WSL round-up: Khadija Shaw netted her 13th WSL goal of the season as Man City beat Spurs to stay second in the table and keep pressure on leaders Chelsea; Nikita Parris scored twice as Man Utd saw off the challenge of Aston Villa
Sunday 28 January 2024 19:22, UK
Manchester City cantered to a 2-0 win over Tottenham thanks to an Amy Turner own goal and a super strike from Bunny Shaw.
Lauren Hemp was the creator of both goals, driving a teasing delivery across the face of goal which Turner nudged into her own net in the ninth minute, before feeding Shaw after the break.
The striker, marking her 50th WSL appearance, latched onto a perfectly weighted Hemp pass in the 51st minute and arrowed a powerful strike beyond Barbora Votikova to safeguard the points.
Shaw has now scored an extraordinary 42 goals in 50 league games, and takes her tally for the current season up to a chart-topping 13.
Martha Thomas came closest to for Spurs, but her first-half effort was ruled out for a marginal offside.
The win gives City 28 points after 12 games, three behind reigning champions Chelsea, who beat Brighton 3-0 on Saturday.
At the rear of the table, 11th-placed West Ham eased their relegation fears after carving out a tense 2-1 win over bottom club Bristol City, in a game that featured 15 minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Honoka Hayashi fired West Ham ahead in the first half, before Amalie Thestrup levelled shortly after the break.
But Viviane Asseyi squeezed home the winner - her fourth of the season - in the 55th minute when slotting through the legs of Shae Yanez after being released by Jess Ziu.
The Hammers, WSL ever-presents, claimed just their second win of the campaign under Rehanne Skinner, which jointly serves as welcome relief for the head coach, who has only won two of the last 21 games she's managed (including a prior spell at Tottenham).
Bristol City, also in worrying form, have now lost all six of their league games at Ashton Gate this term and face an uphill battle to remain in the top tier after falling three points behind the safety line.
Nikita Parris struck twice to give Manchester United a much-needed 2-1 win over Aston Villa to ease pressure on manager Marc Skinner.
The in-form forward headed United ahead in the seventh minute before converting from a rebound after Lucia Garcia struck the post.
Rachel Daly halved the deficit from the penalty spot after Garcia was guilty of clattering into the Villa forward inside the box, but United held firm to earn their first league victory since December 10.
Title hopes remain slim, given the fact leaders Chelsea are 10 points better off with eight games remaining, but the win should temporarily appease some of Skinner's doubters - the Man United boss is out of contract at the end of the season and fans have recently vocalised dissatisfaction at United's dip in form.
Defeat for Villa, meanwhile, caps a difficult week as they wait to find if they will be expelled from the League Cup after fielding the ineligible Noelle Maritz as a substitute during Wednesday's 7-0 victory at Sunderland.
Janice Cayman grabbed the only goal of the game as Leicester ended a nine-match winless run by edging Everton 1-0 on Merseyside - the second time the Foxes have defeated the Toffees in five days after Wednesday's 5-1 Conti Cup win.
The midfielder was clever to spin away from an attempted challenge in the 53rd minute before curling a strike into the far corner.
Everton, who have now been leapfrogged by Leicester in the table, failed to respond and were left to rue earlier opportunities: Katja Snoejis and Rikke Madsen both guilty of missing gilt-edged chances.
Brian Sorensen's side are without a home victory all season.
