West Ham 0-1 Manchester Metropolis: Bunny Shaw scores winner as Gareth Taylor’s facet sustain with Girls’s Tremendous League title rivals

Bunny Shaw’s strike moved Manchester Metropolis to inside six factors of the Girls’s Tremendous League summit with a 1-0 victory away at West Ham.

With final week’s high two Arsenal and Chelsea drawing on the Emirates Stadium and Manchester United beating Liverpool to maneuver into second place, Metropolis have been in want of a victory to maintain up with the highest three sides.

After an end-to-end first half which ended goalless, Shaw put Gareth Taylor’s facet in entrance by rounding Mackenzie Arnold and slotting residence a slick Metropolis transfer involving Yui Hasegawa and Deyna Castellanos for what proved to be the winner.

The victory strikes Metropolis on to 22 factors, three behind Manchester United and Arsenal. All three title rivals have a recreation in hand on champions Chelsea, who prepared the ground on 28 factors.

West Ham, in the meantime, spurned their alternative to maneuver one level behind Metropolis and consequently drop to sixth following Everton’s win over Studying earlier within the day.

How Metropolis edged previous the Hammers

An open first interval noticed Manchester Metropolis begin brightly with loads of possession and half-chances, however West Ham grew into the sport and created the higher high quality alternatives to take the lead.

Metropolis had Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp creating havoc on each wings, with the latter seeing a number of close-range possibilities blocked, whereas defender Allana Kennedy pressured Australian compatriot Arnold into a great cease within the Hammers objective.

However West Ham got here inside inches of taking the lead from a nook as an almighty goalmouth scramble noticed Grace Fisk prod a shot goalwards from six yards – however Leila Ouahabi hacked the ball away on the objective line with Ellie Roebuck overwhelmed.

The Hammers created one other excellent probability to take the lead on the stroke of half-time as Risa Shimizu broke away down the fitting wing and her near-post drive was properly tipped over by Metropolis goalkeeper Roebuck.

Paul Konchesky’s hosts would go on to remorse these missed alternatives as Metropolis took the lead simply 5 minutes after the interval.

The guests performed two slick vertical passes to Hasegawa and Castellanos to open up the West Ham midfield. Castellanos then performed by means of Shaw with an excellent first-time cross, leaving the striker with the easy activity of rounding Arnold within the Hammers internet and tapping residence her ninth league objective of the season.

West Ham tried to reply immediately as Fisk headed over Lucy Evans’ free-kick when discovered unmarked within the six-yard field.

Shaw, nevertheless, was within the temper for extra as she was denied one other objective by an excellent last-ditch problem by Hawa Cissoko, moments earlier than flicking on Kelly’s cross that simply evaded the onrushing Hemp for a tap-in on the far submit.

Metropolis’s goalscorer missed an amazing probability to double her haul as she burst down the fitting flank and struck the surface of the far submit, with Hemp seeing her rebounded flick tipped over by Arnold.

West Ham’s goalkeeper was additionally equal to Castellanos’ close-range end from the ensuing nook, as the sport fizzled out in Metropolis’s favour – incomes them an important three factors.

Manchester Metropolis supervisor Gareth Taylor to Sky Sports activities after the win: “It was a troublesome recreation. It will have been good if we had edged forward with a pair extra possibilities that we had within the second half.

“We have been very calm at half-time. I all the time felt it was a matter of time earlier than we received an opportunity and we scored early on and I believed it was a incredible objective. I believed we confirmed actual good resilience and noticed the sport out properly.”

West Ham supervisor Paul Konchesky: “I believed my workforce have been glorious right this moment. We wish to hold going. We wish to go as excessive and get as many factors as we probably can.

“We wish to achieve success. Hopefully, we will try this. I feel if we put performances like this in each week then I feel we will go a great distance as a workforce.”

What’s subsequent?

Saturday twenty first January 11:00am


Kick off 11:30am

Each groups flip their consideration to the FA WSL Cup in midweek, with Manchester Metropolis travelling to Leicester Metropolis, whereas West Ham go to Brighton.

Man Metropolis’s subsequent WSL recreation is a house conflict towards Aston Villa, dwell on Sky Sports activities with kick-off at 11.30am. West Ham, in the meantime, journey to Everton within the league subsequent Sunday.