Liverpool Women ended their miserable Anfield record against Everton Women by securing a 2-0 win in the first Merseyside derby of the season. Gareth Taylor's side took the lead inside the opening five minutes when Beata Olsson powered in a header from a corner. Cornelia Kapocs added a late second to help the Reds claim their first-ever home victory over the Blues at Anfield in the Women's Super League.
Everton's Anfield dominance ended
Heading into this fixture, Everton had won all six of their games in this part of L4, including the 4-1 opening day demolition led by hat-trick star Ornella Vignola last season. There were no such heroics from anyone in Royal Blue on Sunday lunchtime, though Ruby Mace made a series of important interventions to keep the visitors in this game, denying Natalia Ramos with a crucial block midway through the second half and then clearing off the line as Ramos sought to pounce on a header that had beaten Courtney Brosnan.
Ramos also fired over from 16 yards, Vivien Endermann struck the bar and Brosnan tipped over a vicious Marie-Therese Hobinger corner in a second half that was dominated by Liverpool. The hosts' failure to put this game out of sight was a source of frustration among the home supporters but did not prove costly as Scott Phelan's side struggled to pose a threat in the second half.
First-half chances and late drama
Everton's best chances came during a strong finish to the first half that saw Mace curl at Khiara Keating and Hannah Cain blast over after good work by Clare Wheeler, Rosa van Gool and Zara Kramzar. Brosnan was still busy at the other end, though, and kept Everton in the game with big stops from the head of team-mate Hannah Silcock and, on the stroke of half-time, at the feet of Endermann.
Having missed so many chances, Liverpool almost fell to a late push for an equaliser as Holly McNamara was denied at the near post by Keating. But just as the nerves were creeping in, Kapocs reacted best to put the result beyond doubt by turning on a loose ball in the Blues box and slotting past Brosnan. The result meant the Reds leapfrogged Everton to move to fifth in the WSL table.
