Liverpool: Kapocs 52’
Manchester City: Beney 64’, Fujino 86’
Pre-Match
The Liverpool FC Women return to Anfield for the second time this season as they face a Manchester City side looking to stay within a point of Chelsea at the top of the table. Liverpool are looking to find their first points of the season, or really just anything positive.
Gareth Taylor is without the services of any of his natural fullbacks, with Lily Woodhame, Alejandra Bernabé, and Lucy Parry all not fit to play, and Risa Shimizu ineligible to play against her parent club. Gemma Evans comes in as
a left back, meaning there will be four center backs in the back line. Mia Enderby is again preferred as the central striker over Sophie Roman Haug and Beata Olsson. Ceri Holland being played on the right wing instead of midfield as well.
First Half
Liverpool with a spell of possession in the attacking half a few minutes in on the left flank. Several times they move the ball forward, only to play it all the way back to defenders near the midfield stripe. No incisive attacking intent to be found in the early stages.
Rafaela Borggräfe comes to collect a ball near the top of the box and fumbles it as she attempts to pick it up after sliding into the ball. Bunny Shaw is immediately looking to poke the ball away, but thankfully Gemma Bonner is able to get the ball cleared away.
Liverpool sitting deep in a defensive shell as Manchester City push and probe with the ball. There are plenty of pockets of space for the visitors and Vivianne Miedema receives a ball just outside of the box. She quickly unleashes a shot that is just tipped over the bar by Borggräfe.
Manchester City with two corners in quick succession as the Reds cannot clear the ball. The visitors are quickly regaining possession in the defensive zone due to panicked passes or lackadaisical play from the Reds. Gemma Evans, for example, lets a ball bounce in front of her and run across her body rather than attempt to play it, and Kerstin Casperij just runs past her to take the ball away just outside of the box.
Liverpool are completely underwater in just the 15th minute. Cornelia Kapocs passes the ball directly to a Manchester City player in the defensive half before Jenna Clark swings and misses on an attempted clearance, leaving the ball for Aoba Fujino to take a shot from close range. Rafaela Borggräfe does brilliantly to get down and make an initial save, but Liverpool struggle to get the ball fully cleared and have to do some emergency defending to keep the ball out of the net.
The Reds twice look to spring Mia Enderby through with balls down the channel. She loses out in a duel with the defender the first time. The second time the ball from Cornelia Kapocs is just too heavy and Enderby cannot get to the end of it before a defender.
A decent bit of play as Liverpool move forward through the middle with Marie Höbinger. The Austrian midfielder plays the ball out wide to Cornelia Kapocs, who drives towards the end line before delivering a low cross. Ayaka Yamashita dives to collect it before any Liverpool attackers can get a foot to the ball.
Brilliant bit of defending from Gemma Bonner as Bunny Shaw is played through the middle. Bonner makes a perfectly timed sliding challenge to hook the ball away. Aoba Fujino is first to the ball after the tackle and gets a shot on target, but Rafaela Borggräfe makes the save.
Manchester City again attack on the counter as Liverpool lose the ball in the attack. The ball comes down the attacking right to Aoba Fujino and Marie Höbinger races back to defend and does will to tackle the ball out for a corner.
Höbinger stays down clutching her knee and the medical staff come out to evaluate her. The midfielder is in tears as she is helped off the pitch and Liverpool are forced into a change. Kirsty Maclean comes on in place of the injured Höbinger.
Liverpool with another poor pass in their own half with the ball going backwards and leaving it short for Gemma Evans. The Welsh defender is forced into a foul for a late challenge.
We are forty minutes into the first half and Liverpool have done decently to minimize good chances conceded. The Reds have also not created any real attacking threat themselves, registering zero shots, one ball into the box, and no touches in the Manchester City box.
Manchester City pushing for a goal just before half. First it is Vivanne Midiema driving the ball to the end line on the right inside the box, but her cut back is partially cleared away. Manchester City work it to the left and Yui Hasegawa puts a brilliant ball in that results in a shot on target. For the fourth time in the half, Rafaela Borggräfe is able to make the save before the ball is scrambled behind for a corner.
A little bit of back and forth play to close out the first half. A couple times Liverpool try to counter, but both Ceri Holland and Mia Enderby receive the ball while completely isolated and lose out on possession. Manchester City generates a couple more opportunities, but the Reds defensive line holds before the end of the half.
Liverpool played in a compact defensive shell in the first half and managed to mitigate damage. As we’ve seen before, though, there are plenty of cracks and Manchester City have had several good looks in front of goal. The visitors have had seven of their eight shots from inside the box, and a goal seems to be coming unless the Reds can find a way to generate some semblance of attack to relieve pressure.
Second Half
After getting trod on and thrown around a few times in the first half with no calls given, Mia Enderby is whistled for a foul for the slightest of touches while battling for a ball. Sigh.
