Citizens Claim WSL Points In Manchester

LCFC Women

Published 16 Oct 2022

3 MinutesReading time

LCFC Women were beaten 4-0 by Manchester City at Academy Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

BySam Jones at Academy Stadium

A goal in either half from Khadija Shaw, alongside Lauren Hemp's header and Yui Hasegawa's late strike, secured three points for Gareth Taylor's side in the Barclays Women's Super League.

Lydia Bedford made seven changes to the starting XI from the Continental Tyres League Cup victory over Blackburn Rovers before the international break, with only Kirstie Levell, Sophie Howard, Ashleigh Plumptre and CJ Bott keeping their places.

Sticking with the 4-3-3 formation that served the team well in that 3-0 triumph, Jemma Purfield and Carrie Jones operated from wide attacking positions, either side of Shannon O’Brien through the middle.

During a stop-start opening, the hosts created via Deyna Castellanos' effort, which was saved by Levell after Hemp's cross had looped up and deflected into her path. Castellanos' next attempt, from the resulting corner, needed a block from Bott to prevent another shot on target.

Then, on 14 minutes, Man City broke away and Chloe Kelly rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike, while Leicester's first opportunity, from a corner routine, saw Erin Simon's back-post cross met by Howard, who diverted the ball into the side netting.

Less than a minute later, the Citizens took the lead. Hemp's pinpoint cross was headed into the corner by Shaw.

The home side maintained a large share of the possession, and came close to a second when Esme Morgan's clipped cross found Kelly in behind, but the England international blazed over.

At the other end, Purfield's cross fell to Aileen Whelan, who chested the ball down and struck it on target, but Morgan was there to clear in the six-yard box, with Ellie Roebuck beaten.

That seemed to wake Man City up, and the lively Castellanos became the latest player to hit the woodwork shortly before the break.

A double switch saw Missy Goodwin and Molly Pike introduced for Carrie Jones and Purfield 10 minutes into the second half, shortly before Natasha Flint came on, but it did not prevent continued Man City pressure.

When Hemp cut inside, picking out Kelly, the winger was quick to get a shot away, firing it well above Levell's goal. She soon turned provider from a corner, which found Laia Aleixandri, but the defender headed off target, as did Shaw from Kelly's cross.

Their advantage was doubled after 72 minutes when Kelly picked out Hemp, whose diving header beat Levell. Leicester, though, kept battling away and Levell had to be out quickly to deny substitute Hayley Raso from a tight angle.

The 'keeper then saved Alex Greenwood's penalty, which was awarded after Howard tripped Shaw, but the forward was in the right place to convert the rebound with just over 10 minutes to play.

Former West Ham United midfielder Hasegawa came off the bench to wrap up the scoring late on, accurately finding the bottom corner from outside the area.

Major moment…

The Citizens forward's header opened the scoring at Academy Stadium.

With just one goal separating the teams at half-time, the Foxes were well in the game, but once Man City added a second and third, they took the came away from Leicester and added further gloss to the scoreline in the closing minutes.