WSL: Man City add another three points to title bid | OneFootball

Manchester City added another three points to their title bid in their latest outing in the Women’s Super League. The Citizens cruised to a 5-0 win over West Ham, hitting the ball back into Chelsea’s court as the title race looks set to go right down to the wire.

City are top of the league once again and await Chelsea’s result over Liverpool on May 1st. Gareth Taylor’s side last met with West Ham back in October, with the Sky Blues taking all three points from a comfortable 2-0 victory. Since then City have gone on an impressive title run, going unbeaten in the WSL since November.

Starting XIs

Manchester City

Keating; Aleixandri, Greenwood, Coombs, Fowler, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Shaw, Hasegawa, Kennedy

West Ham

Arnold; Smith, Shimizu, Tysiak, Ueki, Zadorsky, Ziu, Denton, Hayashi, Asseyi, Cissoko

How it went

With fans still finding their seats, Man City were two goals ahead. Less than 30 seconds on the clock, Leila Ouahabi had opened the scoring for the visitors. The No.15 capitalised on Jess Park’s blocked effort to give her side the early lead. Barely two minutes later, Bunny Shaw doubled her side’s lead, blasting the ball into the top corner of Mackenzie Arnold’s goal.

Following a relatively quiet spell, Shaw bagged her 50th WSL goal, having already become the first player to score in 10 consecutive league games. The Jamaican international headed the ball beyond Arnold to seemingly put the tie out of reach of the Hammers. An otherwise perfect first half for the hosts was blighted by an injury to Shaw, who was substituted at the break.

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A far less polished performance followed for the hosts in the second half. Almost conceding twice in the early moments, Taylor’s side struggled to find their form from the opening half. As the half drew on, the title contenders visibly grew in confidence, with their fourth goal of the afternoon coming in the 82nd minute. Laura Blindkilde-Brown bagged her first goal for City, slotting the ball through a congested penalty area. Park claimed her first of the afternoon with a stunning strike with just four minutes remaining.

The three points see City go top of the WSL, with title rivals Chelsea having a game in hand over Taylor’s side. The five goals scored could prove pivotal if the title race comes down to goal difference on the final day of the season.

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