Manchester City Women turned on a magnificent display to take Spurs apart at Brisbane Road to move into third place in the WSL. The Blues were 3-0 up by half-time thanks to goals by Aoba Fujino, Vivianne Miedema and Kirsten Casparij, then a debut goal by Grace Clinton, who also provided an assist for Laura Coombs, made it a dazzling night in East London.
The Blues could even afford to miss a penalty as Bunny Shaw saw her spot kick saved by Lize Kop in the second half as City looked to make up the goal
difference on their top of the table rivals. But it was bittersweet for City, who lost Lauren Hemp in the 20th minute with an foot injury, replaced by Brazailian star Kerolin.
Andree Jeglertz kept Khiara Keating in goal and the young keeper didn’t have much to do throughout the match, as the Swede kept his 3-5-2 formation, with Alex Greenwood now firmly back in her familiar centre-back position, with Gracie Prior and Leila Ouahabi joining her in defence. Laura Blinkilde-Brown kept her place in midfield, alongside Fujino and Yui Hasegawa, with Casparij and Lauren Hemp taking the wing position. Miedema and Shaw completed the line-up, leading the City attack.
Spurs had won both their opening matches of the season without conceding a goal and set up to frustrate the Blues, making sure they had enough people behind the ball and attempting to hit City on the break. And for 23 minutes, Martin Ho’s tactics worked as the Blues hit Spurs early on, but found the defence resolute.
Hemp’s injury a few minutes before, which saw the winger catch her studs in the turf and falling awkwardly, saw her replaced by Kerolin, who made an immediate impact on the game.
It was the Brazilian who started the move, plying the ball into Fujino on the edge of the Spurs area. Her give and go with Shaw opened up some space and the Japan star rifled the ball beyond Kop, becoming the first player to score past Spurs this season. It was a powerful finish for the star who scored the winner here just six months ago as the Blues won 2-1.
City sensed more goals and Shaw was denied her usual goal against Spurs by Kop, who saved from the Jamaican at point blank range. But the Blues weren’t be denied and Miedema got on the scoresheet once again against Spurs. Alex Greenwood’s corner was met by the head of the Dutch striker and, despite the efforts of Spurs to clear it, the ball was deemed to have crossed the line, with replays showing it crossed by some distance.
Four minutes later, the points were safe as Casparij made it 3-0, but again, it was Kerolin who made the goal. Miedema battled to win the ball and that released Kerolin, who showed an incredible turn of pace to storm into the Spurs penalty area. Her shot was deflected but only towards Casparij, who headed home and sent City in 3-0 up at the break.
Spurs came out battling in the second half and put City under some pressure without really threatening Keating in the City goal. Eventually, the Blues took back control of the midfield, with Fujino, Blindkilde-Brown, and Hasegawa running the show. And it was Fujino’s run in the 55th minute which gave Shaw the chance to make it 4-0 and score her 13th goal against Spurs.
After a lengthy delay, Shaw stepped up, only to see Kop guess the right way and make a smart save from the Jamaican. It wasn’t to be Bunny’s night, who later saw her header crash against the bar as the Blues pressed for more goals.
The 65th minute saw the introduction of Grace Clinton, much to the delight of the travelling Faithful. A deadline day signing from Manchester United, which saw Jess Park go in the opposite direction, Clinton replaced Fujino and started to show the Blues fans why she wanted to move across Manchester.
In the 8oth minute, Kerolin once more took on the Spurs defence and squared for Clinton, who casually side-footed home to make it 4-0. The celebration against her former club was muted, but there was no denying the smile that adorned the midfielder’s face as she finally announced her arrival.
Spurs, who at this point were utterly demolished, having seen their perfect record in the WSL this season blown away by the Blues, managed to get a consolation goal, with Olivia Holdt scoring a stunning goal to at least keep the damage limitation down.
Keating barely moved as the shot came in, only her head was in motion as the sheer power of the shot made the back of the goal ripple.
That reprieve didn’t last long as Clinton’s deflected shot found Laura Coombs, and the midfielder, who replaced Miedema on the 81st minute, side-footed home into the far corner to complete the victory.
City are next in action on Wednesday, as they welcome Everton to the Joie Stadium in the League Cup, before welcoming newbies London City Lionesses to Manchester next Sunday.
Final Score: Spurs Women 1-5 Manchester City Women
