- Jeglertz sees his first win as boss
- Kirby opens the scoring
- Hasegawa scores winner after Shaw headed City level
Yui Hasegawa was the hero as Manchester City came from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 at the Joie Stadium. The Blues were behind at the break thanks to a Fran Kirby strike, but an equaliser from the head of Bunny Shaw was followed by a cool finish from Hasegawa to give City the points.
After last week’s defeat at Stamford Bridge, manager Andree Jeglertz will have been looking forward to the first home game of the season and a potential three points against the team that only kept four clean sheets in total
last season.
But he was able to call on Alex Greenwood, who was substituted last weekend, but was without Lily Murphy who went off in the last minutes at Chelsea on a stretcher. Jeglertz moved Greenwood the the centre of a three-person defence, dropping Jade Rose to the bench and adding Khiara Keating, Laura Blindkilde-Brown and Iman Beney to the starting line-up.
Despite the new formation and team look, City still went behind, much to the frustration of the Swedish boss, when Kirby found space inside the City box to fire home in the 14th minute. Kirby started and finished the move after Michelle Agyeman saw her curling shot saved by Keating, only for City to fail to clear the lines. The ball found its way back to Kirby and she had time to control the ball and fir home from ten yards out.
Brighton had been the better side up to then and the goal had been coming, with City having to come from behind again for the second time this season.
Vivianne Miedema, usually so lethal in front of goal, had opportunities to level, but just couldn’t find the back of the goal. Meanwhile, at the other end, England star Agyeman was inches away from making it 2-0 as she stretched to reach a cross but just couldn’t get there with Keating nowhere in sight.
But things changed in the second half, and when Shaw headed City level, it opened Blues up to get a winner. Leila Ouahabi’s deep cross was perfectly placed and Shaw’s diving header at the far post met the back of the net to give the Jamaican her first goal of the season.
Keating was called into action again to deny a Brighton a second goal, but it was Hasegawa’s classy finish that secured the points for City. The Japanese star finished off a great move by the Blues that was created by her compatriot Aoba Fujino, who replaced Miedema in the 63rd minute.
Lauren Hemp, who looks to be back to her best after missing a chunk of last season through injury, found Fujino just outside the penalty area. She played a one-two with Kerolin before releasing Hasegawa, who fired low beyond the keeper and into the bottom corner.
It was a fitting goal for the midfielder, who was one of the best players on the pitch last weekend and didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. This time, she was able to fine the goal that gave City the points, and the hope is that will kick-start City’s season as they chase down Chelsea and Arsenal.
Next up for City is another trip to the capital on Friday night to face Spurs, who got their season off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over West Ham.
Final Score: Manchester City Women 2-1 Brighton Women