Bunny hat-trick sees City extend winning run with sweet Toffees victory

Having seen a penalty saved in the opening exchanges, Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw expertly shook the disappointment to complete a sublime hat-trick at Walton Hall Park.

Jill Roord‘s first-half strike also helped seal the success on Merseyside and rendered Aurora Galli’s unstoppable effort as a consolation.

The Jamaican now leads the division’s goalscoring charts with 10 following her second treble of the season in the fixture which saw Laura Coombs make her 100^th appearance for the Club.

Our overall record in 2023 excellently reads 22 wins, three draws and seven losses.

WHAT HAPPENED 

City entered the fixture knowing three points would move us above fellow title-rivals Arsenal in the league table after their defeat to Spurs 24 hours before our trip to Everton.

The visitors carved out the first opportunity of the afternoon, though, and they perhaps should’ve taken the lead inside five minutes when Martina Piemonte lost her marker at a corner and nodded into the grateful hands of Khiara Keating from all of five-yards.

That early warning sign sprung City into life and we were awarded a penalty soon after when Lauren Hemp was pulled down by Sara Holmgaard inside the area.

But Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw’s powerful penalty was well saved by Courtney Brosnan who tipped the ball round the post.

The Jamaican didn’t let the disappointment derail her performance and she made amends minutes later when she latched onto a ball behind the Toffees defence and produced a wonderful lob to open the scoring.

It was the next highlight in a tremendous campaign for the striker so far after she was recently named November’s Joie Player of the Month.

And she doubled her tally for the afternoon midway through the first half when she collected the ball on the edge of the area, shifted the ball onto her right foot and fizzed an effort into the bottom corner.

Buoyed by doubling our advantage we immediately went on the offensive before magically extending our lead further when Yui Hasegawa threaded a precise ball into the path of Chloe Kelly who pulled it back - allowing the oncoming Jill Roord to coolly poke into the net.

The Netherlands international has seamlessly settled into this City side and her effort represented her sixth goal since joining from Wolfsburg in the summer.

In a bid to reignite their hopes of maintaining their own unbeaten league run, which stood at three games, Everton pushed forward and Hanna Bennison saw a deflected effort loop over Keating but fortunately struck the post and stayed out.

The last chance of the first 45 fell to Laura Coombs who, on her 100th City appearance, bent an effort away from goal which whistled just past the post. 

The visitors were well worth their lead at the interval, but Everton were quick to reflect their quality by pulling a goal back shortly after the break when the ball was teed up to Aurora Galli who unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner from the edge of the area. 

Kelly was no stranger to Merseyside having played for the Toffees between 2016 and 2020 and she almost spectacularly scored on her return when she cut onto her right foot and dipped an effort which kissed the crossbar.

The England international continued to pull the strings and orchestrated Bunny’s third with an inviting free-kick which allowed the Jamaican to shrug off her marker and produce an excellent diving header for her treble. 

By netting with her head, the clinical forward’s hat-trick was also perfect having bagged with her left and right foot earlier in the match. 

Gareth Taylor‘s side then comfortably saw out the victory with a series of aesthetic and characteristic passing moves as we signed off 2023 in style. 

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: KHADIJA ‘BUNNY’ SHAW 

Bunny Shaw was at her scintillating and clinical best against Everton by netting a perfect hat-trick in the success. 

A constant thorn in the Toffees’ side, she reflected her immense hold-up play and eye for goal as she moved to the top of the WSL goalscoring charts.

HOW WE LINED UP

Khiara Keating was protected between the sticks by a backline of Kerstin Casparij, Laia Aleixandri, Alex Greenwood and Leila Ouahabi.

Yui Hasegawa anchored our midfield behind Jill Roord and Laura Coombs who was making her 100^th appearance for the Club.

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw led the line with Chloe Kelly (right) and Lauren Hemp (left) operating on the wings.

Everton XI: Brosnan, Finnigan, Bjorn, Holmgaard, Bennison (Campbell 75’), Galli, Wheeler, Payne, Snoeijs (Duggan 76’), Piemonte (Olesen 59’), Sorensen (Bissell 86’).

Unused substitutes: Hart, Aherne, Wilding.

City XI: Keating, Casparij (Houghton 73’), Aleixandri (Morgan 46’), Greenwood (C), Ouahabi, Hasegawa (Mace 77’), Rood, Coombs (Park 74’), Kelly, Shaw (Fowler 74’), Hemp.

Unused substitutes: MacIver, Stokes, Castellanos, Blakstad.

WHAT IT MEANS

The victory on Merseyside means we climb to second in the table after gaining 22 points from 10 games so far this season.

WHAT’S NEXT

City will now embark on a four-week pause from action with our next match away at Durham in the FA Cup on Sunday 14 January with kick-off scheduled for 13:00 (UK).