And here’s the City manager Gareth Taylor
“We’re a bit disappointed. We were so in control in the first half, we absolutely bossed the game and could have been three or four ahead. We didn’t implement our game enough in the second period. They scored a goal from nothing and they looked dangerous from set-plays. It feels like two points dropped, especially with the position we were in.
“We needed to keep it at 2-0 for a little bit longer and stick to our principles instead of trying to force things. When we tried to force it we created our own problems. We played through them relentlessly in the first half; we just needed to stick a few more chances away. But the effort, the attitude and some of the football we played in the first half was top-class.”
Here’s the extremely impressive Casey Stoney “I take full responsibility for the first half - I think I got the press wrong. I had to change that and make sure we pressed differently because they were picking us off. The players were incredible. I said to them just now that I’m more proud of them today than I was last week because of the mentality shift - last year we might have folded at 2-0 down. In the end we were unfortunate not to win it.
“Kirsty Hanson was brilliant. That’s why we call our substitutes ‘gamechangers’ - whether they come in to make us solid or give the opposition more problems, time and again they come on and change the game. What a finish from Tobin Heath - it’s world class and that’s why we sign these players. No keeper will save that.”
“That second-half performance was our fans; we know how much it means to them. The players work so hard - there are no shortcuts to success - and I think we now believe we can go toe-to-toe against the best teams.”
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That was a cracking Manchester derby. It was also a game of two distinct 45-minute segments. City were sensational in the first half and more than deserved their 2-0 lead, with Chloe Kelly and Laura Coombs scoring excellent goals.
United’s response to such extreme adversity was thoroughly admirable. A violent finish from Tobin Heath got them back in the game, and the substitute Kirsty Hanson scored the equaliser with 16 minutes remaining. United might even have won it, with Lucy Staniforth having a header cleared off the line in the final minute. That would have been desperately unfair on City.
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Full time: Man Utd 2-2 Man City
Peeeep peeeeep!
90+3 min Ninety seconds remaining. It’s starting to look like a draw.
90+1 min There will be four added minutes. It’s been a pulsating second half.
90 min: Stokes clears off the line! United almost snatched victory. Another superb inswinging corner from Galton was headed towards goal by Staniforth on the six-yard line. Roebuck was beaten but Stokes chested it away and Walsh completed the clearance.
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89 min James is fouled by Greenwood onthe right-hand side, 35 yards from goal. Staniforth’s free-kick is headed behind by the tireless Mewis.
88 min City make their third substitution: Georgia Stanway is replaced by Jess Park.
86 min Stanway and Mewis have shots blocked in quick succession. I’ve got a hunch there will be a late winner, though I’ve no idea at which end.
85 min Hanson’s long-range shot is comfortably held by Roebuck.
85 min Another City change: the goalscorer Laura Coombs is replaced by Caroline Weir.
83 min Galton’s corner is headed away authoritatively at the near post by Houghton (I think).
83 min Batlle’s cross is headed behind by Houghton. It’s impossible to call a winner; both teams still look dangerous going forward.
80 min Beckie misses a half-chance for City, dragging a loose ball wide from 12 yards after a touch from Mewis.
77 min This match is yet more evidence of Casey Stoney’s managerial excellence. United were outplayed to an almost humiliating degree in the first half; their response, presumably inspired by Stoney’s half-time team-talk, has been seriously impressive.
76 min City make their first substitution - Ellen White is replaced by Janine Beckie.
The substitute Kirsty Hanson has equalised! It came from Galton’s corner, which hit an unsighted City defender and rebounded to Hanson in the six-yard box. Her first shot was brilliantly blocked by Roebuck but Hanson battered the rebound into the net.
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GOAL! Man Utd 2-2 Man City (Hanson 74)
United are level!
73 min: Great block! Galton’s excellent corner is punched away to Millie Turner, whose snapvolley from eight yards is crucially blocked by Mewis.
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72 min Hanson charges into the area from the right and wins a corner for United. Galton comes across to take it...
71 min The goalscorer Tobin Heath is replaced by Lucy Staniforth.
70 min James has been very lively since coming on. United could easily grab a point here, which was unthinkable after the first-half battering.
