Everton suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to top-of-the-table Manchester City at the Joie Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
City led through goals from Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp before Hanna Bennison gave the Toffees belief with a spectacular effort from long range.
However, the visitors were unable to find a worthy equaliser against what is currently the side with the best defensive record in the division.
Brian Sørensen was forced into a late change pre-match as Megan Finnigan missed out through illness. Bennison's inclusion was the only change from the win over West Ham United last time out.
Manchester City had a bright start as Leila Ouahabi slid the ball into the path of Jess Park, who had the chance to put the home side 1-0 up early on, but Everton’s defence held strong and quickly cleared to safety.
The travelling side were called upon to defend once again as Chloe Kelly played the ball across goal towards Laura Coombs, but she narrowly missed the target.
Benni Brilliance 🌟 #MCIEVE pic.twitter.com/vimQaYnApd
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) March 2, 2024
City made the most of their dominant start on 15 minutes. Everton’s Justine Vahaevermaet attempted to dribble the ball out of the Everton box before losing possession and gifting the ball to Bunny Shaw to convert past Courtney Brosnan from close range.
The Blues shot-stopper stepped up moments later to deny the hosts a second. Kelly's delivery to Lauren Hemp looked bound for the bottom corner before the Republic of Ireland international dropped low to deny the forward.
It was Khiara Keating's turn to be a hero for the hosts as the away side were inches from levelling the score as Katja Snoeijs flicked the ball towards Martina Piemonte, but Keating made an outstanding save to keep it at 1-0.
Despite Everton’s good start, Man City extended their lead 10 minutes into the second half as Brosnan was beaten by an excellent curling Hemp strike from just outside the box.
Just four minutes later, Everton pulled one back through Bennison. She turned superbly to create space before smashing a stunning strike from 20 yards out that bounced off the bar and in.
The home side nearly extended the lead through Hemp shortly after, but her shot was weak and easily held by Brosnan.
Despite their endeavours, the Blues were forced to leave Manchester empty-handed. Sørensen's side will return to action on Sunday 10 March as they welcome Chelsea to Walton Hall Park in the FA Cup quarter-final (1pm).
By Ella Percy
