ladd and McManus before Ross flights a wonderful pass over the top for Sigsworth, who had raced in behind a static City defence. The hosts smother the ball but that was a promising move by Casey Stoney’s side. And now City come back at them ...
12 min: Earps is back up on her feet and promptly wellies the ball downfield. Ross seizes possession and slings in a cross from the right but City hack it away.
8 min: Earps is not moving too freely. Manchester United have an early goalkeeping concern to address. The stopper goes to ground to seek treatment on a pesky ankle problem. United’s backup goalkeeper is Aurora Mikalsen, a Norway Under-23 international who only joined the club 24 hours ago.
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6 min: Leah Galton takes aim from distance! It’s always rising but the Manchester United midfielder, formerly of Bayern Munich, does well to cling on to possession on the edge of the box before drifting inside. Given encouragement to shoot, with City standing off, Galton lets fly. It zooms over but that’s something for Casey Stoney’s side to build on after a fairly passive start at the Etihad.
4 min: City have started far brighter. They look much more comfortable in possession, with the captain Steph Houghton simply rolling a pass into midfield and, down the other end, Mary Earps, the United goalkeeper, almost plays herself into trouble after failing to shuffle the ball out of her feet.
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2 min: Caroline Weir releases Janine Beckie into the channel but Abbie McManus, the former City defender, stands firm to turnover possession. City recycle the ball, with Scott driving forward and Georgia Stanway takes aim from distance but it zooms over.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
United get things started at the Etihad.
Moonchester, the Manchester City mascot, welcomes the teams on to the pitch. There is a charged atmosphere building at the Etihad, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær among those taking the game in from the stands. Kick-off is imminent. Here we go ...
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The voices inside the dressing room speak. “We’re super excited to play here at the Etihad and to play a derby against Manchester United,” says Nick Cushing. “It’s brilliant for women’s football, Manchester City but it’s also an opportunity to get the 30,000 that come today to come to the academy stadium week in, week out. We would love to have 7,000 fans there week in, week out, but we know we have to put in a performance in to make them come back.” Casey Stoney says: “It’s a great opportunity for us as a football club, for the players, but most importantly for the women’s game. We’re new to the league, we’ve just been promoted but we are going to go out there and give it a real go.”
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Five minutes until kick-off. Abbie McManus spent 12 years at Manchester City across two spells but lines up for United at the Etihad this afternoon. The defender was part of the England squad in France over the summer. “Five years ago, I was training in a park in Wythenshawe and my dad would give me a Mars and Snickers bar and a bottle of Lucozade before a game,” she said in April, before crossing the divide to join Casey Stoney’s squad. “Versatility is a good thing to have but right now, with my age, I’m 26 and I want to cement my role at centre-half. That was a big reason why I chose to move from City to United.”
More from Neville, who refuses to rule out jumping ship for the vacant USA gig. Asked if England can rest assured he’s going nowhere, he gloriously swerves the question: “I think the challenge for me personally is to win something with England. You go to a World Cup, you come back and you’ve inspired a nation – you’ve got to climb that mountain again. That is what we have to see from the England players and the WSL players, we have to continue the growth and get better and better.”
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Some pre-match soundbites to get the juices flowing. The England manager Phil Neville has his say on almost 30,000 fans heading to the Etihad Stadium for the maiden WSL Manchester derby. “It’s continuing the momentum that we built up in the summer,” says Neville, who’s wearing a mammoth black coat straight out of a headteacher’s wardrobe. “So many people were inspired by the performances of the players, so many people watched and I think they loved what they saw on the field. Today is another good example. We are all so excited.”
Get the lowdown on each and every WSL side:
There is another 3pm kick-off, which has also been upgraded to a bigger stadium with Bristol City playing Brighton & Hove Albion at Ashton Gate. A lot of the discourse is inevitably around attendances, with City’s Demi Stokes keen for playing in bigger arenas to become the norm. “Playing in a packed stadium, it is hard to explain,” Stokes says. “It is the best feeling to look up in the stand and see family and friends, it is surreal and such a nice moment. To be able to do that every week would be really good and I do think we will get there.”
Not one or two – but 10 things to look out for in the WSL:
Essential pre-match reading, via Suzy Wrack and Louise Taylor:
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The teams!
Manchester City (4-4-2): Roebuck; Mannion, Houghton, Bonner, Stokes; Scott, Walsh, Wullaert, Weir; Beckie, Stanway
Subs: Benameur, Coombs, Bremer, Toland, Park, Geum-Min, Fidalgo
Manchester United (4-3-3): Earps; McManus, Ladd, M Turner, Okvist; Groenen, Toone Zelem; Sigsworth, Ross, Galton
Subs: Mikalsen, A Turner, Harris, James, Arnot, Hanson, Smith
Referee: Rebecca Welch
Preamble
This is it, then. The big kick-off at the Etihad Stadium, where more than 20,000 supporters are expected to pour in to watch the Women’s Super League curtain-raiser between Manchester rivals. It is a much-anticipated maiden top-flight meeting between City and United, with the latter having cruised to promotion from the second tier under Casey Stoney last season.
It is a showpiece match, one of three fixtures this weekend that have been moved to bigger stadiums and the mooted attendance has already ripped up the record books – the biggest crowd to attend a WSL match stands at 5,265 for Arsenal’s title-clinching win at Brighton in April. And on Sunday Chelsea host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge with an even bigger crowd expected at the 41,000-capacity venue.
On the field, there is no end of exciting players to keep an eye on but Ellen White, City’s headline arrival following the departure of last season’s top scorer, Nikita Parris, is sidelined through injury, so the onus is on others to impress, namely another summer recruit, the South Korea captain, Lee Geum-min, who has further bolstered Nick Cushing’s forward line. Across town, United made a coup of their own, with the Netherlands midfielder Jackie Groenen – a World Cup finalist – joining Stoney’s ranks from Frankfurt. Hopefully we will have a game to match the occasion.
Kick-off: 3pm (BST)
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