We all let out a relieved exhale as Liverpool Women started off this new season of the WSL with a 4-0 victory over Charlton Athletic. Both the Liverpool women and men had good luck with newly promoted sides this week. Charlton won their promotion play-off match against Leicester City on penalties to advance into the top tier last season. Liverpool, on the other hand, came close to moving back down to the WSL2, landing precariously in the eleventh spot out of twelve.
Gareth Taylor’s squad included
Scot Sam Kerr, who has returned from her long term long back injury which kept her out of commission for nearly a year.
The Reds came out swinging, pushing into the Charlton half and forcing a series of corners. The opening shot came from captain Grace Fisk from close range. The centre-back doubled their advantage with a banger of all goal in the second half. Vivien Endemann made a big debut on the right for the Reds. She got two chances to cross it in from the corner. The first was kicked away by a Charlton defender, but the second bounced found Fisk dead centre, right outside the box. Her goal hit the left corner and beat the keeper.
We love a goalscoring centre-back captain in this household, so seeing Fisk grab a brace in their first match was awesome.
The Reds weren’t done there though. Endemann capped off a stellar debut with a goal of her own. She was left with enough space to throw a party on the wing. When the ball arrived, she drove forward into the box. The ball was taken off her, but landed for Kerr, whose shot was blocked by the keeper. It was the rebound where Endemann capitalized and found the back of the net. The German international dominated the whole match, though that was at least partly because the Charlton players seemed content to ignore the wide areas of the pitch, giving her plenty of room to work her magic.
Substitute Natalia Ramos came on in the 71st minute for Fuka Nagano. She got close to another goal twice before earning her team a penalty in added time. Cornelia Kapocs slotted it home, ensuring that, for at least one week, Liverpool are top of the league.
Their next games are against Tottenham and Manchester City, so we’ll see if they can keep some of this good momentum through September.
