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A comfortable victory for Manchester United at Old Trafford saw them return to the top of the Barclays WSL. After a closely fought first half, United took control in the second. A penalty from captain Katie Zelem and goals from Lucia García and Hayley Ladd saw them delight the home crowd who had turned out in their numbers on Women’s Football Weekend.
United returned to league action on the biggest stage of all, the Theatre of Dreams, after the disappointment of losing to Chelsea a fortnight ago. Despite that, confidence in the squad remained high after Marc Skinner’s side reached their first ever FA Cup semi-final last weekend. Looking to get their title chase back on track, the United manager named his strongest available line up. Leah Galton was the most notable returnee, taking up her customary position down the left in her 100th appearance for the club.
For all their successes, United have not been at their free-flowing best in recent weeks which will have given Paul Konchesky plenty of ammunition in his preparations. The visitors, however, came into this match with the odds stacked against them. Winless in the league since December, the Hammers have struggled and with the goals drying up, urgently need to find a spark from somewhere. It will have been a relief, therefore, to welcome back the leadership and experience of Dagny Brynjarsdóttir into the starting line-up after absence due to illness.
Spurred on by a raucous atmosphere inside Old Trafford, United controlled the ball from the whistle, putting together the slick passages of play seen so often from them this season. Ella Toone buzzed with her trademark energy around the middle of the park while the running of Ona Batlle caused West Ham some consternation. It was through this route that they were handed their first clear opportunity with Alessia Russo diverting Batlle’s whipped cross wide. The England striker had another chance moments later, played through the defence by a sublime flick from Nikita Parris, but once again the finish eluded her.
For all their control, United produced a single shot on target in the first half, one fewer than their opponents. They became frustrated as the clear-cut chances evaded them and niggling fouls disrupted play. West Ham were patient, picking their moments to counter. It almost came off for them when the height of Brynjarsdóttir caused problems for Mary Earps in the box. In the resulting melee, Maya Le Tissier managed to scramble the ball off the goal line.
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Arsenal thrash Spurs in WSL derby
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A Caitlin Foord double helped Arsenal warm up for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final with a 5-1 thrashing of rivals Tottenham in the Women’s Super League.
Jonas Eidevall’s side entered the derby after a 1-0 loss in the first leg at Bayern Munich but were back to their clinical best in a scintillating display at Brisbane Road.
Stina Blackstenius got the rout started early before Foord, captain Kim Little and Frida Maanum all got in on the act to hand Vicky Jepson’s struggling Spurs a heavy loss despite Bethany England’s first-half penalty.
Victory for title hopefuls Arsenal moved them within two points of leaders Chelsea, who visit Manchester City on Sunday.
This was a Tottenham home match and a memorable occasion for Kerys Harrop, who was included in the starting line-up and levelled Gilly Flaherty’s record of 177 WSL appearances, but the visiting faithful travelled in numbers from across north London.
Leah Williamson sent the ball forward for Blackstenius to run in behind Molly Bartrip and the visiting forward caught Tinja-Riikka Korpela off guard with an early powerful effort that found the roof of the net.
A stoppage for Korpela to receive treatment provided Tottenham with some much-needed respite, but normal service quickly resumed and a second goal for Arsenal arrived.
Foord collected the ball on the left and dribbled at Ashleigh Neville before she curled home from 25 yards via the post to make it 2-0 after 29 minutes.
The deficit was reduced with six minutes of the opening 45 left when Neville had a shot blocked by the hand of Katie McCabe and England drilled into the bottom left corner from 12 yards against WSL debutant Sabrina D’Angelo.
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Amy Turner caught McCabe inside the area and referee Louise Saunders pointed to the spot for a second time, with Arsenal captain Little doing the honours with a powerful shot into the roof of the net.
Eidevall’s side scored again four minutes later when Foord controlled at the back post and fired home with a little help from the woodwork again.
More misery was to come Tottenham’s way when Williamson, now in midfield, won back possession from Spence and Maanum saw her lobbed shot take a deflection off Bartrip to loop over Korpela to make it 5-1.
Substitute Gio Queiroz almost added a sixth but her poked effort hit the crossbar and she later limped off for the only sour note of a five-star display by treble-chasing Arsenal.
The watching crowd began to get irritable as referee, Emily Heaslip, waved away two penalty shouts from the hosts. The calls were correct with Ladd and Galton both going down easily under contact. As half-time approached, the opportunities dried up and West Ham went in the happier of the two.
One would imagine that Skinner would have been far from happy at the break and his side emerged early from the dressing room determined to put things right. It did not take them long as they found themselves ahead in the 52nd minute. Earlier penalty shouts had been questionable but this one was as clear as day as Hawa Cissoko took Russo’s legs from under her. Zelem stepped up to dispatch her penalty confidently and Old Trafford came to life.
From that moment, United controlled proceedings and doubled their lead shortly after. If their first had been routine, their second was football at its very best. After Risa Shimizu was robbed of possession in the middle of the park, Toone took one glance to spot the run of substitute García. The Spaniard’s first touch was sublime, her finish past Mackenzie Arnold equally so as she put her side firmly in control.
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An error in midfield led to the home team’s third as the game drew to a close. Winning back possession, United’s attack seemed relentless as Batlle set up Ladd at the top of the box. The midfielder has been in fine form all season and marked it with another well-taken finish to consolidate their lead before García added a fourth in stoppage time.
It was not always the prettiest but this victory was another sign of United’s progress under Skinner this season.
They return to the top of the table, putting the pressure firmly on Chelsea’s shoulders as they visit Manchester City on Sunday.
