Khadija Shaw has scored 13 goals from 11 matches for Manchester City so far this season
Manchester City kept up their Women’s Super League title chase with a clinical victory over Tottenham to move within three points of leaders Chelsea.
City have scored nine goals without reply against Spurs this season but were tested at Brisbane Road.
An own goal from Tottenham defender Amy Turner gave City the lead, before Martha Thomas had a goal disallowed for the hosts because of a narrow offside.
Khadija Shaw confirmed victory for City early in the second half.
Shaw’s thumping strike into the roof of the net from close range was her 12th goal of the season, moving her above Chelsea’s Lauren James again as the outright top scorer in the WSL.
Gareth Taylor’s side knew victory was crucial, having seen Chelsea beat Brighton on Saturday to extend their lead at the top and they got off to the perfect start when Turner touched in Lauren Hemp’s cross into her own net.
Tottenham threatened through Thomas and Celin Bizet but City’s Laura Coombs and Shaw squandered chances too before the second goal arrived.
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Roord tribute as Man City respond to setback
All eyes were on City and how they would respond to the news that key midfielder Jill Roord had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury this week and they arrived in London with a six-point gap to make up thanks to Chelsea’s victory over Brighton.
Roord was with the squad in the dugout, having travelled down from Manchester to show her support just days after her injury diagnosis, and her team-mates made their appreciation known when they took an early lead.
The whole team ran over to the dugout and picked up a shirt bearing Roord’s number 20 and Hemp held it up to the stands, before the players applauded in the Dutchwoman’s direction.
“It was really nice. It surprised me. I didn’t know anything about it,” said City boss Taylor.
“It says a lot about Jill that she travelled with us today and wanted to come. It was a really nice touch – and really nice for Jill to be there to experience that.”
A large number of travelling fans, sitting in a stand to the left of the dugout, applauded and chanted “there’s only one Jill Roord”.
City were certainly tested in her absence, and there was space for Tottenham to take advantage of on the break, but on the whole the visitors did well to see out victory against an ever-improving Spurs side.
“It’s a blow [to lose Roord], there’s no denying that. She’s such a top player,” added Taylor.
“I don’t think you can replace Jill. What I like about the group is that we have shown a different side to us this season and players can step up. It’s a loss but this is where you can see the best of us and I thought the players did that really well today.”
Taylor also confirmed that goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck – heavily linked with a move away from City this January – was not in the squad because a “sickness bug” that meant she had to travel back to Manchester on Sunday morning.
Thomas frustration as Spurs miss chances
Tottenham have shown their attacking prowess this season but it has proven costly at times, as they learned at Joie Stadium in November when City thumped them 7-0.
But Robert Vilahamn’s side were far more organised on this occasion and had they taken their chances in the first half, they may well have had something to show for their efforts.
“We have shown progress and were better defenders today, but I think it also shows we are on a journey and we are not there yet to compete with the best teams in this league,” said Vilahamn.
“Manchester City are absolutely brilliant in how they play and they have played for a while with this team. It was a little bit tricky because we wanted to make sure we defend well with this team and have a good plan, but [their first goal] loses energy for us.
“We are still on a journey to beat them but I think next year we will be more ready.”
Thomas thought she had scored and was celebrating in the corner, showing her name to the home fans in a Ronaldo-esque stance, before realising the flag had gone up for offside.
That came around 10 minutes after she had fired over the bar from Grace Clinton’s brilliant through ball. Thomas’ frustrations grew when she came off early in the second half.
She was emotional in the dugout and immediately strapped ice around her knee.
“It’s no injury, it’s more of a load [matter],” said manager Vilahamn. “She’s coming back from some small issues after she came back from the Christmas holidays.
“We gave her 45 minutes in a previous game and she had 60 minutes today so that was planned from the beginning.”
Tottenham pushed again late on when substitutes Jess Naz and Shuang Wang made an impact – one firing over the bar and the other teeing up Bethany England, who was denied by goalkeeper Khiara Keating.
But a lack of quality in the box ultimately proved costly for Spurs as City demonstrated their clinical ability at the other end.
- Line-ups
- Match Stats
- Live Text
Line-ups
Tottenham Women
Formation 4-4-2
1Votíková2Grant4James-Turner5Bartrip6Nildén14Bizet Ildhusøy20Ahtinen25Summanen8Clinton9England17Thomas
- 1Votíková
- 2GrantSubstituted forPetzelbergerat 76’minutes
- 4James-Turner
- 5Bartrip
- 6Nildén
- 14Bizet IldhusøySubstituted forVinbergat 90+2’minutes
- 20AhtinenBooked at 70mins
- 25SummanenBooked at 45mins
- 8ClintonSubstituted forWangat 63’minutes
- 9EnglandSubstituted forAyaneat 90+2’minutes
- 17ThomasSubstituted forNazat 63’minutes
Substitutes
- 7Naz
- 10Brazil
- 11Petzelberger
- 13Vinberg
- 16Graham
- 21Bühler
- 22Spencer
- 23Ayane
- 77Wang
Man City Women
Formation 4-3-3
35Keating18Casparij4Aleixandri5Greenwood15Ouahabi12Angeldahl25Hasegawa7Coombs9Kelly21Shaw11Hemp
- 35Keating
- 18Casparij
- 4Aleixandri
- 5Greenwood
- 15Ouahabi
- 12Angeldahl
- 25Hasegawa
- 7CoombsSubstituted forParkat 79’minutes
- 9Kelly
- 21ShawSubstituted forFowlerat 79’minutes
- 11Hemp
Substitutes
- 3Stokes
- 6Houghton
- 8Fowler
- 14Morgan
- 16Park
- 22MacIver
- 30Mace
- 33Kennedy
Referee:Melissa BurginAttendance:2,889
Match Stats
Home TeamTottenham WomenAway TeamMan City WomenPossessionHome33%Away67%ShotsHome5Away12Shots on TargetHome2Away4CornersHome0Away10FoulsHome10Away6
Live Text
Post update
Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur Women 0, Manchester City Women 2.
- 90’+6′
Full Time
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur Women 0, Manchester City Women 2.
- 90’+6′
Post update
Foul by Chloe Kelly (Manchester City Women).
- 90’+6′
Post update
Ramona Petzelberger (Tottenham Hotspur Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 90’+3′
Post update
Attempt saved. Filippa Angeldahl (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from long range on the right is saved in the bottom right corner.
- 90’+2′
Substitution
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Rosella Ayane replaces Bethany England.
- 90’+2′
Substitution
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Matilda Vinberg replaces Celin Bizet Ildhusøy.
- 90′
Post update
Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Ramona Petzelberger.
- 89′
Post update
Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Molly Bartrip.
- 88′
Post update
Foul by Alex Greenwood (Manchester City Women).
- 88′
Post update
Celin Bizet Ildhusøy (Tottenham Hotspur Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 86′
Post update
Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Ramona Petzelberger.
- 86′
Post update
Attempt blocked. Jessica Park (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
- 85′
Post update
Attempt saved. Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur Women) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Wang Shuang with a through ball.
- 82′
Post update
Attempt missed. Jessica Naz (Tottenham Hotspur Women) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Wang Shuang.
- 81′
Post update
Foul by Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City Women).
- 81′
Post update
Amanda Nildén (Tottenham Hotspur Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 79′
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City Women. Jessica Park replaces Laura Coombs.
- 79′
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City Women. Mary Fowler replaces Khadija Shaw.
- 77′
Post update
Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Olga Ahtinen.
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