Rabbits in the headlights: Manchester City 4 Leicester City 0 (16 October 2022)
On the surface, Leicester’s trip to Manchester City saw the bottom two teams in the WSL face-off against each other. Both clubs came into this game pointless and with the storm clouds gathering overhead.
While this trip north could have provided some respite for the Leicester team as they escaped the intensity of the Costa del Midlands, in reality it proved anything but. All it did was cast into sharp relief the huge gulf in class between the Haves and the Have Nots of the WSL.
Outclassed and overmatched
Leicester made one change to the team that was beaten on Merseyside before the international break. CJ Bott came in for Molly Pike, which meant a switch to a back four and Jemma Purfield nominally pushed up onto the left side of midfield.
For the first ten minutes, this resembled an FA Cup game. Not the good kind, where a bunch of local part-timers pop Notts County out of the tournament, but the bad kind, where one team gets absolutely battered from the first whistle and can’t touch the ball.
The only positive moments from the early stages came during the constant stoppages as Leicester did everything to kill the game. Rather than breaking up the play, however, the injury timeouts only really served as a brief pause on the relentless waves of attacks.
By the time we reached the half way stage of the first half, this plan had somehow worked. It was 0-0, and Leicester even managed to make a foray into the Manchester City half and earn a corner, from which Sophie Howard planted a decent chance at the back post into the side netting.
Leicester responded to this brief flicker of light by conceding straight from the goal kick.
Mauled by the Lionesses
The Leicester team is made up of rugged pros and youngsters with potential. Manchester City, despite losing half their starting XI over the summer, started two European Champions either side of Bunny Shaw up front. Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly, in particular, gave the defence a torrid time down both flanks and eventually that quality told.
By the 20 minute mark, Hemp had already created one chance for Deyna Castellanos, saved by Kirstie Levell at point-blank range, and been denied a certain goal herself by a Howard block, while Kelly had hit the bar. That the opener came wasn’t a surprise but the fact it came straight after a Leicester attack, where they were caught out of of the deep defensive shape is frustrating.
The goal itself was a classic Hemp move: dropping the shoulder, getting to the byline, and popping the cross on the centre forward’s head like Steve Guppy in his prime.
This could have been a precursor to the game being finished as a contest, but Leicester responded quite well to going behind. Forced to be more proactive, they showed some of the midfield pressing that worked against Everton and managed to get on the ball more than they had at 0-0. That intensity is really the heart of their identity: Leicester aren’t good but they are organised and they work hard.
Whether that’s enough to stay up remains to be seen but it did cause Manchester City one or two problems while the game was in the balance. The best chance to equalise came when a Bott cross gave Aileen Whelan - who Leicester need to start scoring - a half-chance but her shot was blocked.
The finishing point to this game came when Hemp got on the end of a Kelly cross to nod in the second. After that, things got out of hand. Alex Greenwood missed a penalty but Shaw put in the rebound and substitute Yui Hasegawa made it 4-0 late on. In truth, it could have been worse at the end but a 5 or 6 goal thrashing would have been harsh on Lydia Bedford’s side.
Elsewhere in the WSL
The big result of the weekend came on Saturday, as Paul Konchesky’s West Ham ended Aston Villa’s 100% start to the season. Two goals in the first 15 minutes was enough, as Alisha Lehmann missed a penalty and Villa couldn’t find an equaliser late on.
After some weird results in the first couple of weeks, the table is starting to take shape. Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea lead the way with 9 points each after all three won at the weekend. Liverpool, Brighton, Reading and Leicester make up the bottom four and may well be stuck there.
Manchester United visit the King Power next weekend but it is the trip to Reading in a fortnight that is a much larger test of Leicester’s credentials. The Royals are the only other pointless side so far. A loss there would start to make this season feel a very long one indeed.