69 min: Just wide from Stanway! What a brilliant effort that was. Kelly gets away from Millie Turner on the right and hammers an excellent cross towards the far post. Stanway gets across Batlle, 12 yards out, and volleys this far wide.
68 min James controls the ball deftly, cuts back outside Greenwood and hammers over the bar from 20 yards. The first part was excellent, the second not so much.
64 min Heath teases Bronze and squares the ball to James in the area. She wriggles away from Houghton but slips in the act of shooting; Roebuck makes a comfortable save.
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61 min The BT Sport feed has returned, just in time to see Ellen White blast a volley over the bar from close range. That was a pretty good chance. Moments later, Bronze’s shot is comfortably saved by Earps.
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58 min We’re still having problems I’m afraid, so I have no idea what has happened in the last few minutes. I do know that United have brought on Lauren James for Christen Press, who had a quiet game.
United have started the second half well and now they’re back in the game. They pressed City fiercely from a goalkick and it had the desired effect, with Bronze playing a loose square pass that went straight to Heath just inside the area. She let the ball run across her body and scorched a rising drive past Roebuck. What a finish!
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GOAL! Man Utd 1-2 Man City (Heath 54)
Pick that out!
51 min I’m afraid we’re having a few technical problems. On the plus side, you haven’t missed any signification action.
47 min I forgot to say that United have made a half-time substitution, with Kirsty Hanson replacing Jessica Sigsworth.
46 min Press is booked for a foul on Greenwood.
46 min Peep peep! City get the second half under way.
Half-time: Man Utd 0-2 Man City
Peep peep! That was - cliche alert - a bit of a reality check for United, who were totally outplayed and trail to a couple of fine goals from Chloe Kelly and Laura Coombs. City, who played with murderous purpose, could be four or five ahead.
45+3 min Kelly is booked for a late tackle on Galton.
That was a blistering finish. Mewis had a long-range shot blocked by Amy Turner, but Coombs picked up the loose ball on the edge of the area and hammered a rising drive past Earps. United will be aggrieved that Kelly was offside in the build-up, though in a broader sense they can have no complaints about the scoreline.
GOAL! Man Utd 0-2 Man City (Coombs 45+1)
Laura Coombs hammers City into a two-goal lead!
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44 min White’s driven cross is pushed away desperately by the diving Earps, with Stanway waiting behind her to score.
43 min Kelly’s dangerous low cross isn’t properly cleared by Amy Turner, and Ellen White’s close-range shot is blocked by the keeper Earps.
39 min Another terrific inswinging corner from Greenwood bounces across the face of goal and reaches Houghton, whose shot is desperately blocked in the six-yard box.
37 min United have calmed things down a little, though City are still the better team. Casey Stoney will be desperate for her team to get to half-time only one goal behind.
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34 min A good attack from United. Press wins the ball off Houghton, then twists her inside out on the left side of the area before clipping a cross that just evades Toone and Sigsworth on the six-yard line.
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33 min Earps is okay to continue.
31 min Earps was injured in making that save from Stanway. There’s a break in play while she receives treatment.
30 min: Stanway misses a great chance! City should already be out of sight. Coombs ran at a backpedalling United defence and slipped a fine through pass to Stanway. She moved into the area but then overran the ball, which allowed Earps to come out and smother the shot.
29 min City have played with such intensity, with and without the ball, that United are struggling to cope.
27 min Yet another chance for City! Stokes runs on to a good return pass from Coombs and drives a low cross that is missed at the near post by White. It runs on to Kelly, whose goalbound shot is blocked by Galton.
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23 min A deep, inswinging corner from Greenwood is headed onto the roof of the net by Mewis. It was a good effort from a very tight angle, and yet another near miss for City.
22 min United really need half-time. Already.
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21 min Earps gives away a corner on the right; the last one led to City’s opening goal. Greenwood’s excellent inswinger is punched away by Earps and volleyed clear by Press.
20 min A desperate headed clearance goes only as far as Stokes on the edge of the area. She chests the ball forward and cracks a left-footed shot just over the bar. City could easily be 3-0 up already; they’ve been magnificent.
19 min Amy Turner makes a vital block! It started with a cross from Kelly that bounced around the area. Mewis’s shot hit Millie Turner in the six-yard box and then Bronze’s ferocious follow-up was blocked by Amy Turner.
