Manchester City came out narrow 1-0 victors at West Ham United this afternoon but it wasn’t enough for Gareth Taylor’s side as they finished the season as Barclays FA Women’s Super League runners-up.
West Ham United knew that barring a monumental collapse, they were already guaranteed of safety while City on the other hand, came into the match knowing that they had to win to give themselves the best possible opportunity of lifting the title.
Janine Beckie had a good early chance for City when a deflected through ball made it’s way to her. She tried to go it alone but home keeper Mackenzie Arnold closed down the angle and managed to divert the ball out for a corner. That corner was cleared only as far as Caroline Weir who controlled the ball with the underside of her foot before firing in a shot from distance which rattled the crossbar.
Arnold then came to the rescue when a cross from Beckie found Weir who shot from point blank range but the Australian stopper got a block in to inexplicably deny the visitors the lead.
City were then gifted a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when Arnold clumsily challenged Ellen White in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. Up stepped Sam Mewis but she was denied by the outstretched hand of the West Ham United keeper who redeemed herself and kept the score level.
Mewis then got on the end of a cross but her header rebounded off the bar. The ball then fell to Esme Morgan who in-turn, headed onto the woodwork before Arnold tipped the ball over to relative safety.
City continued to search for a goal and they finally got it 15 minutes from time when Hawa Cissoko lost the ball in her defensive third, resulting in Lucy Bronze delivering a cross into the area. White did well to improvise with what was an awkward ball and she managed to direct her shot into the back of the net from just a few yards out.
A very difficult period for Cissoko then became worse as she brought down Bronze in the box and City were again awarded a penalty. This time, it was Rose Lavelle’s turn to step up but like her United States teammate, she saw her penalty very well saved by Arnold who drove to her left and parried the ball away.
Despite the penalty misses, City left with all three points but it proved to be in vain as Chelsea’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Reading means that the Manchester club must now settle for second place. It is the fifth consecutive season that they have finished as runners-up in the league. Despite a slow start to the campaign, The Cityzens were able to put in a very good run of results that meant that they closed the considerable gap with the champions and took the title race to the final game of the season.
If they are able to maintain such form going into next season and make a few strong additions to the side in the summer, next year might just be City’s year.
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