Birmingham City recorded their first win of the new Women’s Super League campaign after a narrow win over Everton. Two first-half goals were ultimately enough to give Marc Skinner’s side victory at Damson Park.
Ellen White opened the scoring with her third goal in two matches before teeing up Charlie Wellings, who ensured Birmingham doubled their lead. On-loan Arsenal striker Chloe Kelly’s strike 60 seconds into the second half was merely a consolation for the visitors, who have now succumbed to successive defeats after returning to the top flight for the first time since 2014.
This was Birmingham’s first win of the season following a last-gasp defeat by Arsenal last weekend. White scrambled home after seizing on Lizzie Durack’s weak punch from a corner. White, the experienced England striker, then turned provider, unselfishly laying the ball off for Wellings who sweeped the ball home. Kelly later looped the ball over the substitute Birmingham goalkeeper Frances Stenson, who replaced Ann-Katrin Berger at the interval. But Birmingham held on for a priceless first victory of the season, with Paige Williams superbly denying Courtney Sweetman-Kirk in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage-time.
Saturday’s WSL action
Chelsea produced a second-successive 6-0 thrashing to move top of the Women’s Super League, this time dispatching Sunderland. Gemma Davison struck twice, with Fran Kirby, Ji So-yun, Eni Aluko and Erin Cuthbert all finding the net too.
The Londoners had opened their campaign by hammering Bristol City 6-0, and repeating that feat at Sunderland sent them top of the table on goal difference.
Frankie Brown scored the only goal as Bristol City saw off Yeovil Town for their first win of the season. Brown bundled home from a Yana Daniels cross as Bristol City hit back from that opening-weekend 6-0 thumping by Chelsea.
Manchester City maintained their 100% start and took their goal tally for the season to nine in two games with a thrilling 5-2 victory over Arsenal at the Academy Stadium.
Jane Ross opened the scoring six minutes before half-time with a clever near-post volley to turn home Abbie McManus’s cross.
Arsenal were back on level terms just before the break, Emma Mitchell powering home a header from Jordan Nobbs’s corner, but parity lasted only a matter of seconds, England captain Steph Houghton thrashing the ball into the roof of the net after goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal had failed to collect a City corner.
Within two minutes of the restart Arsenal were level once more, Heather O’Reilly capitalising on confusion in the City defence to head home an equaliser.
Nobbs hit the bar midway through the second half but Georgia Stanway gave City the lead for the third time, slotting home after a neat move, with 20 minutes remaining and on this occasion they refused to relinquish it. Izzy Christiansen made it 4-2 three minutes later and Jill Scott made certain of victory with a thumping volley 10 minutes from time.
Arsenal’s Alex Scott described the performance as unacceptable. “Losing always hurts, losing like that is another level of hurt!” she tweeted. “Sorry to those who came all the way to support us today, that was unacceptable.”
In the Friday night game, Reading thumped Liverpool 3-0. Fara Williams opened the scoring with a scorching volley, Remi Allen tapped home the second from close range and Brooke Chaplen added the third with 17 minutes to go.
