Brighton & Hove Albion edged Manchester United 1-0, as Arsenal climbed to third in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
Sunday 4 April
Barclays FA WSL
Chelsea 6-0 Birmingham City
Everton 3-1 Aston Villa
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Manchester United
Bristol City 0-4 Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Manchester City
Brighton beat Man Utd for first time
Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Manchester United in the WSL for the first time, as the Reds slipped out of the top three.
Albion’s Inessa Kaagman fired a 25th-minute penalty passed Mary Earps, after Maria Thorisdottir was cautioned for handball in the box.
United lost Lauren James to a first-half knock but Jess Sigsworth should have equalised early in the second half, when her close-range effort was saved by Megan Walsh.
Play was held up by two stubborn ducks on the pitch, after the resumption Jane Ross and Katie Zelem were unable to make the most of chances to equalise.
Gunners goals paying dividends
Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners at Bristol City as their far-superior goal-difference lifted them ahead of Manchester United with a game in hand, in the battle for the third Champions League berth.
The Gunners took only four minutes to go in front, Noëlle Maritz picking out Vivianne Miedema who found the far corner from the side of the area.
The lead was doubled on half-time, Miedema playing the ball to fellow Dutch international Daniëlle van de Donk to net.
Beth Mead made it 3-0 after the hour with a powerful shot and it was two goals in a minute as Miedema netted her second on the follow-up from Sophie Baggaley denying Jordan Nobbs.
Kerr hits 18-minute hat-trick
A first-half Sam Kerr hat-trick helped league leaders Chelsea to a 6-0 win over relegation-threatened Birmingham City.
Kerr broke the deadlock from an acute angle, after Hannah Hampton had got down to push away an Erin Cuthbert strike.
Two goals followed moments before the break, Kerr nodding home after Pernille Harder headed against the bar, before her third was a header from Cuthbert’s free kick.
Beth England’s cut-back saw Fran Kirby make it 4-0 on the hour mark, who then turned provider as Guro Reiten finished a similar goal and completed the scoring in added time.
Man City make it 12 WSL wins in a row
Manchester City are still two points off the top after a comfortable victory at Spurs.
Man City took a fifth-minute lead from a Chloe Kelly corner which went in off keeper Becky Spencer under an aerial challenge from Janine Beckie.
The Canadian international then did definitely get on the scoresheet when being sent through by a Sam Mewis pass.
Into the last half-hour and Caroline Weir scored City’s third of the afternoon.
Everton beat basement side Villa
Aston Villa stay bottom of the table following a 3-1 defeat at Everton, despite a penalty save from Lisa Weiss.
Villa lost Marisa Ewers to injury before the Toffees took a 36th-minute lead. Lucy Graham headed home an Izzy Christiansen cross but after Chloe Arthur conceded a penalty for handball, Graham’s spot-kick was saved by Weiss.
The hosts got another chance from 12 yards midway through the second half when Jodie Hutton fouled Rikke Sevecke, Christiansen converting to double the lead.
Anita Asante kept out a Jill Scott effort, only for Simone Magill to tuck away the third goal a dozen minutes from time, after which Arthur gave the visitors a very late consolation with a looping header from a set-piece.
Anita Asante kept out a Jill Scott effort, only for Simone Magill to tuck away the third goal a dozen minutes from time, after which Arthur gave the visitors a very late consolation with a looping header from a set-piece.
