WSL: Khadija Shaw brace fires Man City to victory against Tottenham, Everton narrowly beat Aston Villa

Khadija Shaw’s brace inspired Manchester City’s 3-0 victory against Tottenham, while Everton narrowly beat Aston Villa to remain fourth in the Women’s Super League.

Spurs managed to keep the visitors at bay for most of the first half, but in the 41st minute, Alex Greenwood’s corner delivery was perfectly placed for Shaw to head home into the bottom corner.

Ashleigh Neville came close to bringing one back before the half-time whistle, but her shot at the back post from a cross went over the bar.

Shaw scored her second minutes after the restart, taking a chance from far out, and whipping the ball into the back of the net. From then on, City continued to dominate, and Shaw almost completed her hattrick, scuffing a relatively easy chance wide.

In the final 15 minutes of the match, Lauren Hemp scored City’s third after skilfully getting past Amy Turner and scoring off the post.

With the brace, Shaw has now scored seven goals in all competitions for Man City this season, and Gareth Taylor had high praise for the Jamaican international.

“She had a good season last year, but people overlook that a little bit. She has taken on the responsibility of wearing the number nine for this club and is a young player.

“She has a lot more to come I believe, but she will score goals. She has proven that previously and proven that here.”

Shaw herself said: “Shaw said: “The position I play, the team look for me to score goals. I have been working on the training pitch perfecting what I am good at.”

Tottenham were certainly not at their best and were somewhat shaken by Ellie Brazil needing to be stretchered off in the third minute after colliding with Ellie Roebuck in an attempt to block a clearance.

“It was a blow,” said Rehanne Skinner.

“She has been in great shape and yeah, obviously didn’t last very long in the game, unfortunately.

“It was a 50-50 situation, and she has gone in for that. Sometimes it happens but I spoke to her at half-time and she was a lot more comfortable at that point. We obviously need to get a scan to understand what we are dealing with to decide what we do moving forward.”

Lucy Graham came to the rescue for Everton, scoring her side’s only goal in their win against Aston Villa.

With Everton moving up to fourth, they now sit behind Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea. All four clubs have nine points, with the Toffee’s goal difference of two keeping them just shy of a Champions League spot.

Villa looked like the better team for the majority of the match and came close to scoring on several occasions, but the sole goal came in the 57th minute when Gabrielle George’s cross from the left found Graham, who rocketed a shot into the roof of the net.

The goal provided a much-needed spark for Everton, and Jessica Park nearly added a second with a low shot, but Anna Leat reacted quickly in the Villa goal to make the stop.

Four matches will take place in the WSL on Sunday. Liverpool face Arsenal, Manchester United visit Leicester City, West Ham take Reading, and Brighton are up against defending champions Chelsea.