Manchester United secured their first WSL win of the season with a 2-1 victory over West Ham at Leigh Sports Village, while Liverpool claimed a landmark Merseyside derby success against Everton at Anfield.
Tottenham also strengthened their position near the top of the table by beating Aston Villa 4-0, and newly promoted Birmingham City rescued a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in a six-goal thriller.
Manchester United finally get their first WSL win
United had taken only one point from their opening three league matches, but Elisabeth Terland put them ahead inside 10 minutes against West Ham. She headed in after Anna Sandberg’s header had created the opportunity.
The hosts came close to doubling their lead before the interval, only for West Ham goalkeeper Constance Picaud to tip Hanna Lundkvist’s header over the bar.
United began the second half strongly, with Andrea Medina hitting the crossbar, Jess Park shooting wide and Terland forcing another fingertip save from Picaud in a three-minute spell.
West Ham did not register their first shot on target until the hour mark, when Estelle Cascarino’s dipping drive was tipped over by Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
Medina eventually made it 2-0 with 18 minutes remaining, collecting a pass from Park before finding the corner after her initial effort had been blocked.
Viviane Asseyi gave West Ham hope by converting a penalty into the bottom-left corner after being tripped by Sandberg, but United held on for a much-needed victory.
Liverpool end Anfield wait against Everton
Liverpool beat Everton 2-0 to record their first WSL Merseyside derby victory at Anfield, having previously lost eight of their nine league matches at the ground.
Five of those defeats had come against Everton, but Liverpool made the ideal start when Beata Olsson’s looping header gave them the lead in the fourth minute.
Everton’s Ruby Mace twice prevented Liverpool from extending their advantage, blocking Natalia Ramos’ goal-bound shot before clearing Cornelia Kapocs’ effort off the line.
Kapocs eventually found a way through, sweeping home Liverpool’s second goal with just under five minutes remaining to secure the points.
Tottenham close in on Manchester City
Tottenham moved to within two points of leaders Manchester City after a dominant second-half display against Aston Villa secured a 4-0 victory.
Spurs had been held in check before the interval, but Victoria Pelova broke the deadlock in the 54th minute and doubled the lead soon afterwards with a curling finish.
Caitlin Dijkstra then headed in at the back post before Cathinka Tandberg scored from the rebound. The result left Tottenham with 10 points from their opening four matches, while Villa remained 13th.
Birmingham hold Palace in six-goal draw
Birmingham City remain without a first WSL victory after drawing 3-3 with Crystal Palace at St Andrew’s, although Suzu Amano’s late equaliser secured a second point of the campaign.
Oceane Hurtre struck after just 40 seconds and added a second with a powerful finish from a tight angle three minutes after Palace had levelled through Shanade Hopcroft’s free-kick.
Palace fought back after the interval, with Bethany England converting a rebound in the 70th minute before Lexi Lloyd-Smith completed the turnaround with a one-on-one finish.
Amano’s deflected effort in the 87th minute rescued Birmingham a point and denied Palace what would have been their second league win of the season.
