Caroline Weir helped herself to a hat-trick of assists as Manchester City defeated Everton 3-0 at Walton Hall Park this afternoon.
This afternoon’s fixture was a repeat of last month’s 2019/2020 Vitality Women’s FA Cup final which saw Manchester City run out 3-1 victors after extra-time.
Neither side came into the match in a rich vein of form with Manchester City having struggled for consistency so far this season and having only won three of their last seven matches in all competitions in 90 minutes while Everton had only won twice in their previous seven fixtures prior to this match despite their bright start to the campaign.
The away side took the lead when Weir picked out Ellen White in the area and the England forward leapt high and craned her neck to direct the ball over Sandy MacIver and into the back of the net. City then doubled their lead a minute later when another Weir cross, this time from a corner, found Gemma Bonner at the back post who nodded in to put her side two goals to the good.
Everton seemed to be getting a foothold back in the game after going 2-0 down so quickly, however, they were punished on the counter just before half-time. It was Weir again who provided the assist and the Scotland international proved to be the scourge of The Blue Girls’ backline. She picked out Janine Beckie who had ghosted round the back and she was able to squeeze her header in at the near post to give her side a commanding lead just before the interval.
Although the scoreline stayed at 3-0, both sides did have chances in the second period with Everton getting in behind on a couple of occasions but they lacked that killer finish to reduce the deficit. One has to wonder how differently those opportunities might have finished if Willie Kirk had star striker Valerie Gauvin available.
City head coach Gareth Taylor made the most of the five substitutes available to him as he withdrew several players in the second period, surely with one eye on the midweek UEFA Women’s Champions League game against Goteborg. In addition, he was also able to give a run out to youngster Lauren Hemp as she made her first appearance since returning from injury.
In contrast, Everton boss Kirk could only make two alterations which highlights just how depleted his squad is. The Blue Girls must now focus their attention on their trip to Birmingham City next weekend, a club who seem to have found new life under Carla Ward.
Manchester City have a tough run of fixtures over the next fortnight which begins with the first leg of that UEFA Women’s Champions League tie on Wednesday afternoon. Their next Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture is against Arsenal at The Academy Stadium a week today.