An own goal from Liverpool’s Niahm Fahey and a Parris brace saw City secure the three points at Prenton Park.
What happened
It was evident from the off that this was going to be a tough test. Throughout the first half City continued to try and break down the Reds to no avail. Liverpool were well organised and no matter how many chances we threw at them, they seemed to always have an answer.
Nick Cushing’s side started brightly though as Jen Beattie nearly opened the scoring in the ninth minute. The Scotland international launched into the air to head in Tessa Wullaert‘s lovely curling cross, but Liverpool goalkeeper Anke Preuss was alert and punched the attempt away with authority.
Preuss was tested just moments later as Claire Emslie spun and offloaded the ball to oncoming Jill Scott, who fired a superb volley. The attempt had just a bit too much power and it flew over the crossbar.
Ellie Roebuck was hardly tested in the opening 45 minutes, but when she was needed, she delivered. Niamh Charles and Rinsola Babajide pushed forward for the Reds, and it was Charles who tried her luck with a shot on the edge of the box. Roebuck was calm and caught the effort comfortably.
The Blues returned from the break with a spark and were rewarded for their efforts.
The opener came in the form of an own goal from Niamh Fahey, but the build-up was all City. Youngster Esme Morgan did well to win the ball back and pass to Emslie, who then squared the ball to Caroline Weir. As our midfielder struck the ball it took a rather big deflection off Fahey to see us move into the lead.
As we began to find our rhythm, Parris reached yet another milestone as she became the FA WSL’s top goalscorer of all time with her 36th and 37th goals in the competition.
For the first goal, Parris weaved around the Liverpool defence and, as Preuss came sprinting towards her, neatly chipped the ball over the ‘keeper and into the bottom corner.
After netting her first, Nikita needed just one more goal to move ahead of Eniola Aluko as the top scorer, so when Georgia Stanway was brought down in the box, Nikita rightly took the opportunity.
The 24-year-old coolly converted from the spot to move top and help City secure the three points at Prenton Park.
The win was somewhat marred by Keira Walsh‘s injury in the closing moments of the game who went down with, what looked like, a problem with her leg. We wish Keira the best with her recovery and will keep you updated with any developments of her injury.
How we lined up
Nick Cushing opted for a 4-2-2-2 formation against the Reds. Roebuck took her place in goal shielded by a back four of Morgan, Beattie, skipper Steph Houghton and Gemma Bonner.
Keira Walsh and Jill Scott slotted in front of our defence with Caroline Weir and Tessa Wullaert in midfield, while Claire Emslie and Nikita led the line up front.
Up next
A majority of the players now break for international duty before returning to FA WSL action away at Yeovil on Sunday 25 November, kick-off at 3pm (GMT).
