Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action | OneFootball

Slegers steadies ship at Arsenal

The issues that plagued Arsenal under Jonas Eidevall will not go away overnight, but two wins from two under interim manager Renée Slegers will do a lot for the confidence of the team. “It is what we wanted, we knew we had these two games ahead of us and we wanted to win them both and we have to be happy with it,” said Slegers. A 2-0 win at West Ham, a team that beat them in the corresponding fixture last season, will feel cathartic for Arsenal. It took until the 71st minute for them to break the deadlock and the goal came via a penalty. That opened the game up enough for the visiting team to grab a late second. The difficulties Arsenal have had breaking down low blocks remains, though. There are positives – the introduction of four substitutes around the hour mark made the difference, a sign that Slegers will not sit and wait for something to happen when things are not working. SW

Parris makes her point to United, and England

There appeared to be no love lost between Nikita Parris and Manchester United as the England forward equalised against her former club for Brighton in Saturday’s 1-1 draw and then celebrated passionately, running towards the technical areas to do so. Parris said before the game that she wanted to give the England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, a selection headache but it will have been her former manager, Marc Skinner, whose head was throbbing after seeing his team concede a goal in the league for the first time this season. It was Parris’ second goal in three league starts for Brighton. The result ended United’s 100% winning start to the campaign but they remain unbeaten and will have been encouraged by yet another strong performance from the England midfielder Grace Clinton, who attacked the near post to open the scoring from Celin Bizet’s cross before later striking the crossbar. TG

More Hemp heroics inspire City

Lauren Hemp continued to prove her importance to Manchester City as they came from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Sunday. Following Gabi Nunes’ first-half opener, the City winger equalised with a composed volley from 12 yards out. She then provided the assist for Jill Roord’s winning strike by skipping past three Villa defenders and playing a short pass. Hemp has now created 20 chances in the WSL this season, more than any other player. “She was everywhere today, she just gives such energy,” said City’s manager, Gareth Taylor. “When she has that mindset of doing everything with and without the ball, she’s such a role model for every player we have and of course the girls managed the game really well.” EH

‘Ghost goal’ not enough to spook Chelsea

Tottenham’s “ghost goal” was not enough to beat Chelsea, despite a strong first-half performance on Sunday. Chelsea, who took the lead through Maika Hamano on 10 minutes, were pegged back almost immediately when Amanda Nildén’s cross-shot was judged to have crossed the line by the assistant referee. Chelsea’s goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who caught the ball and seemingly palmed it down on to her goalline, protested in vain, earning a yellow card for her troubles. Yet the replays appeared to support her case. The controversy wasn’t enough to stop the defending champions, however, as they overpowered Spurs in the second half, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd scoring a brace to seal a victory over their London rivals. Chelsea’s manager Sonia Bompastor said afterwards: “I just feel like if the technology is on and available for the men’s game, why don’t we have the same?” XA

Beard berates his ‘lucky’ Liverpool

Liverpool’s manager, Matt Beard, strongly criticised his side’s work rate and a lack of bravery after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by their newly-promoted visitors Crystal Palace. Katie Stengel’s goal against her former club helped Palace earn their point, adding to the home fans’ frustration, and although Olivia Smith hit the post Liverpool could have few complaints about the scoreline. Palace head coach, Laura Kaminski, was right in suggesting her team “could have got more” than a point, while a frustrated Beard said: “I feel Palace wanted it more, we were lucky to get a point to be blunt and honest. Palace deserved to take all three. We were pulling out of tackles. I can forgive misplaced passes, I can forgive mistakes but what I can’t forgive is obviously the work rate. You’ve got to have that [work rate] in abundance and we just didn’t have that. We just weren’t brave enough and we were lucky in the end.” The result extended Liverpool’s wait for a first win at their new home, which they are ground-sharing at St Helens. TG

Toothless Toffees left frustrated

Everton were left to rue a series of missed chances after falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Sunday. The visitors created several opportunities following Yuka Momiki’s 10th-minute strike but failed to make the most of them. Justine Vanhaevermaet and Toni Payne both came agonisingly close to equalising in the latter stages but missed the target by a matter of inches. Before the match Everton’s manager, Brian Sørensen, emphasised the importance of converting chances, but he was left downcast at full time. “We did everything we could except put the ball into the goal,” he said. “We create, create, create and we can’t put it in so I’m super-disappointed. I feel really sorry for the girls because they don’t deserve that with the hard work they put in.” EH

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