Manchester United continued their perfect start to the season as they triumphed over Everton in the Women's Super League.
United came into today's clash looking to claim their seventh WSL victory over Everton, having won each of the last six league encounters between the two sides. Marc Skinner's team started the day in second place, albeit only due to a technicality, and set out to make it five wins from five to kickstart their league campaign.
However, Everton could take encouragement from their bright start to the season. 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.
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. Marc 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, with Ella Toone denied from getting her seventh career goal against the Blues after her shot was tipped behind by Courtney Brosnan. And it wasn't long before the visitors capitalised on their early dominance, 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.
While Everton's battling display ensured there was only a one goal deficit heading into the break, United's quality shone through in the second half, and the visitors nearly doubled their lead just after the restart as Toone's shot was blocked by Finnigan.
The Red Devils 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 Megan Finnigan and put the ball past Courtney Brosnan.
United soon put the result beyond any doubt; Hayley Ladd rifled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area to ensure Marc Skinner's side preserved their flawless start to the season.
Reflecting on his team's impressive display on Merseyside, Skinner told the Mirror: “The result is great but it’s the team togetherness that I’m so pleased with. I feel like this team is the most together team I’ve ever coached.
"I’ve picked up a really good bunch of people. They’re very honest, there’s obviously stardust sprinkled in there, there’s a lot of quality but I think they’re good people who are ready to fight for each other.”
The result saw United climb above Arsenal in the WSL table, with the North London club in action against West Ham on Sunday evening.
