Earps hits landmark and delights Skinner
Manchester United’s manager, Marc Skinner, was full of praise for Mary Earps, who became the first goalkeeper to keep 50 clean sheets in the WSL. Her smart stop to deny Justine Vanhaevermaet kept their meeting with Reading goalless, before Rachel Williams’s late winner. “I wouldn’t want another goalkeeper in the world,” said Skinner. “I whispered in her ear, that save shows how big of a character and performer she is. She is a key part to why England have had their success too.” Earps was called into action infrequently and there could have been a risk of her switching off with United in the ascendancy but Earps stepped up when called upon. She has helped United concede the joint-lowest number of goals in the league, six, level with Arsenal. United have played a game more. SW
MARY EARPS THAT IS INCREDIBLE! 🔥#BarclaysWSL @ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/cTXUmaOaMF
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) January 22, 2023
Pressing issues for Manchester City
Gareth Taylor maintained that not losing was critical for Manchester City, after Kirsty Hanson cancelled out Deyna Castellanos’s goal to earn Aston Villa a point against his title-chasers. “The important thing was not to lose ” said Taylor, whose team are unbeaten since 25 September. “As much as the margins in the WSL are so tight with points, you’ve got to be flawless. This one’s frustrating because we got ourselves into a decent position.” City sit two points behind third-place Arsenal having played a game more. The gap to the league leaders is five points. It is not insurmountable, particularly with City still to play Chelsea and United, as well as Arsenal twice, but the performance against Villa will cast doubts on their ability to maintain cohesiveness when up against a strong press. SW
Frosty reception at Kingsmeadow
Fans, pundits, players and managers were up in arms on Sunday as Chelsea v Liverpool went ahead on a frozen pitch before being called off after six minutes. Liverpool’s manager, Matt Beard, told the BBC: “Whoever made the decision for the game to be on, it has put players at risk. You see Niamh Charles three or four times for Chelsea slip over. The game shouldn’t have been played.” He also thanked the fans who had travelled, some of whom had set off at 5am. His Chelsea counterpart, Emma Hayes, said calling it off was the right decision for player safety and the Football Association should attend games to make these decisions. “This is where we have to start saying to ourselves we need undersoil heating,” she said. “We have to take our game seriously and, yes, we can have blowers and little pitch tents but it is not going to be enough.” Players across the league shared their frustration. Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema called for undersoil heaters or to play in the “men’s stadiums”, her teammate Beth Mead said the women’s game had a long way to go and the Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan said not having undersoil heating made her feel as if she and her fellow players aren’t rated. It has been a topic throughout the season and a solution must be found for the league to progress. SR
Loan deals working perfectly for Everton
It was a strong Everton performance in their 3-0 win over West Ham on Sunday but two players stood out: the loanees Jess Park and Aggie Beever-Jones. Park, on a season’s loan from Manchester City, made Everton’s second goal and was a menace in attack, as she has been all season. Beever-Jones, on loan from Chelsea, scored a beauty from outside the area to halt West Ham’s growing threat. She controlled the ball with two touches and rocketed it into the net, giving MacKenzie Arnold no hope. The goal was Beever-Jones’s first in the WSL since joining Everton last summer. It helped Everton to their sixth win and to fifth place. SR
What a STRIKE 🚀
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) January 22, 2023
Take a bow, @AggieBjones 👏#BarclaysWSL @EvertonWomen pic.twitter.com/dnsI0fs0m7
Arsenal’s schedule even more packed
Arsenal’s run-in got that bit more hectic with their game against Brighton falling foul of the freezing conditions. Sitting in third with a game in hand on Manchester United and Chelsea, Jonas Eidevall’s side are playing chase in their title push. This is always a tense position to be in, knowing one slip will put you further behind. On recent form, the Gunners would have expected to win at Brighton and kickstart their 2023. Now, they have to wait a fortnight until their next league game while trying to fit an extra fixture into an already packed schedule. The announcement was frustrating for the players and their fans who had made the trip. Lotte Wubben-Moy showed her gratitude for supporters by putting money behind the bar of a Crawley pub. A quality gesture from a young player who constantly strives for better in the women’s game. SD
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd Women | 11 | 25 | 28 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 11 | 23 | 28 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 10 | 20 | 25 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| 5 | Everton Women | 11 | 4 | 18 |
| 6 | Aston Villa Women | 11 | -5 | 16 |
| 7 | West Ham Women | 12 | -7 | 15 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 10 | -7 | 9 |
| 9 | Liverpool FC Women | 10 | -11 | 8 |
| 10 | Reading Women | 12 | -13 | 7 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 9 | -21 | 7 |
| 12 | Leicester Women | 10 | -20 | 3 |
