MANCHESTER CITY WOMEN 1, BIRMINGHAM CITY LADIES 1
- 14th minute goal from Coral-Jade Haines’ corner by Birmingham’s Emily Westwood
- Lucy Bronze levels it with a fine solo effort after 58 minutes
- City finish strongly with chances for Carli Lloyd, Jane Ross and Lucy Bronze but can’t find a winner
Manchester City Women began their Spring Series campaign with a dress rehearsal for the FA Women’s Cup against Birmingham City Ladies in 10 days time.
Emily Westwood’s 14th minute header put the visitors into the lead which they held until the 58th minute when Lucy Bronze ran into the area from wide on the right to score a fine solo goal to level the scores.
Despite late chances to win it City couldn’t beat an organised Birmingham side who will be far from pushovers at Wembley.
City’s Champions League involvement with two Semi-final games against Lyon meant they were unable to get started in the short Spring Series until after their second leg game in France.
Although City won the second leg 1-0 through a second half goal by Carli Lloyd, they exited the Women’s Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate defeat against the defending Champions following a 3-1 defeat at the City Football Academy which left them a mountain to climb.
City boss Nick Cushing freshened up his squad, with Karen Bardsley, Demi Stokes, Jill Scott, and Toni Duggan missing out while Ellie Roebuck, Jen Beattie, Tessel Middag, and Georgia Stanway came in.
City’s Champions League disappointment continued to haunt them, however, as they struggled to compete against their FA Cup final rivals.
There were scares on both sides as back passes were exploited by both sides with Carli Lloyd hitting the side netting after latching onto an early lapse in concentration for the Blues.
Ellie Roebuck had to head a risky backpass by Abbie McManus away from her own goal as Birmingham buzzed around her with attacking intent.
Birmingham took full advantage of slack marking at a 14th minute corner by Coral-Jade Haines who found Emily Westwood who headed the Blues into the lead from 6 yards out.
Westwood made a clearing header off the line from Lucy Bronze’s header after Keira Walsh’s corner on the half hour mark as City tried to press the visitors.
The Blues were proving hard to break down and also dangerous on the break as Jess Carter’s 37th minute shot was charged down after Izzy Christiansen lost the ball in her own half.
City were frustrated by a Birmingham side that more than matched them in the first period arguably creating the better chances after the goal with Kerys Harrop driving a shot wide before the break.
The home side continued to be slack in possession, gifting Birmingham two early corners after the break with Harrop’s header hanging in the air begging to be converted.
Lucy Bronze earns Manchester City Women a draw with a fine solo goal
Bronze looked the player most likely to provide a decent chance to score for City but she was frustrated by some strong defending and a poor final ball by her own high standards until she took matters into her own hands in the 58th minute.
A trademark driving run into the area from wide on the right looked harmless, and Bronze profited from a lucky rebound of the ball to place it through the legs of Ann-Katrin Berger and level up the game.
Jane Ross came on in the second half and she was beaten to Lloyd’s right wing cross by Berger as she shaped to head it home after 65 minutes.
City went for physicality in the final quarter as Jill Scott and Megan Campbell came on with Birmingham looking to take advantage of City’s weekend travelling.
Bronze’s shot was cleared while Keira Walsh’s corner hit the side netting as City closed out the game on top and both Ross and Lloyd saw great chances blocked while Bronze saw rising shot fly over the bar shortly afterwards.
Abbie McManus cleared a late chance for Marisa Ewers while Lloyd was denied again at the death for City as the visitors flagged.