Everton fell to their third defeat of the season after league leaders Manchester United scored three without reply at Walton Hall Park.
The hosts came into today's clash looking to claim their first WSL victory over United, having failed to win any of the last six league encounters between the two sides. Triumphing over Marc Skinner's team looked an ominous task for the Blues, with United looking to extend their perfect start to the season to five games, having kept a clean sheet in their first four.
However, Brian Sorensen's side could take encouragement from their bright start to the campaign. Ahead of today's contest, the Blues sat fourth in the table, having won three of their last four league matches; as many wins as they managed across their previous 19 games in the WSL.
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The hosts made two changes from the side that beat Aston Villa in the West Midlands last Saturday, with Aggie Beever-Jones given the nod ahead of Katja Snoeijs after netting her first Everton goal in the Conti Cup midweek. Skinner fielded a much-changed outfit in United's own cup clash with Durham on Wednesday night, but reverted to a more familiar starting lineup at Walton Hall Park, with Hayley Ladd for Lucy Staniforth the only change from last week's victory at Leicester.
It was United who has the first chance to go in front; Ella Toone denied from getting her seventh career goal against the Blues after her shot was tipped behind by Courtney Brosnan. It wasn't long before the visitors capitalised on their early dominance however, with former Everton striker Nikita Parris putting her old club to the sword after a defensive mix up in the penalty area between Brosnan and Megan Finnigan.
It was a good response from the hosts, captain Gabby George storming into the box and seeing her shot well saved by Mary Earps. It was George, operating at right wing-back, who proved Everton's brightest spark in the first half, feeding another dangerous ball into the path of Beever-Jones whose shot was bundled to safety by the United defence.
Sorensen made two changes at half time, with Aggie Beever-Jones and Hanna Bennison making way for Katja Snoeijs and Izzy Christiansen. United nearly doubled their lead just minutes after the restart as Toone found herself in acres of space in the box, but Finnigan did well to recover and made an excellent block to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
The visitors did double their advantage after 55 minutes courtesy of a fine finish from Leah Galton. The 28-year-old picked up the ball in midfield and exhibited some brilliant footwork to outfox Finnigan and put the ball past Brosnan.
While Everton deserve credit for their battling first-half display, conceding so soon after break proved something of a fatal blow for the hosts. After 68 minutes, United put the result beyond any doubt; Ladd rifling the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area to ensure United preserved their flawless start to the season.
It looked like it could become a demolition job for Skinner's side, with Alessia Russo spurning a golden chance to make it 4-0 on her return from injury. Karen Holmgaard almost secured a consolation goal for the Blues after breaking down the left-hand side, but Earps denied her at the near post to keep her 47th clean sheet in the WSL; four more than any other goalkeeper in the competition.
Everton's day went from bad to worse as Katrine Veje picked up an injury, forcing Sorensen's side to close out the contest with just ten players on the pitch. While the result will have been a disappointing one for the home faithful at Walton Hall Park, the Blues will look to bounce back when they take on Tottenham at Brisbane Road next weekend.
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