LCFC Women 0 Everton 0: Leitzig stars yet again
The remarkable Janina Leitzig was again the story as Leicester battled to a goalless draw at home to Everton, edging Willie Kirk’s side further towards the chance of an incredible escape from relegation.
Very nil-nil
Kirk retained ten of the starters from the defeat at Manchester United with January signing Georgia Eaton-Collins coming in at right-back in place of Jess Reavill. That meant a home debut for Australian striker Remy Siemsen who scored the consolation goal at United.
The only notable thing about the first 20 minutes is that absolutely nothing happened. Everton found the odd pocket of space in midfield but couldn’t create anything, while Leicester couldn’t threaten even as much as that.
There were a few openings as the half wore on though, with Everton extremely close to working an open goal, first through right-back Nicoline Sorensen and then first-half substitute Aggie Beever-Jones down the left in stoppage time just before the break.
In between, Leicester fluffed the only clear chance of the half when some excellent pressure from Hannah Cain presented a chance to Siemsen but her shot was off target with just Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan to beat.
One of the strongest themes of recent weeks has been the amount of saves Janina Leitzig has had to make. Everton struggled to replicate that workload though and, although Leicester’s only attempt had been the Siemsen miss, the visitors failed to register a shot on target before the interval.
Scores on the doors
Earlier kick-off times elsewhere meant full time results from crucial games at Brighton and Liverpool arriving at half time during Leicester’s game.
It looked for a long time that Brighton were going to sneak an unlikely point from their home game with Manchester City. Until the dying moments, that is, when Khadija Shaw scored her second to seal a 2-1 victory for the visitors.
Liverpool beat the badly fading Tottenham by the same scoreline to pull clear of relegation trouble.
World class
If Leitzig had had nothing to do in the first half, it was a different story in the second. The German pulled off two genuinely world class saves to prevent Everton scoring.
The first arrived on the hour mark, a smart stop when faced with Dutch forward Katja Snoeijs bearing down on goal. The second was a magnificent late block from close range to deny Beever-Jones.
Beever-Jones then put two efforts over the bar from inside the six-yard box in the ten minutes of injury time that were played after a series of stoppages.
At the other end, Leicester did have chances. Missy Goodwin wasted the best opportunity, trying a first time shot when she had time to control a low cross from fellow substitute Carrie Jones.
There was better balance in attack after the introduction of Goodwin and Jones, with Cain moved into the centre-forward position. Cain had the final chance of the game, steering a centre from Aileen Whelan just wide of the near post.
Everton might point to a foul by Ruby Mace on Beever-Jones which was given as a free kick but actually looked on the line of the penalty area at worst. That would have been a harsh award for a borderline foul and was a rare slip from Mace, who was otherwise Leicester’s most effective outfield player, not for the first time.
It’s another point on the board for a Leicester side that are fighting to stay in the WSL. A trip to London to face another side in danger of the drop, Tottenham Hotspur, awaits in midweek.
