Thank you for joining me. Today’s WSL roundup should be landing on a Guardian website near you soon.
Marc Skinner: “I thought we dictated the first half. We got a little bit complacent. The Mary Earps double save was massive, it shows the world class quality she has.
“It was nice to get Riviere on the field because she is going to be a world class talent.
“We have to win our games, we play City after Chelsea. We have to win that game and Liverpool after that. I am pretty relaxed about it. I am going to go home and not look at the league until I play City. I am going to enjoy family time.
“We are here to win [the league] and change the game for Manchester United.”
Leah Galton: “It was a good one today. The crowd did us a huge favour, you could hear them throughout.
“We take the result today, we train hard next week and focus on Chelsea.”
Skinner does his usual on-pitch huddle and it concludes with a round of applause. A thoroughly professional performance today.
United now have their highest WSL points total, so whether they win the title or not, they have shown they are improving.
Full time: Manchester United 3-0 Spurs
United move five points clear with this routine victory. The result was not in doubt from kick off because Spurs are are far inferior team but they did not help themselves with their failings at the back. United can now focus on the FA Cup final next week.
90 mins: Three minutes added on.
88 mins: Galton is given player of the match by Siobhan Chamberlain, which is fair enough.
85 mins: Ayane outpaces Mannion but Earps comes to the defender’s rescue to force the Spurs player wide. Mannion then just bundles over Ayane outside the box. Not exactly promising stuff from Mannion.
The free-kick is taken short and Ayane lifts the ball to the back post but it just beats the outstretched leg of Neville.
Blundell off, Riviere on. Earps is down getting some treatment on her wrist.
83 mins: United passing the ball around the back. Nothing to see here.
81 mins: Batlle goes round Harrop again and fires in a low cross which Russo whacks just wide.
79 mins: England runs across the box to head a corner from the left but she flashes the ball wide of the far post.
77 mins: Spurs make their final change: Petzelberger for Turner.
75 mins: It’s all very sedate now.
73 mins: Thomas slips but gets up and manages to nutmeg and go past Harrop, before seeing her cross cleared.
Garcia, Mannion and Williams replace Galton, Toone and Le Tissier.
71 mins: Spurs have done well to not score today considering they have had three or four incredible chances, which further shows the impact of their defensive errors.
69 mins: England gets round the back of the United defence, pulls the ball back for Iwabuchi, she takes a touch and shoots from 12 yards but Earps is there to block. The rebound lands at Ayane’s feet but Earps is up quickly to save.
67 mins: Korpela is down after clashing with her own defender. What another glorious waste of time this break is. She’s put some ice on her knee and had a sip of water.
65 mins: United have a couple of corners in quick succession but they come to nothing.
Wiegman is shown in the stands all by herself.
63 mins: I think it’s fair to say the tempo has gone out of this match.
Thomas replaces Parris for United.
61 mins: United are just knocking the ball around and conserving energy in the process. I suspect they will make some changes soon to protect players.
59 mins: Neville is on for Bizet, Pervical for Spence and Iwabuchi replaces Graham.
I doubt it will make much difference to the outcome.
57 mins: Boa Risa swings in a corner from the left and it almost goes straight in but Korpela just about pushes it away. Russo fires in the rebound but Harrop blocks on the line.
55 mins: Every keeps saying how Spurs should be doing better than they are in the league because they have a good squad but all I have seen today is dreadful defending and decision making.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-0 Spurs (Parris, 53)
More farce at the back for Spurs. Galton loops in a cross which goes over Zadorsky and hits Harrop at the back, allowing Parris to slam home from close range.
Updated
51 mins: England challenges for a header and the second ball lands at Ayane’s feet. She tries to send a pass over the top for England to chase but there is too much on it.
Down the other end … Galton sends a pass to Russo but her shot is blocked by the goalkeeper.
49 mins: This half has started slowly …
47 mins: Spurs win a free-kick just inside United’s half but Bartrip just lumps it over everyone and straight to Earps.
Second half
Here we go again!
Ayane is on for Naz.
Half-time: Manchester United 2-0 Spurs
United have been utterly dominant and fully deserve their lead and should be out of sight, but Spurs had two incredible opportunities they failed to take. Funny old game.
45 mins: Two minutes added on.
43 mins: Spurs fans must watch from behind the sofa when they try to play out from the back. They do not seem capable of doing it but carry on regardless, putting themselves under needless pressure when it inevitably goes wrong.
41 mins: Harrop has some choice words for the assistant after thinking she was shoved in the back by Parris. Her protestations earn her a yellow card.
39 mins: Spurs counter down the left through Naz, who lifts in a cross to the back post for Bizet but despite the goal gaping, she heads the ball against the woodwork.
37 mins: It seems to be a case of damage limitation now for Spurs to avoid a completely demoralising loss that could impact future must-win matches.
Galton sends a cross under the bar, which Korpela tips over to avert danger.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Spurs (Russo, 35)
Spurs fail to deal with a cross into the box and Russo pounces to volley home from six yards. A cracking finish. Game over.
Updated
34 mins: Can Spurs get back into this? They have no indicated they have the ability to.