Liverpool with a first real threat as a hopeful ball is played forward and Ceri Holland is able to nip it away ahead of Alex Greenwood. The Welsh attacker carries it to the left flank before releasing Mia Enderby with an outside of the boot ball into the channel. Enderby drives to the end line and fires a ball towards the near post, forcing Yamashita to turn it behind for a corner.
GOAL LIVERPOOL!!! After the corner, Liverpool regain possession and work it to Ceri Holland on the right. Holland delivers a perfect ball in that bounces up to Cornelia Kapocs at the far post. The Swedish striker has made the run and heads home from close range!!! It may be out of nowhere, but Liverpool now have their second goal of the season, both scored by Kapocs.
Liverpool have their tails up all of a sudden. Mia Enderby drives forward with the ball and cuts across Alex Greenwood, forcing the England defender into a foul and a yellow card. The Reds then generate a corner kick and a free kick by the corner flag in quick succession. It’s been an absolute sea change since the goal.
Cornelia Kapocs and Jade Rose clash heads as they challenge for a 50-50 ball near midfield. The referee halts play and the players are checked out by their respective medical staffs.
While treatment is ongoing, Manchester City make a change, withdrawing Vivanne Miedema. Liverpool will be breathing a sigh of relief as the Dutch playmaker has been the major creative force for the visitors so far.
Thankfully both players involved in the collision of heads are ok to continue and play resumes. Liverpool quickly get the ball forward to Ceri Holland on the right who then drives in a dangerous whipped cross from deep. This time Manchester City were able to get to the ball before a Liverpool player could turn in towards goal.
Goal Manchester City. A cross from deep is headed towards goal by Bunny Shaw. It looks like the ball is going wide of goal, but Rafaela Borggräfe dives and gets a palm to the ball anyways. The ball is redirected by Borggräfe back into the box where Iman Beney races in to rip the ball into the net from close range.
Play has opened up as both sides are finding gaps as they search for the lead. Both sides are getting a bit sloppy as they get closer to goal, however.
Ceri Holland goes down after getting taken down with a hard challenge while shielding the ball out for a goal kick. It was a clear foul that was ignored by the referee, and Holland is down for an extended time off the pitch. The referee waves for Liverpool to start play again with Holland still down. After a couple minutes of the ball in play, Holland is able to return back to the pitch.
Huge save by Borggräfe off a rocket of a shot by Bunny Shaw. The Jamaica international gets the ball on the right side of the box and doesn’t need a second invitation to take a shot as she rips it towards the top near corner. Borggräfe leaps and palms the ball over for a corner that Liverpool are able to clear.
Liverpool with some valiant defending in their box as Manchester City pump ball after ball into the area. Gemma Bonner, Jenna Clark, Grace Fisk, and Fuka Nagano all make important interventions with under 10 minutes to play in regulation.
Manchester City’s Iman Beney goes down after fighting for a ball. She sits down with a very bloody nose and play is stopped.
Goal Manchester City. Liverpool are caught flat-footed in defense after some simple passing down the attacking right before a ball is slipped through for the run of Aoba Fujino into the box. Liverpool defenders were all static and no one ran with Aoba as she quickly gets to the corner of the six yard box and unleashes a hard and low shot that beats Borggräfe through the goalkeeper’s legs.
There’s very little time for Liverpool to try and find an equalizer. Just two minutes of regulation and whatever added on time remain.
Liverpool get the ball into the attacking third and win it back several times after losing possession before the Reds go all the way back to their goalkeeper and attempt to build again. There are spaces to be found, but the Reds keep misplaying the ball to kill momentum.
There will be six minutes of added time.
Gareth Taylor seems to have forgotten which side he is managing, making a sub in added on time. Sophie Roman Haug comes on for Sam Kerr. Seems like the kind of sub that could have been made at least five minutes ago and not in the 93rd minut.
Liverpool are now unable to get the ball away from Manchester City as they chase around with the last minute of extra time ticking away.
The Reds finally get the ball and move it forward through Ceri Holland. The ball goes inside to Fuka Nagano, and the midfielder carries the ball to the towards the top of the box and is clipped from behind! It’s a foul and a free kick for Liverpool just outside the box. Cornelia Kapocs and Ceri Holland are over the ball.
Bedlam as Liverpool think they have the equalizer. Ceri Holland hits the free kick with great venom and dip, forcing Yamashita to make a diving save at the near post. Gemma Bonner is first to the rebound and blasts it into the goal, but the lineswoman has the flag up for offside. Bonner was in on offside position when the free kick was struck.
That’s the last play of the game.
Final Thoughts
There were signs of life from Liverpool in the second half, but it was another gut punch of a result. After taking the lead against the run of play early in the second half, the Reds posed much more of a threat and played a much more even game. Despite that, Liverpool were unable to hold the lead, and it felt a gut punch to concede in the 86th minute to go behind. It was even more of a dagger to the Reds when they believed they had equalized at the death, only to be denied by the offside flag.
Despite the positives in the second half, Liverpool are still without a point on the season, and will not play a league game again until November. Gareth Taylor will have one more match next Friday against Durham in the FA Women’s League Cup before the October international break.
