Lauren Hemp continued her incredible early-season form and inspired Manchester City to another comeback win on Sunday, scoring the equaliser before setting up Jill Roord to net the team’s second in an important 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.
It was a result that looked unlikely at the break, when Villa led through Gabi Nunes’ first goal for the club and City had looked extremely passive. However, with Hemp on the pitch, a turnaround was always possible and her contributions helped the title hopefuls return to the top of the Women’s Super League table.
The England star would have had City level at half-time, too, if it wasn’t for a brilliant save from Sabrina D’Angelo. It was a rare bright spot in a rather dull first period from the hosts’ perspective, with poor communication and marking from the centre-back pairing of Laia Aleixandri and Alex Greenwood the big grumble, as it had allowed Nunes to run in and convert Kirsty Hanson’s cross to open the scoring.
That all started to change after the break. Villa looked more and more reserved and City pinned them in, finally getting the goal that had been coming just after the clock ticked past the hour. Leila Ouahabi’s cross could only be punched by D’Angelo and Hemp was there to stop the ball getting away, controlling with her head before hooking a volley into the empty net.
Less than 10 minutes later, Hemp then turned provider for what would be the winning goal. An injection of pace allowed her to dart past a couple of defenders and cut back for Roord, who bagged her first goal since suffering an ACL injury back in January, one which secured the three points.
GOAL rates Man City’s players from the Joie Stadium…