The Championship is shaping up to be an interesting league to monitor with only four points currently separating second placed Manchester United from eighth placed London Bees. Here’s a look at how the weekend’s action unfolded.
London Bees 0-1 Durham
Durham have been coming into some good form recently after beating Crystal Palace last time round. The Bees last match saw them just edge a win against a tough Lewes side. Having had some serious long term injuries affect the team recently, there was a familiar face to help out the Bees. Rachel Unitt, who last played in the WSL for Notts County, started for the Bees. Despite the experience she had, Bees were unable to get back into the game after Beth Hepple put Durham in front 20 minutes in.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Aston Villa
Although United were widely tipped to be the team to beat but after their draw against Durham, they’ve allowed space for Spurs to make the top spot theirs. The Lilywhites made it six wins from six in the league beating an improving Villa side in the process.
The visitors didn’t make it easy for Spurs however, Kerri Welsh put them ahead early on but Spurs managed to grab an equaliser through Ashleigh Neville close to half time. It was a close second half as well but Rianna Dean put Spurs ahead from the spot to grab all three precious points. Spurs will now face the Red Devils who saw their match with Leicester City postponed. Whilst United have a game in hand, a result against Spurs could make the title race even more interesting.
Crystal Palace 0-1 Sheffield United
The third of the London based Championship games was yet another close one between Crystal Palace and Sheffield United. The teams were coming into this match of the back of defeats to Durham and Charlton respectively. They were also separated by a point in the standings and it showed.
It took until the 35th minute for the Blades to slice through the deadlock and it was Jade Pennock who scored the crucial goal. Both had a fair amount of chances in the second half but Pennock’s goal was the only one on the day and it ended 1-0 to Sheffield
Millwall Lionesses 0-8 Charlton Athletic
Another Sunday and another 8-0 thrashing was handed to Millwall, this time around it was Charlton who hit the Lionesses for eight. The first 20 or so minutes was a fairly even affair between both teams but once the first goal went in, the floodgates opened for the Adicks. Liz Ejupi opened the scoring and later on added another three goals with Charlotte Gurr, Lily Agg, April Bowers and Kit Graham adding to the tally on the day.
Next up for Millwall is an Aston Villa side also languishing near the bottom next time out, it could already be a crunch match for the two teams involved.