17 min There’s a break in play while Amy Turner receives treatment, which allows Tobin Heath to get the other nine players in a huddle and give them a pep talk. United have been second best so far.
16 min City appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Amy Turner challenges White in the area. She definitely got the ball, though some would argue she went through White to get to it. I thought it was a good challenge.
14 min City are well on top at the moment. Stanway v Batlle, in particular, looks a bit of a mismatch.
13 min Stanway is fouled just outside the area on the left by Batlle, who has made a poor start to the game. Greenwood’s free-kick is punched away by Earps.
10 min Almost a second goal for City! Stanway played a lovely one-two with Mewis and flashed the ball right across the six-yard box.
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Greenwood’s inswinging corner led to an almighty scramble in the United area. They couldn’t get the ball away, despite multiple attempts, and eventually Kelly nipped in front of Toone to flick the ball past Earps from six yards. That was a really clever finish.
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GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Man City (Kelly 9)
Chloe Kelly gives City the lead!
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8 min After a loose pass out of defence by the keeper Earps, Kelly’s cross is put behind by Millie Turner for the first corner of the game.
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5 min: Just wide from Toone! That was a fine break from United. Galton found Heath, who made progress down the left and then picked out Toone on the edge of the area. She controlled the ball and hit an instant lofted shot that drifted just wide of the far post. Roebuck wouldn’t have saved it had it been on target.
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4 min: Stanway hits the side netting. That was half a chance for City. Mewis overhit a pass towards Stanway that looked to be going out for a goalkick. Batlle kept the ball in play - and in the process gave it to Stanway, who cut inside and dragged a shot into the side-netting.
3 min Ladd’s long-range shot is comfortably held by Roebuck. United have made a decent start.
2 min Press picks up the ball just past the halfway line surges straight at the heart of the City defence. Shet gets past Houghton but is blocked off by Greenwood, which allows Roebuck to come and collect.
1 min Peeeeeep peeeeep! Christen Press gets the game under way for United, who are kicking from left to right as we watch.
The players emerge on a chilly afternoon in Leigh. It’s time for the Manchester derby.
Gareth Taylor’s pre-match thoughts “We’ve had a full week’s training which has allowed us to focus on this game. We just need to play our game - stick to the processes that have made us successful this season. Nothing changes.”
Casey Stoney’s pre-match thoughts “Today won’t define our season but it’s important that we put on a good performance. We want to show what we’re capable of today. I’d argue City are still favourites - very much established, the squad depth they’ve got is unbelievable. This is only our third season so the expectation will be on them. But I think we need to start putting expectation on ourselves and ensure the levels are as high as they were last week.”
This is only the second Manchester derby in the WSL. City won 1-0 at the Etihad on the opening day of last season; the return fixture in March was cancelled because of Covid-19.
Pre-match reading
Has anyone used the phrase “noisy neighbours” yet?
Team news
If you want to know how good these teams are, look at the substitutes never mind the first XIs. Katie Zelem, Lauren James, Lucy Staniforth, Rose Lavelle, Janine Beckie and Caroline Weir are all on the bench.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Earps, Batlle, A Turner, M Turner, Galton; Ladd, Groenen; Sigsworth, Toone, Heath; Press.
Substitutes: Ramsey, Okvist, Staniforth, Zelem, James, Hanson, Ross.
Man City (4-3-3) Roebuck; Bronze, Houghton, Greenwood, Stokes; Mewis, Walsh, Coombs; Kelly, White, Stanway.
Substitutes: Bardsley, Bonner, Scott, Beckie, Morgan, Park, Weir, Lavelle.
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Preamble
Hello. Women’s Football Weekend could barely have a more exciting opening fixture: Manchester United v Manchester City from Leigh Sports Village. It’s 1st v 5th, which would have sounded about right at the start of the season – except everybody would have the teams the other way round. Casey Stoney’s United are top of the WSL after a brilliant start to the season that includes a draw with the champions Chelsea and a famous win over Arsenal last weekend.
Gareth Taylor’s star-studded City took a while to get going, though they demolished Bristol City 8-1 last weekend and a win would take them to within two points of United. It would also temporarily quieten those who think the Big Three are in the process of becoming Four. But if United win, that chatter will only increase.
Kick off 12.30pm.
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