One of the biggest weekends in the women's football calendar returned this weekend! With local derbies, iconic stadiums and title races tightening, women's football weekend embraced an opportunity to celebrate the continuous growth and development of the sport; here's the rundown.
This weekend welcomed another Women's Football Weekend. Having historically been at the heart of huge occasions for the sport seeing record attendances alongside moments that fans of the female game have been unable to forget, it is a celebrated time for women's professional domestic football in England.
With the international break in the men's game, The FA are able to capitalise on this window to get stadiums filled and shine a spotlight on the game as this weekend in particular brought some meaningful clashes, with great rivalries and important points to be battled for.
CEO of the Women's Super League and Women's Championship, Nikki Doucet explains that “The weekend is a window into the elite level of women’s football, and we hope it draws more people in to engage with the sport going forward". Also touching on the opportunity the focus on the female side of the game is to showcase “the talented teams and players we have in our leagues”. Some of the biggest ties of the weekend included:
Everton vs Liverpool
A celebrated Merseyside derby kicked off the weekend, as the Toffees hosted the clash at the iconic Goodison Park on Sunday, 24th March. Matt Beard's Reds were looking to change the picture, as Everton have displayed their dominance the derby in recent clashes, with 3 consecutive wins at Anfield.
This season Liverpool have secured some important results from impressive performances, but their European hopes took a hit with a goalless draw at Goodison Park. The Reds were in good stead going into this tie, unbeaten in their last four league fixtures, hoping to turn around their past upsets. Everton, on the other hand, have had a tougher campaign, finding their side strained with injuries. Sitting in 9th, they were the underdogs going into this fixture as they find themselves tied up in the tight bottom-end of the table.
The derby itself was largely a disappointment, with no clear cut chances in a dull 0 - 0 draw and an attendance of below 10,000 despite the absence of Premier League games this weekend.
Manchester City vs Manchester United
Another derby followed, blue vs red once again. Playing for the pride of Manchester and an important fixture in the trajectory of the title race. The early Saturday kick-off saw the Red Devils visit the Etihad Stadium in search of an upset, as Gareth Taylor’s side have already beaten United twice this season, 3-1 in the league and 2-1 in the league cup.
It was another 3 - 1 success for Manchester City this weekend, with Jess Park's double putting the hosts in control before the break.
Khadija Shaw made the points safe right after the break, becoming City's all-time leading female goalscorer in the first minute of the second half.
Despite an own goal from Kerstin Casparij in the second half, City saw the derby out. Gareth Taylor's side have been re-establishing their dominance this season, with 11 consecutive league wins.
They'll need to continue their good form to keep themselves in the title race with leaders Chelsea, with just two goals between the sides at the top of the WSL.
Marc Skinner’s side have had some mixed results going into this heated fixture, but come into the game off the back of a 2-0 victory to Bristol City; that didn't help United have as much as a foot in the game though, as they were blown away by their Manchester rivals for the third time this season.
Coupled with Liverpool's derby draw at Goodison Park, United have now slipped out of the top four, nine points off the Champions League places.
West Ham vs Chelsea
The late Sunday fixture in the top flight saw a fight for the pride of London as Emma Hayes’ Blues travelled east to take on West Ham. Chelsea have been ever dominant this season and continued their push for a second WSL title with a tricky 2 - 0 win in Dagenham.
It wasn't without controversy though, as Riko Ueki scored a perfectly good equaliser only for the assistant referee to raise her flag despite Ueki being almost half a foot onside.
Rehanne Skinner’s Irons have particularly struggled this season, finding themselves in 11th place on 12 points. 6 points above a relegation place, so having a chance for a point taken away against Chelsea by an officiating error will sting for a while.
The Women's Championship also threw up a couple of surprise results this weekend, with title contenders Southampton and Charlton suffering shock 2 - 1 defeats to Birmingham City and London City.
With Bristol City seemingly cast adrift at the bottom of the WSL after going 12 league games without a win, the excitement in the WSL is very much concentrated at the top, with Arsenal's win at Villa Park keeping up their faint title hopes with just five games to go!