Korpela does well to keep out a rising drive from Boa Risa.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Spurs (Galton, 32)
No problem for Galton this time. Spurs try to play out from the back but Turner sends a wayward backpass to Korpela, which Galton intercepts and puts across the goalkeeper into the corner.
Updated
30 mins: United play a short corner, allowing Boa Risa to lift in a cross from a better angle. She picks out an unmarked Galton, who heads the ball against the bar from close range. The assistant, rightly, puts up the flag anyway.
28 mins: Spurs really have no answer for United and are essentially clinging on.
26 mins: Korpela is down in her six-yard box holding her calf. This repeatedly happens in the WSL to allow teams to get advice from the coaching staff. It seems mildly farcical that this is permitted. The physio offers some vague treatment and she is able to continue. It’s a miracle.
24 mins: Toone takes the aforementioned free-kick. She swings it in, allowing her teammates to attack it, resulting in Galton flicking a header over.
The stats show United have had three quarters of possession, which sounds about right.
22 mins: Russo beats Bartrip to a ball into the channel but the Spurs defender gets her revenge by tripping the striker, earning a booking for her troubles.
20 mins: Korpela is doing her best to slow things down by not distributing the ball as quickly as she could, earning the ire of the home fans.
Bartrip decides to relieve the pressure with a long ball over the top but there is no one to chase it and it drifts towards the corner flag. Very much just icing the puck.
18 mins: Blundell drives down the left and makes it into the box but her cross is straight at the goalkeeper. Spurs are not really in this as a contest.
16 mins: Parris wins a corner on the right. Boa Risa pings it in but Spurs are up to the challenge and whack it clear. They do not have anyone up the pitch, so the ball comes straight back.
14 mins: It seems to be a constant wave of United attacks. Spurs might need to do better in possession to calm things down, otherwise they could be in for along afternoon.
12 mins: There has been plenty of action in the opening stages in the sunshine at Leigh.
The latest United attack sees Blundell lift a deep cross into the box for Parris to attack, she gets the wrong side of the defence and heads at goal from close range but Korpela does well. The flag incorrectly goes up for offside. A poor decision.
10 mins: United work the ball into the box and eventually Toone lays it off to Russo, who looks to curl the ball around Korpela but the goalkeeper reads it and dives to palm away.
8 mins: Earps is tested for the first time through a long-range drive from Bartrip but it is straight down the goalkeeper’s throat.
Moments later, England is slipped through and goes round Earps, only to see her finish blocked from going into the open goal by a sliding Le Tissier.
6 mins: United get a corner on the right but Spurs just about manage to clear at the back post.
4 mins: Batlle gets down the right and drives in a low cross for Galton to attack, she should score from a few yards out but shins the ball against a defender and Spurs get it behind for a corner. Ominous for Spurs.
2 mins: United have controlled possession in the opening stages and Spurs seem quite happy to let them have it.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
(The national anthem was supposed to be played but it was a complete farce. Some fans ended up singing it and then it was belatedly played out on the speakers. Well done everyone).
Updated
Marc Skinner: “It will be very difficult. You look at their squad, they shouldn’t be where they are. We have to maximise what we can do and inflict a bit of misery on them.”
Vicky Jepson: “It is important that in the last three games, everyone feels a part of the process. We know United score late on, so we need some fresh players for the latter stages.”
Wiegman will keep a close eye on Beth England to see if she is worthy of a recall to the national team.
Sarina Wiegman is in attendance at Leigh today. She will be keeping her eye on the England internationals to make sure they are in form going into the World Cup. She will be desperately hoping none of them go down injured after losing some key players already.
Some big news coming out of Leigh.
🚨ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
— Leigh Sports Village (@lsvstadium) May 7, 2023
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Here is what happened on Friday in the WSL.
Starting lineups
Manchester United: Earps, Batlle, Turner, Le Tissier, Blundell, Boe Risa, Ladd, Toone, Parris, Russo, Galton
Subs: Baggaley, Riviere, Mannion, Tounkara, Cascarino, Naalsund, Garcia, Thomas, Williams
Tottenham: Korpela; Turner, Bartrip, Zadorsky, Harrop, Spence, James, Graham, Bizet, England, Naz
Subs: Spencer, Neville, Summanen, Iwabuchi, Ayane, Ale, Percival, Petzelberger
Welcome
There are a mere three games left of the season for Manchester United and they, frankly, need to win them all if they are to lift the Women’s Super League trophy for the first time. Chelsea are four behind and will have three matches in hand by the time the full-time whistle blows in Leigh.
United will fully expect to beat Tottenham, who sit ninth in the table with four victories in 19 league matches. Chelsea were the last team to beat United almost two months ago. Since then United have looked unstoppable, reaching the FA Cup final and maintaining top spot. They certainly have the momentum but with a trip to Wembley next weekend to face Chelsea, followed by a derby against second-placed City coming up, things could not be more serious.
Tottenham still face a serious risk of being relegated. They will be realistic in their outlook that a point in Leigh would a tremendous result, with their true destiny to be decided in their next match against bottom club Reading.
Here’s to a fun game!
Kick-off: 12.30pm
