The first ever Women’s Football Weekend played out and saw a lot of exciting fixtures unfold. The Women’s Super League especially wasn’t short of electricity.
Manchester City 5-0 West Ham
The first WSL game of the weekend took place at Man City’s Academy Stadium, with the home side emerging victorious.
20-year-old Georgia Stanway marked her 100th appearance for the club, a huge milestone in her career. The Man City centurion celebrated in style by bagging two goals inside five minutes. However, a second-half sending off somewhat soured the occasion.
Ellen White opened up the scoring just after the ten minute mark. The World Cup bronze boot winner has not long returned from injury but she is already firing from all cylinders once again.
Going into half-time already 4-0 down, West Ham looked deflated. Lauren Hemp netted just before the break with Tessa Wullaert putting the game to bed in the 53rd minute.
City’s Women’s Football Weekend WSL opener sees them maintain their second-place position, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
A much tighter affair went down at the Kingsmeadow stadium. Two sides kept each other at bay as they went into half-time but Chelsea managed to sneak all three points after the break.
This match has come under some fire as fans are questioning the decisions made by the referee. One of the biggest talking points of the weekend is the penalty decision against Millie Turner.
The Man United defender gave away a spot-kick following her challenge on Fran Kirby in the box. Maren Mjelde stepped up and converted the penalty, the only goal of the game.
Debates are ongoing over whether Turner’s challenge was ‘enough’ to warrant a penalty decision. With Mjelde’s conversion the decider, emotions are understandably high.
Chelsea’s efforts see them remain at the top of the WSL table on 16 points, one ahead of both Man City and Arsenal.
Reading 3-3 Bristol City
A goal fiesta at the Madejski Stadium! Previously winless in eight matches, Bristol City secured a much-needed point after coming from behind to clinch a draw.
Reading’s Remi Allen opened up the scoring in the 17th minute, followed almost immediately by teammate Brooke Chaplen.
Charlie Wellings pulled one back for Bristol just before half-time, with Angharad James extending the Royals’ lead two minutes after the restart.
However, goals from Yana Danïels and Ebony Salmon ensured Bristol were rewarded for their efforts.
18-year-old Salmon has now scored four times for the Vixens, a very impressive start following her move from Man United in the summer.
Brighton & Hove 3-0 Birmingham
A big win for the Seagulls sees them jump four points away from the drop-zone. Their three-goal stunner against Birmingham could set the tone as they prepare to face London Bees in the Cup on Wednesday.
A Kayleigh Green penalty early on got Brighton in the mood for a big win. An astonishing goal from Lea Le Garrec on the cusp of half-time doubled the lead and put them out of reach of Birmingham.
Green’s second goal in the 70th minute was the nail in the coffin for the Blues, who couldn’t expand on their previous win against Liverpool.
Birmingham are still in an okay position despite only grabbing three points from their six games played. They are 10th in the WSL, ahead of Bristol on goal difference.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Arsenal
The Women’s Football Weekend has led to history being made. Spurs hosted the first ever WSL North London Derby at the brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A record-breaking 38,262 fans attended the historic derby and although they couldn’t get a result, Spurs will carry this memory with them forever.
The WSL newcomers held reigning champions Arsenal to a draw until the second half. A piece of magic from Kim Little just after the hour mark broke the deadlock and put the Gunners ahead.
Unsurprisingly, it was Vivianne Miedema who doubled Arsenal’s lead. She is now second in the WSL’s top scorers table with three goals and three assists.
Liverpool 0-1 Everton
In the first WSL fixture at Anfield, Everton managed to come out on top thanks to a Lucy Graham strike and a nightmare error from Anke Preuß.
The German goalkeeper fumbled what looked like a straight-forward save and spilled it into her own net, gifting the Toffees their fourth league win of the season.
Liverpool are now facing their worst start to a campaign since 2011.
Everton sit pretty in fourth in the WSL table, only four points behind leaders Chelsea.
23,500 fans attended the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
